Small But Mighty

Structural and Behavioral Adaptations: Pygmy Hippos are less aquatic than their river hippo cousins, they spend more time on land than they do in the water. Water is still important since it prevents their skin from drying out and make sure their body temperature stays regulated. The front two feet are webbed instead of all of them.   They are nocturnal creatures, they do most of their foraging at night. Nocturnal species are known to have better senses of hearing, smell, and a special sense of eyesight. They sleep in undergrowth near river banks and create  canal like pathways. When in danger the pygmy hippos go to the water for safety, it also helps that they can go fully submerged under water for over to five minutes. Pygmy hippos are herbivores so they have teeth that especially built for grinding plant products like leaves, grass, and more. When young pygmy hippos are born, they are already quite mature and can do some things on their own making them a species of animal that is called precocial. Pygmy hippos are considered a solitary species and will only "meet up" with another of it's kind to mate and raise it's offspring. Though solitary species are known to abandon their young sometimes.

Their Population: The Pygmy Hippos, like their much larger cousins, live exclusively in Africa. While the more common hippopotamus is at vulnerable status, the pygmy hippos are quite rare. In fact they are endangered which is quite sad. It is estimated that there are less than 3 000 pygmy hippos left roaming around in the wild. This is not caused by other animals also roaming the wild though. It is actually cause by our own kind, humans. People poaching these magnificent creatures for goods, and since they live in forests their habitats are being destroyed because of human selfishness.

Niche: 

Pygmy hippos are important to their niche because if they didn’t eat the plants, the forests that they live in would be overgrown with foliage and they also provide a food source for leopards as they’re critically endangered. Pygmy hippos don’t adapt well to erratic and immense changes, but, they still have some pretty cool adaptations to their environment as it is. Pygmy hippos, like common hippos, spend time both in and out of water. Though, pygmy hippos tend to spend less time in water so they excrete a white substance from their skin that acts as a sunscreen. Because they don’t spend as much time in the water, instead of having fully webbed feet only a few of their toes are webbed, this allows them to sprint through the forest around them and to glide through the water. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads instead of on the front to help them see around themselves easier. narrow

Specialists? Or Generalists?: Specialists are species that focus on and are good at a certain skills, and they can't adapt very well to changes in their environment. A generalist is a species that focuses on a very wide range of skills and they can adapt and change their ways very well. Pygmy hippos are specialists because they really only live in a part of Africa in the forests.

Genetic Variations:

Changes In The Environment: 

Before humans the pygmy hippo roamed the forest wild and free. There was an abundance of them and they were happy. Their forest homes were lush and green. They lived in west africa specifically Liberia. Pygmy hippos live amongst the trees, they get their food and their habitats from the forest. Their only threat was their natural predators.

After humans, the pygmy hippo population went down. Their amount of threats to their species has grown from only their natural predators to also include humans hunting them and destroying their homes. Our species were destroying their habitat for our endless need of trees. Since pygmy hippos are a specialist species, they don’t adapt very well to large changes in their environments. Pygmy hippos are already rare enough as it is but if humans keep up our selfish ways, pygmy hippos could disappear. Pygmy hippos are also hunted as a food source. According to the IUCN’s Red List, their population is still decreasing with about 2 000-2 500 mature pygmy hippos left in the world. They are currently listed as endangered.

Prey And Predator: Pygmy hippo's main predator is Leopards. Pygmy hippos are herbivores and they eat plants. The are not just a food source for leopards, they are a food source for pythons and crocodiles.leopards are the predators and they prey on young pygmy hippos since they’re the easiest to hunt

Predation:

Global Strategies: 

Symbiosis:

Did You Know? Hippos think body language is very important so, as