A little male pygmy hippo, born in December, has entered a new world after it was moved from its night quarters into its permanent outdoor home at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, in Pretoria, on Wednesday.
“It all went well this afternoon. The youngster was reluctant to make his appearance and was eventually helped out by the veterinarian. Both the mother and the baby are doing well,” NZG spokesperson Craig Allenby told reporters who had gathered at the animal sanctuary.
He said the little hippo and the cow would be kept in a separate area from the bull until the “youngster and its dad get used to one another”.
When it was moved into the new enclosure, the calf – which has not yet been named – kept constantly close to his mother’s side but appeared to be totally at ease.
“The long term plan with the youngster is to exchange him with an international zoo. It is important for the breeding programme to ensure the genetic diversity of the population,” said Allenby.
“He [the calf] will be exchanged for another pygmy hippo and thereby ensure the future of the National Zoo’s breeding programme.”
Tracy Rehse, manager for animal collection at the NZG, said the hippos, being solitary animals, were kept in separate enclosures at the zoo – except when they needed to mate.
“They are solitary animals and that is how we manage them here as well. The mom and dad are kept separately, but only put together when we want them to breed. The gestation period is about eight months. The babies [calves] are weaned after about a year,” said Rehse.
“The hippos become sexually mature at about three years. This little baby here will stay with his mom for at least two years before we decide if he needs to move out.”
She said the NZG currently had nine pygmy hippos and they were at different facilities across South Africa.
“This little male will probably go to a zoo overseas and be part of a breeding programme. Currently the programme has a heavy security towards females – with 60 percent of the population being females. The male born here, and another male born at another facility in January, are very important to the actual global programme,” said Rehse.
The pygmy hippo is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. This status was changed from vulnerable in 1986 to endangered in 2006. It is estimated that there are approximately 2,000 pygmy hippos left in the wild, but this number is not substantiated by conservationists.
Pygmy hippos are naturally found in West Africa, mainly confined to Liberia, with small numbers in the neighboring countries of Sierra Leone, Guinea and the Ivory Coast. They prefer dense, swampy forests near rivers, streams and creeks. They are herbivores and feed on various vegetation, including succulents, tender shoots, leaves, roots, grasses, and fallen fruit. Unlike Nile hippopotamus, pygmy hippos also feed on aquatic plants.
A newborn pygmy calf weighs 4.5 to 6.4 kilogrammes. The NZG calf now weighs between seven and eight kilogrammes.
– African News Agency (ANA)
