Pygmy hippopotamus was born in our Zoo
Pygmy Hippopotamus ( Choeropsis liberiensis ) was born in our Zoo. The little cub, got stronger , and from today it was able to take possessions of the demonstrations of the Tarzan trail run off system, where our visitors can already see the long awaited reproduction.
The pygmy hippopotamus, with its very rare thick-skinned Nile relative on the brink of extinction, five times larger, is only native to a very small area. Only two thousand individuals live in it in the tropical rainforests of West Africa. Its population is mainly affected by deforestation, habitat loss and hunting, so it is very important that they reproduce under closed conditions in a coordinated breeding program.
The breeding couple living in the Nyíregyháza Zoo since 2009, Broutille (23) from France and the male Hamlet (15) came to the SóstóZoo from Denmark under the European Endangered Species Programme. ( EEP) .
The pygmy hippopotamus couple is very succesful , as their offsprings are born for the fourth time, the calves born in 2011, 2015 and 2017 already live in another zoo.
Broutille, the mother animal, is also very careful in this case, breastfeeding the baby born after 190 days, and feed 4x-5x a day, who has already started consuming solid foods made up of hay, vegetables and fruits.
The newest calf in our park was born on Gerzson’s Day, so his caregivers gave him that name. He was 6kg at birth, then 13kg at 2 weeks, and has been growing at a rapid rate ever since, at about the body weight of the currently 7-week-old animal, which can weigh up to 250-300 kg at puberty, increases by a quarter of a kilogram.
While its cousin, the Nile hippopotamus, has been known since ancient times, the pygmy hippopotamus is one of the largest mammal species discovered in the late 19th century. This is because he lives in the depths of the rainforests of West Africa, a shy animal with a hidden lifestyle and not visited by white man. Not only her physique but also her social behavior and lifestyle is different from that of a large-bodied relative. The dwarf hippopotamus lives a solitary life and prefers to stay on land, not fleeing into the water in the event of danger, but into the dense bush.
The birth of an animal is a specialty, as only 14 individuals have been born in zoos around the world in the last 12 months, and male offspring are much less likely to be born than females.
Photo: MTI Balázs Attila
