info The following exhibits & facilities will be closed due to upgrading works:

1. Puma (1 Jan 2019 till further notice)
2. Hamadryas Baboon (21 Feb - 1 Mar 2019)
3. White Tiger (6 Mar - 3 May 2019)

info Due to Safari Zoo Run 2019 on 24 Feb 2019, regular operations for Singapore Zoo will be affected. Tram service will be suspended, and only resume at 1.30pm. Large crowds will be expected.

The Outdoor Carpark will be closed for the event, thus parking is limited. Please be advised to take public transport.

info The Wet Play Area at Rainforest Kidzworld will be closed from 4pm onwards on 19 Feb 2019 for upgrading works.

info Zoo Tram Service will be suspended from 4 Mar till 5 Mar 2019 due to upgrading works.

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Pygmy Hippo

Australasia
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Quick facts

Lifespan

Lifespan

Up to 43 years

under human care

fruits

Diet

Grasses, herbs,

leaves, roots, ferns and fallen fruit

Habitat

Habitat

Near rivers

and streams in lowland forests

range

Range

Endemic to the

Upper Guinea Forest of West Africa

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Get to know our Pygmy Hippos

Feeding quirks

Feeding quirks

To strip a tree of its young shoots, wild pygmy hippos would start at a twig’s base and pull it through the mouth like a leafy kebab, shaking the head throughout. They’d also stand on their hind legs to feed on ferns growing within palms. In Liberia, they are known to be partial to a small, vine-like herb known as ‘Deewinkon’. Sweet potato leaves, okra, cassava and rice seedlings from farms at the forest edge are eaten. In Sierra Leone, they also take fish from traps.

The dung trail

The dung trail

As an adaptation to their highly-fibrous diet, pygmy hippos have a four-chambered stomach with the first three responsible for microbial breakdown of plant matter. Both males and females use their dung to mark out their territory. Their droppings are scattered through vigorous wagging of their tail during defecation or heaped alongside forest trails. They follow these well-defined trails or tunnel-like paths through the forest and swamp vegetation.
Pink sunscreen

Pink sunscreen

Pygmy hippos have greyish-black skin, which is smooth and thin to help them stay cool in the humid rainforest. But this also means they dehydrate quickly in the sun. On hot days, they survive the heat by staying in the water. They have no sweat glands but their skin secretes a pink fluid that looks like beads of sweat. This mucous fluid is sometimes called “blood sweat” because of its colour. Itt works like built-in sunscreen to protect their sensitive skin, giving them a shiny, wet, appearance.

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Healthy hippos

Healthy hippos

To maintain a healthy population of pygmy hippos under human care, there is a need to enhance and diversify their gene pool, so as to ensure healthy and viable offspring are produced. To date, we have sent a total of 24 pymgy hippos to zoos around the world to participate in global breeding programmes.

The IUCN Status

LC Least Concern
NT
VU
EN Endangered
CR
EW
EX Extinct
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species.

LC

Least Concern

At relatively low risk of extinction

NT

Near Threatened

Likely to become vulnerable in the near future

VU

Vulnerable

At high risk of extinction in the wild

EN

Endangered

At very high risk of extinction in the wild

CR

Critically Endangered

At extremely high risk of extinction in the wild

EW

Extinct in the Wild

Survives only in captivity

EX

Extinct

No surviving individuals in the wild or in captivity

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