The John Ball Zoo in the United States has officially named a baby pygmy hippopotamus 'Hugo'. The zoo is located in Michigan and is named after John Ball, who donated 40 acres of his land to build a public park that was later developed as a zoo. ‘Hugo’ made history on September 3 by becoming the first pygmy hippo to be born at the zoo. Let us take a closer look at what pygmy hippos are. 📌 Hippos are mostly found in East Africa, while pygmy hippos (Choreopsis liberiensis) are found in West Africa. These animals can be mostly found in Liberia, with smaller populations in Guinea. 📌 Baby pygmy hippos weigh around 550 pounds, the same as domestic pigs and lions. 📌 These species require healthy forests and freshwater to survive. Fewer than 2,500 pygmy hippos are thought to exist in the world. 📌 These are solitary and secretive creatures roaming around in the wild. 📌 They intimidate their potential predators or enemies by opening jaws and baring their canine teeth. 📌 They are a stout animal with a relatively small and rounded head and thick blackish skin. Just like the larger Nile Hippo, they excrete large reddish droplets that soften and protect their skin. 📌 Pygmy hippos have four stomach chambers and spend a lot of time filling them — as much as 6 hours per day. They are herbivores feeding on grasses, roots, stems and leaves of young roots and trees and other vegetation. (With inputs from World Wide Fund & Zoo New England)
