Editing Pygmy hippopotamus (section)

{{Short description|Small species of hippopotamus}}
{{pp-move-indef}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Pygmy hippopotamus
| image = Hexaprotodon liberiensis in Edinburgh Zoo.JPG
| image_caption = A pygmy hippopotamus at [[Edinburgh Zoo]]
| status = EN
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=Redlist>{{cite iucn |author=Ransom, C. |author2=Robinson, P.T. |author3=Collen, B. |year=2015 |title=''Choeropsis liberiensis'' |volume=2015 |page=e.T10032A18567171 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-2.RLTS.T10032A18567171.en |access-date=27 August 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| display_parents = 2
| genus = Choeropsis
| parent_authority = [[Joseph Leidy|Leidy]], 1853
| species = liberiensis
| authority = ([[Samuel George Morton|Morton]], 1849)<ref name=ASM/>
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = *''C. l. liberiensis'' <small></small>
*''C. l. heslopi'' <small></small>
| range_map = Pygmy hippopotamus range updated.svg
| range_map_caption = Range map<ref name="Redlist"/>
| synonyms = *''Hexaprotodon liberiensis'' <small></small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name=Redlist/>
}}The '''pygmy hippopotamus''' or '''pygmy hippo''' ('''''Choeropsis liberiensis''''') is a small [[Hippopotamidae|hippopotamid]] which is native to the forests and swamps of [[West Africa]], primarily in [[Liberia]], with small populations in [[Sierra Leone]], [[Guinea]], and [[Ivory Coast]]. It has been [[extirpated]] from [[Nigeria]].<ref name=Redlist/>

The pygmy hippopotamus is reclusive and [[nocturnal]]. It is one of only two extant species in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Hippopotamidae]], the other being its much larger relative, the common [[hippopotamus]] (''Hippopotamus amphibius'') or Nile hippopotamus. The pygmy hippopotamus displays many terrestrial [[adaptation]]s, but like the common hippopotamus, it is semiaquatic and relies on water to keep its skin moist and its body temperature cool. Behaviors such as mating and giving birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy hippopotamus is herbivorous, feeding on ferns, [[dicotyledons|broad-leaved plants]], [[grass]]es, and [[fruit]]s it finds in the forests.

A rare [[nocturnal]] forest creature, the pygmy hippopotamus is a difficult animal to study in the wild.
Pygmy hippos were unknown outside West Africa until the 19th century. Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens.<ref name="Stroman 1972">{{cite journal|last1=Stroman|first1=H. R.|last2=Slaughter|first2=L. M.|title=The care and breeding of the Pygmy hippopotamus (''Choeropsis liberiensis'') in captivity|journal=International Zoo Yearbook|date=January 1972|volume=12|issue=1|pages=126–131|doi=10.1111/j.1748-1090.1972.tb02296.x}}</ref> The survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild; in a 2015 assessment, the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] estimated that fewer than 2,500 pygmy hippos remain in the wild.<ref name=Redlist/>

Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by [[loss of habitat]], as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to [[poaching]], hunting for [[bushmeat]], natural predators, and war. Pygmy hippos are among the species [[Environmental issues in Liberia|illegally hunted for food in Liberia]].