Unlike their chubby sociopath cousins, wild pygmy hippos are shy and timid, tending to ignore one another over being aggressive. Getting only to about knee-height, fewer than a couple of thousand of these wee beasties survive in the wild due to pressures from habitat loss and hunting.

tea_and_biology on August 30th, 2017 at 09:33 UTC »

There are two species of hippopotamus - the common hippo (Hippopotamus amphibius) and the pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis). The latter, unlike their chubby sociopath cousins who's heads can be described to be swimming in blood lust (i.e. one of the most dangerous animals in Africa), are non-aggressive and rarely fight when meeting conspecifics, opting instead to simply ignore one another (source).

They're just adorable tubby lumps, around about knee-height (adult for scale), who, from experience, are usually just begging for a scratch under the chin.

Unfortunately you’d be lucky to give the wee chap a tickle in the wild - not only because they're very rare, listed as Endangered by the IUCN, but they're very shy. Few people see them in the remote, dense rainforests whence they hail in West Africa.

They have few natural predators; leopards have been known to take calves and, though not observed, their range overlaps with that of the nile crocodile which may also hunt them - otherwise they live rather peaceful lives. At least that was until we arrived on the scene.

Humans often hunt them for bush meat, particularly in logged areas where they're more accessible. Combined with broader habitat loss and fragmentation, and an ongoing decline in their population, the future doesn't look too rosy for these tubby balls in the wild. They tolerate captivity well however, and with a successful international captive breeding program there's still lots of hope for their future!

EDIT: While I'm here, how 'bout my favourite hippo fact?

If ever you get up close to a hippo, big or small, it can often look like they're drenched in blood. Evidence of violent moonlit soirées or a nasty run-in with a lion, perhaps?

The truth is less scary but still fascinating; hippo sweat is bright red. Hippos produce two bright red compounds called hipposudoric acid and norhipposudoric acid that act as sunscreen and help fight off microbial infection (which you kinda' want if you sit in dirty water all day exposed to the sun). It's also mixed in with their white milk to give their babies an early immune boost, hence why their milk is a vivid pink colour. I suspect it doesn't taste like strawberries though!

EDIT #2: Oh, shoot. Scratch that last bit!

hawaiian_feeling on August 30th, 2017 at 10:54 UTC »

Mate, that's a weird cat.

raptorscallion on August 30th, 2017 at 11:16 UTC »

I never knew house hippos could be found in the wild.