The following Park Experiences are temporarily suspended due to safe distancing measures: Elephant Presentation | Keepers' Chit Chat
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The Wet Play Area at KidzWorld is temporarily closed due to safe distancing measures. Pony rides, Falabella grooming and Rabbit petting at Buddy Barn at KidzWorld are temporarily suspended due to safe distancing measures.
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Our shows are operating at limited capacity as part of the necessary Safe Management Measures. We seek your understanding that once full, we will be unable to accept more guests.
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The following exhibit will be closed due to upgrading works: Frozen Tundra (Until further notice) | White Tiger (10 Mar 21 from 1pm onwards)
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There will be a Bi-Annual Emergency Drill on 8 - 9 Mar 21. The following park experiences will operate from 10.30am onwards: Rainforest Kidzworld | Wild Animal Carousel | Tram Services
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You can now book seats for animal shows! Booking portal opens 90 minutes before show time, and can only be accessed onsite. Find out more
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
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
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. It works like built-in sunscreen to protect their sensitive skin, giving them a shiny, wet, appearance.
Together, we protect wildlife
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 more than 24 pygmy hippos to zoos around the world to participate in global breeding programmes.
The IUCN Status
EN
Endangered
At very high risk of extinction in the wild
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.
DD
Data Deficient
Unknown risk of extinction
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