The endangered pygmy hippopotamus, a classic animal of cryptozoological discovery, has been snapped on camera. The pygmy hippo is rarely seen in the wild but was photographed in west Africa, in Liberia’s national park. It may signal a higher secretive population in its range than previously thought.

The pygmy hippo (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) is classified on the IUCN Red List as endangered with its rapid decline put down to habitat degradation and bushmeat
hunting.

There are only 3000 pygmy hippopotamus left in the wild in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. This may be an over-estimate and there are severe concerns about their survival due to poaching threats.

The camera traps set up by “ZSL” team captured the rare pygmy hippo on film within just three days of an attempt in Liberia.

The cameras will stay in place monitoring in order to produce precise population estimation and a protection plan.

The researchers were delighted to find out that a population still persists there, but stay extremely concerned for the species, which continues to face major threats from poaching and habitat deprivation.

The pygmy hippo is an extraordinary, mysterious creature that has almost never been seen in the wild. The ZSL’s EDGE programme identified it as a species in need of urgent conservation attention and so we set out to previously war-torn Liberia, one of the species’ last refuges, to search for survivors.

We were delighted to discover that a population still persists there, but remain highly concerned for the species, which continues to face significant threats from poaching and habitat degradation.

Following two devastating civil wars, scientifically driven conservation action is essential to the continued survival of this highly threatened species. Dr. Ben Collen, leader of the Flora and Fauna International (FFI) and Liberia’s Forestry Development Agency (FDA) team.