412 



SWINE GROUP 



THE PIGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS 



( Hippopotaimis liberieiisis) 



Mali, Vey 



(Plate i, fig. 4) 



Of the pigmy or Liberian hippopotamus, which appears to be 

 confined to the west coast, a very brief notice will suffice. From its 

 gigantic relative it is distinguished, in the first place, by its compara- 

 tively small size (total length about 6^ feet), and secondly by the 

 general presence of only a single pair of lower incisor teeth. In build 

 the creature is stout and " podgy " ; while in colour it is stated to be 

 greenish blue-black above, and greenish or yellowish grey beneath. 



According to the accounts of the few Europeans by whom it has 

 been seen alive in its native haunts, the pigmy hippopotamus has more 

 the habits of a pig than of a typical hippopotamus. In place of 

 frequenting rivers in herds, it associates only in pairs, and spends most 

 of its time on land in the forests, seldom entering the water except for 

 the purpose of bathing or when about to cross a river. Each pair is 

 stated to wander over a large tract of territory, where no others of the 

 species appear to intrude ; a circumstance which, if true, indicates the 

 rarity of the creature. 



In habits the pigmy hippopotamus, like its monster cousin, is 

 purely nocturnal, sleeping so heavily during the day that it may be 

 approached with comparative ease, and at night wandering about the 

 forests and marshes in search of the young shoots, fruits, and grass 

 which form its nutriment. Its foot-marks are broad and deep, 

 recalling those of a young elephant ; and in soft muddy ground an 

 additional trail is made by the body touching the ground. The flesh 

 is stated to be very similar in character to that of wild swine. 



The following are the dimensions of a pigmy hippopotamus shot 

 by Captain Murray near Salon on the Mauwa river about two miles 

 from the Liberian frontier, on January 22, 1908 : — - 



