EDGE of existence: securing a future for the endangered Pygmy Hippo
Image credit: ZSL
Project

Securing a Future for the Endangered Pygmy Hippo

Duration
2010 - 2011
Location
Sierra Leone
Species protected
Pygmy Hippopotamus Choeropsis liberiensis

Project objectives

In August 2011, a new population of Pygmy Hippos was discovered at the foot of Loma Mountain, northern Sierra Leone and may be the most significant population in Sierra Leone, outside the Gola Forests.
Several former hunters from the local village have been hired to work on the project, providing them with an alternative income to hunting. Community engagement and awareness is ongoing and camera traps and other survey techniques are now being used to determine the size and full extent of this population.

Threats

Habitat loss & degradation

Poaching

One community around Loma Mountain has pledged to stop hunting the Pygmy Hippo and not to hunt any species in areas where Pygmy Hippos are most common.

A Pygmy Hippo conservation road map has been laid out to safeguard the species led by IUCN’s Hippo Specialist Group and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). This is supported by government agencies and universities in West Africa as well as local and international NGOs.

This project is implemented by the Zoological Society of London.