Pygmy Hippos

In October 2025 we welcomed the infamous Haggis the pygmy hippo to Wingham Wildlife Park. As she is currently off show on the new side of the park, I thought I’d give you all an update on how she is getting on.

Now first I want to give some of you a bit of background information for those of you who might not be familiar with pygmy hippos. When people think of hippos, they usually imagine enormous animals lounging in African rivers. But there’s a much rarer and more secretive relative, the pygmy hippopotamus. The pygmy hippo (Choeropsis liberiensis) is a smaller cousin of the common hippopotamus. They are native to the dense forests and swamps of West Africa, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and Ivory Coast and are now locally extinct from Nigeria. Pygmy hippos are perfectly adapted to a quieter, more hidden lifestyle. Pygmy hippos are much more compact than the commons, typically weighing between 180–275 kg. They have slimmer bodies, longer legs and spend more time on land. Pygmy hippos are naturally solitary animals. In the wild, they spend their days resting in water or dense vegetation to stay cool, emerging mostly at night to feed on leaves, fruits and grasses.

Why Pygmy Hippos Need our Help?

Pygmy hippos are classified as endangered, with fewer than 3,000 individuals believed to remain in the wild. Their biggest threats include:

Habitat loss due to deforestation

Hunting for bushmeat

Human-wildlife conflict

Being part of the EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) means that one day we hope to get Haggis a male partner in order for them to reproduce and play a very important part in the conservation of their species. Although, pygmy hippos don’t reach maturity until about 3 years of age so we will have a few years to go.

Haggis was born 30^th October 2024 at Edinburgh Zoo, hence the Scottish themed name. Now Haggis has been at the park for nearly 3 months! And in this time, we have watched her grow in confidence and she even shared her 1^st birthday with us. We have watched her become very brave when exploring her new enclosure and have discovered that she loves food, especially peanuts. Everyday the keepers dedicate large amounts of their time with her making sure she has the best care possible and getting to know that sassy personality that everyone loves.

Her enclosure is currently off show to our guests due to the large expansion process we are going through but keep your eyes on our social media as we love sharing updates with you about how she is getting on.

By Meghan, Deputy Head of Mammals