December 28, 2011

Pygmy Hippo at Night

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Video of the Week #23, December 28th, 2011

From:Caught on Video: Endangered Pygmy Hippo Seen Slipping through Nighttime Liberia by John R. Platt at Extinction Countdown.

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Original source: Forestry Development Authority of Liberia, Fauna and Flora International, and the Zoological Society of London(ZSL) on YouTube

Footage of the elusive pygmy hippo in its native habitat is very rarely captured. This week s video provides some brief glimpses of a specimen as it darts between the underbrush in Liberia s Sapo National Park. The video was shot using camera traps set by the Forestry Development Authority of Liberia, Fauna and Flora International and the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Very little is known about the demographics and behavior of the pygmy hippos in the wild, and conservationists fear that populations may become extinct due to overhunting and habitat destruction. The efforts of the ZSL aim to fund local research projects in Liberia in order to better understand the ecological requirements of these elusive creatures.

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