Why is pygmy hippos endangered

Pygmy hippopotamus babies are weaned by eight months old. They then join their mothers on foraging trips. Being large animals, the pygmy hippopotamus has few natural predators. They are sometimes stalked by leopards. Calves are preyed on by large snakes and wildcats when the mother is foraging.

Unlike their larger cousins, pygmy hippos prefer to flee from danger rather than fight. They also use lunging, rearing, head shaking and water scooping tactics to scare off predators. The biggest threat to the pygmy hippopotamus is humans. Despite being protected by law, pygmy hippopotamuses are hunted for their meat and teeth. Their habitats are quickly being destroyed for animal agriculture. Their rivers are now polluted.

Logging is illegal in many parts of their natural range, but continues to happen. There are fewer than 3, pygmy hippopotamuses left in the wild. The pygmy hippopotamus is listed as Endangered in its natural environment and is severely at risk of extinction. Pygmy hippos may mate in the water or on land. The breeding season is unknown, but normally one calf is born after a gestation period of six to seven months. Although common hippos give birth underwater, pygmy hippo calves are born on land.

For the first few weeks, the mother tucks the calf, which looks like a large piggy bank, away in the bushes while she feeds, because the baby cannot walk well. The calf grows quickly, and at 5 months of age is already about 10 times its birth weight. Although they are able to make noises—from a low grunt to a high-pitched squeak—pygmy hippos are usually silent. Body language is important in hippo culture.

Signs of submission include lying prone and urinating while slowly wagging the tail. If alarmed, the hippo releases its breath with a loud huff. Known to be found only in four countries in West Africa , pygmy hippos are now classified as endangered, with possibly less than 3, individuals remaining in their native habitat.

The forests that shelter them are being cut down or burned away, and the rivers where they swim are now polluted by humans. In logged areas, humans hunt them for their meat. The most important conservation action is to protect its habitat where it remains by expending and creating effective protected areas. In general, the local residents are unaware about the current extinction risk that the Pygmy hippopotamus is facing. All our field conservation initiatives are not solely reliant on the collection of ecological information, but equally on public adherence to protection of threatened animals.

Awareness and perception of target species condition the intensity and orientation of public involvement in conservation initiatives. Local public awareness is therefore crucial through education and community programs at known hotspot where the pygmy hippo remains. Protecting Nature is Protecting Ourselves. Become a monthly supporter by saving animals and wilderness. The ancestors of both whales and hippos were small water-loving terrestrial mammals that lived million years ago.

These groups diverged during the Eocene around 54 million years ago into the early cetaceans, which became completely aquatic, and a large and diverse group of pig-like terrestrial mammals known as anthracotheres. The species has a discontinuous distribution in western Africa. The largest populations of H. They feed on terrestrial and semi-aquatic plants. This wordcloud illustrates the threats facing this species.