Bristol Zoo's incredibly cute baby pygmy hippo has tragically died

The baby hippo fell ill and died this week at only five weeks old

By Helena Horton

3:49PM GMT 04 Dec 2015

We all ahh-ed at the pictures of Bristol Zoo's adorable new baby hippowhen it was photographed two weeks ago.

Which is why it is absolutely gutting to hear that the little creature has died.

The five-week-old calf fell ill on Wednesday night and despite treatment from vets died on Thursday, keepers said.

Only two weeks ago the calf, which had not been named, had been photographed swimming around the zoo's pygmy hippo exhibit, along with mother Sirana and father Nato.

A zoo spokeswoman said: "It is with great sadness that we announce the loss of our baby pygmy hippo.

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Sweden: Pygmy hippopotamus born in Parken Zoo

A Swedish zoo has published pictures of its latest addition - a rare baby pygmy hippo that staff have already dubbed "Michelin Man" because of her appearance.

Olivia only weighed 6kg (13lb) when she was born a month ago in Parken Zoo, Eskilstuna, to female Krakunia and male Anton, the Aftonbladet newspaper reports. "She is the cutest little fatty you can imagine," Jennie Westander, a zoologist at Parken zoo, tells the paper. Olivia was born under an international breeding programme, and after spending two years with her mother, will be sent off to another zoo in Europe.

Pygmy hippos - an endangered species native to West Africa - look like the more well-known hippopotamus amphibius, but common hippos are about twice the size and weigh four times as much as most of their pygmy relatives. There are fewer than 3,000 of the mammals thought to be remaining in the wild.

Read on ...

Pygmy hippo shot in NT

A PYGMY hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Territory.

The hippo is normally native to the swamps of west Africa, in particular Liberia.

Instead, this one - estimated to be about 250kg - was shot while roaming the bush of the Douglas Daly, 200km south of Darwin.

This is about 16,000km away from Liberia.

It is believed the female hippo is an old escapee from Tipperary Station, from when it used to be an exotic animal reserve.

This means it has been poking about the Douglas Daly for the past five years.

Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlighting for pigs with his mate Rusty on a station in the Douglas Daly district on Saturday night.

"It was about 1am and running away from us - from the tail end it just looked like a big pig," the station worker said.

"We got out, had a look at it, and thought 'that's not a pig, it's a hippo'.

"Then we thought 'you don't get hippos in Australia'."

The pair thought it might be a baby hippo - and then naturally started wondering, as they stood in the middle of dark scrub, "where the hell" its mum and dad might be.

Continued:  http://www.ntnews.com.au/article/2009/11/16/101241_ntnews.html

Pygmy hippo caught on camera in Liberia

Scientists have caught a rare glimpse of the elusive pygmy hippo in Liberia.

The team from Fauna and Flora International, the Zoological Society of London and the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia has been using camera traps to study the endangered animal.

Approximately 2,000 pygmy hippos are thought to be left in the wild, and they are found in the Upper Guinea forest, which extends through the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Little is known about these nocturnal animals, and the researchers are hoping to learn more about the hippos so they can develop a conservation action plan.

See video here ...