The shrinking habitat of the world's most famous hippopotamus

The famous Moo Deng has attracted a lot of attention. But in the wild their species is quietly disappearing.

But Moo Deng is a member of an endangered and elusive species, Choeropsis liberiensiswhich is native to West Africa. And as their fame grows, their wild relatives are becoming increasingly rare in their shrinking habitat.

In their natural habitat, pygmy hippos live inland in forested areas along rivers, streams and swamps so they can keep their skin moist. They mainly eat Grasses, leaves, shoots and fruitsfeeds on vegetation at night and at dusk and dawn.

These charismatic animals have been around for a long time Culture and folklore of West Africa. According to a Liberian legendThe animals find their way through the forest at night, carrying diamonds in their mouths to light their way. And a story in Ivory Coast says that anyone who sees a pygmy hippopotamus's tail and laughs will go crazy.

But despite their place in local culture, pygmy hippos remain enigmatic and have not been studied as extensively as their larger relatives. They are mainly nocturnal, secretive and relatively lonelyand it is difficult to conduct research in West African forests.

Because of their secretive nature, experts have only been able to learn much about pygmy hippos through camera traps, tracking with footprints and other signs, dung sampling and modeling to estimate their numbers and explore their movements. Pygmy hippos kept in captivity as part of captive breeding programs have also improved scientific understanding of these mammals. The nonprofit Fauna & Flora International and the Forest Development Authority of Liberia have even used environmental DNA (eDNA) technology to search for evidence of the living creatures in the river systems of southeastern Liberia – a technique that involves analyzing DNA found in their habitat.

Although the pygmy hippopotamus has been considered a protected species for decades, Bogui Elie Bandama, a researcher at the Swiss Center for Scientific Research in Ivory Coast, says research efforts increased after 2010 as pressure on its habitat increased significantly.

Large areas of native forest, particularly in Ivory Coast, have been destroyed or degraded. For example, tracts of land were cleared to establish commercial plantations Oil palm, cocoa and rubber. Pressure on wood is another threat. Liberian forests have been cut down on a large scale and the country is struggling to maintain control over illegal logging. Locals throughout the region also cut down trees for firewood.

But according to Bogui, a growing threat comes from illegal mineral extraction. Taï National Park is used to search for gold, which is deposited in rivers and streams.

The extent of this deforestation and the degradation of their forest habitat make it very difficult for pygmy hippos to survive in the wild, says Gabriella Flacke, a pygmy hippopotamus veterinary consultant Species Survival Plan and part of the IUCN Hippopotamus Specialist Group. She explains that the species already had a naturally limited range, making it particularly vulnerable to such losses. “You can’t go anywhere else,” Flacke said. “Their home ranges are becoming smaller and smaller, and there is simply less and less space for their natural behavior, reproduction and the ecosystem needs available to them.”

Pygmy hippos are not only threatened by their shrinking habitat hunted for their meat.

However, efforts to better understand and protect this endangered species continue.

Pygmy hippos are protected by law in all four West African countries within their range, although the level of enforcement varies. “Ivory Coast is probably best equipped for this,” says Flacke. “Compared to Liberia and Sierra Leone, the country is politically very stable and has more resources and better infrastructure.”

Bogui conducts research in Taï National Park the largest protected primary rainforest in West Africa and is on the UNESCO World Heritage List. “This park offers the pygmy hippopotamus a suitable habitat, with food and, above all, protection – even if this is not 100% guaranteed,” he says. He estimates there are currently between 800 and 1,000 individuals there.

Bogui says the Ivory Coast government has undertaken some conservation efforts, such as planting more trees and improving the law protecting pygmy hippos.

Neus Estela, West Africa technical specialist at Fauna & Flora, says a central goal of his conservation strategy is to connect all remaining populations of the pygmy hippopotamus. To achieve this, the company collaborated on a landscape-level assessment to identify potential conservation corridors in southeastern Liberia.

Poverty And corruption Significant obstacles remain to dealing with habitat loss for these and other endangered species.

One solution that Fauna & Flora is working on with the government and communities in Liberia is to establish a project REDD+ forest protection program supported by the United Nations to help address the causes of deforestation and degradation while supporting local people's livelihoods and respecting land rights.

Flacke would like to see more conservation efforts that involve local communities in West Africa. “Local interest is great. They know that the pygmy hippopotamus is an iconic species, perhaps a keystone species for the ecosystem. But the reality of conservation is that if there is no infrastructure and resources to support it, people will go away to fight, no matter how enthusiastic or committed they are,” she says.

To attempt to address this issue, a Pilot project Sponsored by Basel Zoo encourages unemployed young people living near the Gola forests in Sierra Leone and Liberia to become ambassadors for this endangered species. The Pygmy Hippo Foundation also trains local forest rangers in Sapo National Park Monitoring and protecting pygmy hippopotamus populations.

Despite years of study, both in captivity and in the wild, there are still unknowns about how pygmy hippos live. For example, Flacke hopes to learn more about the size of their natural habitat and whether they behave the same way in the wild as they do in captivity, she says.

The pygmy hippopotamus is also likely to play an important role in its local ecosystem. Researchers speculate that pygmy hippos could help in a similar way to the hippopotamus Distribute seeds and recycle nutrients by spreading manure and perhaps even by designing river banks.

The ZSL identified pygmy hippos as a conservation priority in 2007 Edge of Existence Programbut told BBC Future that no significant work is being carried out on the species anymore.

About 450 pygmy hippos live in captivity worldwide, says Flacke. But they can attract extreme attention This can be stressful or even harmful for such a shy creature. In recent weeks, Moo Deng has been harassed by some visitors, leading to security breaches around their enclosure multiplied. Bogui points out that while zoos are one way to protect endangered species, it is much better to keep their native habitat intact.

An updated IUCN assessment for pygmy hippos is due next year and Flacke expects numbers to decline again. “They are still out there, we know that. But there are definitely populations where they haven't been seen in 20 years, and there are no footprints, no feces, no teeth marks. Where are they going? Well, they do “go away,” she says.

As Moo Deng wins hearts around the world, thousands like her are struggling.

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