Pygmy Hippopotamus
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The pygmy hippopotamus lives a solitary life in the rain forests of West Africa.  Because of hunting and increasing loss of habitat, it is now endangered throughout most of its range. The pygmy hippo differs from its more firmiliar and more common relative, the hippopotamus.  The pygmy is smaller and has thinner legs and a more rounded head. Still, like the larger hippo, the pygmy hippo emits pink fluid from its skin that protects if from the strong sun..

Habits:The pygmy hippo is a solitary animal that lives among dense vegetation along streams and swamps and in the rain forests of West Africa.  It sometimes lives in cultivated areas, but the pygmy hippo is shy: it avoids people, as well as other hippos. each hippo ha its own territory.  The male's territory is larger than the female; both mark their territorial boundaries with their droppings.  The pygmy hippo feeds when it is dark.  It spends most of the day resting within its territory.  It changes resting places once or twice a week.

Breeding:The territories of the male and female pygmy hippo overlap; thus when a female is ready to mate, there is usually a male nearby.  A single calf is born seven months after mating.  It suckles two to three times a day .  For the first few weeks of its life, the calf is unable to walk very far, so the mother hides it in the bushes and returns to feed it.  As five months, the calf weighs 10 times more than it did at birth. It is not known how long the calf remains with its mother, but it is sexually mature at four to five years old..

Feeding: The pygmy hippo is an herbivore; it feeds only on material.  It uproots swamp plant's and eats them whole.  The hippo also crushes hard fruit with its strong teeth and strips leaves from shrubs and young trees.  It sometimes reaches higher branches by standing on its hind legs and leaning on the tree truck with its front legs.  The pygmy hippo feeds in the late afternoon until midnight, then returns to its resting place.
Pygmy & Man:The pygmy hippo is hunted and eaten by the people who live in the area it inhabits.  But a greater threat to the species survival is the destruction of its swamp and rain forest habitats.  Fortunently several national parks have been established in the Ivory Coast and Guinea that provide some protection for the pygmy hippo..

Special Adaptations:
Facial features: The pygmy hippo closes it nose and ears underwater.  This adaptation is common among aquatic animals.  But the pygmy hippo actually spends little time in the water.

Skin secretion:  The hippo does not swear. Instead, it produces pink fluid from pores in its skin to keep its body cool.  The pink fluid also protects the hippo's sensitive skin from the suns ultraviolet rays for the short periods that the animal is in the sun.

Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species
Height: 12 1/2 ft - 3 ft
Length: Head and body, 5 - 6 ft, Tail; 6 in
Weight: up to 350 - 600 lbs

Breeding:
Sexual maturity:  4 - 5 years in captivity
Mating: Not known in the wild. Captive young have been born throughout the year.
Gestation: 190  - 210 days
No of young Usually 1

Lifestyle:
Habit: Solitary. May for small family groups.
Diet: Mainly plant material such as leaves, shoots, roots, and fruit.
Related Species: The pygmy hippos only close relative is the great African hippo, hippopotamus amphibious.
Distribution: Scattered throughout the lowland rain forests of West Africa, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast.
Conservation: The pygmy hippo is in danger of extinction as a result of habitat loss.  It is protected in some natural parks, and many are kept in zoos.

Did you know:
The pygmy hippo is a noisy eater.  It can be heard feeding from as far way as 150 feet.
The pygmy hippo was unknown to Western scientist until the mid ninetieth century.
The pygmy hippo loses water through its skin so quickly that it must live in a damp, shady habitat.
The hippo's family name comes from the Greek phrase potamos hippos, meaning "river home."

Features of the Pygmy Hippo's
Length:  The Great African hippo grows to a maximum length of 11 1/2 feet, ut the pygmy hippo reaches only 5 3/4 feet.
Height:  The average man is 5" 10" tall.  The pygmy hippo can reach a height of 3 feet at the shoulder and the great African hippo may grow to 5 ft.
Pygmy Hippo: Long spread out toes for walking:
African Hippo: Toes are webbed for swimming,

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