Pygmy Hippo Photographed in Liberia
Posted by: Loren Coleman on March 11th, 2008
The endangered pygmy hippopotamus, a classic animal of cryptozoological discovery, has been snapped on camera. The pygmy hippo is rarely seen in the wild but was photographed in west Africa, in Liberia’s national park. It may signal a higher secretive population in its range than previously thought.
The pygmy hippo (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is classified on the IUCN Red List as endangered with its rapid decline put down to habitat degradation and bushmeat
hunting.
There are only 3000 pygmy hippopotamus left in the wild in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. This may be an over-estimate and there are severe concerns about their survival due to poaching threats.
The camera traps set up by “ZSL” team captured the rare pygmy hippo on film within just three days of an attempt in Liberia.
The cameras will stay in place monitoring in order to produce precise population estimation and a protection plan.
The researchers were delighted to find out that a population still persists there, but stay extremely concerned for the species, which continues to face major threats from poaching and habitat deprivation.
The pygmy hippo is an extraordinary, mysterious creature that has almost never been seen in the wild. The ZSL’s EDGE programme identified it as a species in need of urgent conservation attention and so we set out to previously war-torn Liberia, one of the species’ last refuges, to search for survivors.
We were delighted to discover that a population still persists there, but remain highly concerned for the species, which continues to face significant threats from poaching and habitat degradation.
Following two devastating civil wars, scientifically driven conservation action is essential to the continued survival of this highly threatened species. Dr. Ben Collen, leader of the Flora and Fauna International (FFI) and Liberia’s Forestry Development Agency (FDA) team.
I am pleased to hear that a protection plan is being developed. It is great that the animals are already in a national park. Preservation is key!
Man in suit?
Seriously though, this is a spectacular photo. For a camera trap shot, it almost seems almost artistic in its composition. Beautiful.
Are there any captive breeding programs in zoos? If the population gets
to dangerous levels that might be thye only way to avoid extinction.
Now that is a great shot caught with a camera trap. No blob Pygmy Hippo here. It is good to know that this picture was taken in a National Park. Protection is the key word here.
Can they be bred in captivity?
How well do they gain on corn?
Great shot. Now get one of a mokele mbembe, please!
I wish the United Nations would spend more time considering the plight of endangered animals around the world… These are real issues that should be talked about in the mainstream media, and politicians often, IMO…
As a society we look like a bunch of jack asses letting animals go extinct the way we do… and of course IMO, i guess
I was reading about Polar Bears today and the Politicians are politicking and dropping the ball on that urgent matter like they regularly do…
…anyhow great to see a picture of this Pygmy Hippo… looks like its smiling.. it might of just got off the phone with one of its friends in Columbia
RED_PILL_JUNKIE:
Mokele-mbembe has been unfortunately camera-shy these many years, sadly. Ever since that run-in with the paparazzi 10 years ago OL’ MOKIE has been sour on publicity. Heh-heh.
Saw you on UFOMYSTIC, BTW.
Very cool evidence!!!
That and the white orca made my day!!!
Spinach Village- I agree with you. And the saddest part is that we are passing this legacy and all the problems it entails onto our children and future generations. We exploit the environment with little thought of the consequences when all the while, these future generations are going to have to live in a world that is a shadow of what it once was, a place empty of the life that once made it spectacular. I just really think it is sad that there could be a day when my 1 and a half year old daughter grows up and the only place she will see some species is in a book. It is haunting to think of her pointing to a picture of, say, a panda and saying “Wow, these beautiful animals were real? Did you see one Daddy? I wish I could too.” Maybe this won’t happen with my daughter, or my daughter’s daughter, but at the rate we are going as a species, it WILL happen.
Cute photo!
*We* already do, I’m afraid. The extinction of most of the world’s megafauna saw to that…
to PhilsterUK and sschaper.
We are currently trying our best at Lincoln Park zoo, Chicago, to breed our pair. There was recently one born at the Berlin Zoo. (I think it was there- that article might have been listed on cryptomundo as well ?)
Their breeding habits are pretty aggressive, so there’s lots of explaining to do when the public asks what all the cuts and scars are about.