Pygmy hippopotamus

The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a small, shy relative of the common hippo. It lives in the forests and swamps of West Africa, mostly in Liberia, with small populations in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast. It weighs about 250 kilograms, far less than a full-size hippo.

It is mostly active at night and lives alone, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruit. Like the big hippo, it needs water to keep its skin moist and its body cool. Fewer than 2,500 are thought to remain in the wild, and the species is rated Endangered. Both males and females are called by the same name, but a baby is called a calf.

A rare forest animal

The pygmy hippo is hard to study in the wild because it is shy and comes out in the dark. It was unknown outside West Africa until the 19th century. The genus name Choeropsis means 'pig-like'. It has been wiped out in Nigeria. It is one of only two living members of the hippo family, and it has many land-living features, but it is still semi-aquatic.

Zoo babies and threats

The main threats in the wild are logging, forests turned into farms, hunting for meat, and war. Pygmy hippos breed well in zoos, and most of what we know comes from those animals. In 2024 a baby pygmy hippo named Moo Deng, born in a Thai zoo, became famous all over the internet. Scientists think that pygmy hippos in zoos are safer than those in the wild.

On the globe

The model shows a pygmy hippo near forest streams in West Africa, mainly Liberia. Look for its smaller, rounder body.