Just under two weeks ago, a baby pygmy hippopotamus ( Choeropsis liberiensis ) was born at Colchester Zoo (UK). Her mother, Venus, gave birth to a beautiful little calf on May 9, after a normal six-month pregnancy. Since his arrival, the little hippo has been “happily running after Mom”, while his father, Freddie, is in a separate enclosure, just like in the wild.
The calf, which has no name yet, was conceived naturally, which is excellent news for this species that is classified as endangered according to the IUCN Red List . With around 2,000 individuals in just four West African countries, the greatest threat to pygmy hippos comes from deforestation. Fragmented forest isolates populations and increases the susceptibility of smaller groups to local extinction.
The new member of the group weighs only 6 kilos and will grow only one-tenth the size of its cousin, the common hippopotamus, which on average weighs up to 3,000 kilograms.
Pygmy hippos are also slightly less aquatic than their cousins, their legs are less webbed and their legs are longer.
Mother and calf live separately from the father. At the zoo, they only take Freddie to Venus during the breeding season.
This little guy isn’t the only newcomer to the zoo during the confinement. Five cheetah cubs were born to Sia on April 15, although sadly one of them passed away. Even the lack of viewers during the global shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic led to two giant pandas finally mating after 10 years of trying.
The cycle of life continues.
