Pygmy Hippo Calf Born in Europe
Zoo-based Captive Breeding May Be Only Hope for Endangered Species
Civil unrest has prevented serious conservation efforts. Reintroduction of pygmy hippos into protected areas may benefit from species' adaptability to new environments.
The birth of a pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) at Paris Zoo in the summer of 2007 helped to remind people of the plight of this little known species. Conservation efforts are hampered by lack of funds and civil unrest in pygmy hippo range states. But captive animals are doing well and may represent hope for a successful reintroduction program.
Pygmy Hippos Related to Whales
Recent genetic studies have shown that hippopotamus, both common and pygmy, are actually closely related to the whales, not pigs and peccaries as once thought. Evolving from a shared land based ancestor, the two species continued to move toward a largely, or in the case of the whales entirely, aquatic existence. The pygmy hippo remains the most land based, with cloven hooves instead of the webbed feet the common hippos have developed.
Behavior and Conservation Status
Pygmy hippos are more solitary than common hippos, preferring to remain alone except during breeding season. They are also nocturnal, which adds to the difficulty of studying them. Concentrated largely in Liberia with smaller numbers in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire, local unrest has compounded the barriers to studying the species thoroughly.
Best estimates are that fewer than 3,000 of this little known endangered animal exist today. There is speculation that a remnant population of a pygmy hippopotamus subspecies remains in Nigeria as well, but that population may have been extirpated during the long years of political struggle there.
Bushmeat hunting, habitat degradation and fragmentation from logging and farming, gold mining, and civil unrest have all contributed to the continuing decline of the species and it is expected to go extinct in the wild unless significant conservation measures are put in place soon.
Captive Breeding and Possible Reintroduction
But the pygmy hippo won’t disappear completely. There is a strong captive population that has adapted well to the zoo environment and doubled its numbers in the last 30 years. Cooperative breeding efforts among European zoos have produced 112 offspring, but 2/3 of them have been female. The birth the male calf in Paris will help keep the sex ratio from getting too far out of line.
On the down side, there is concern that some of the captive animals are in less than ideal facilities and that losses are higher than they should be. And captive breeding should not be the only action taken on behalf of the pygmy hippopotamus. But does bode well for successful reintroduction in the future if habitat can be restored, or better yet, preserved.
Efforts are being made to work with the pygmy hippo range states to enhance and better safeguard protected areas where the animals are still found. Education and awareness programs are one step. Developing sustainable agriculture and planned growth of human settlements to minimize impact are also needed to maintain enough appropriate habitat for the pygmy hippo to be reintroduced when the time is right.
