Wildlife | Pygmy Hippo

Other than their size, pygmy hippos look similar to the larger common hippo, and the two mammals make up the only living members of the Hippopotamidae family. However, the pygmy hippo's habits are quite different than the larger common hippopotamus. Though it still spends time in water to keep cool and moist, it spends much more of its time on land than its cousin. It’s also nocturnal, meaning it is most active at night. Pygmy hippos are endangered due to several factors. Their West African forest habitat is being depleted by logging activity to create housing and land for agriculture. This logging not only shrinks the area that the hippos can live in, but also cuts off populations from one another, limiting their genetic diversity. They are also illegally hunted (poached) for their meat.