Hippopotamus, pygmy

Scientific name: Choeropsis liberiensis

Origin: Africa (mostly Liberia)

Size: 1.5-1.75m

Diet: Herbivore

IUCN status: Endangered

Threats: Deforestation, poaching for bushmeat

Zoos I have seen them: ZSL London Zoo, Edinburgh Zoo, Diergaarde Blijdorp

Interesting fact: Dublin zoo may have been the first zoo in Europe (in fact, anywhere) to import a pygmy hippo from the wild; a young calf that was captured from Sierra Leone in 1873, but died hours upon arriving at the zoo. At that time, it was considered just a stunted freak of its larger cousin, the Nile hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius).