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Pygmy hippopotamus
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THE name hippopotamus comes from Greek and means “river horse”. Hippos, however, are not related to horses, but to pigs.
The pygmy hippo (矮河马), which is the smallest of its breed, occurs in West Africa, especially in or near rivers, lakes and swamps.
The common male hippo weighs up to 2,600 kg, but the pygmy hippo weighs only about 161-272 kg.
Common hippos are gregarious, live in herds, and are well adapted to life in the water. By contrast, the pygmy hippo is a shy, solitary, forest dweller that is still hunted by the natives for its meat. When encountering people, it flees at once into the nearest river or swamp. Their life span is about 35 years, and they have adapted well to life in zoological gardens, a hopeful sign, as they are threatened with extinction in their natural habitat. The major threats to this species are deforestation and hunting.
It is estimated that there are only 2,000-3,000 specimens left.
They have formidable canine teeth, which are their defence weapon against their main predator in the wild: the leopard.
(Part I)(SD-Agencies)
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