Moo Deng– a squishy, glossy, purple-pink pygmy hippo born this summer season at a zoo in Thailand, and whose name indicates “bouncing pig”– has actually taken the web by storm.
Which might have folks questioning, what is a pygmy hippo, anyhow?
The pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensisis among 2 living hippo types. The other is more widely known, which is shown in its name, the typical hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius.
While these animals have comparable shapes and colors, put these hippo types side-by-side, and you ‘d rapidly recognize simply how various they are.
“Size is the primary distinction,” states Karen Vacco, assistant mammal manager at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium, which likewise houses a pygmy hippo. “The pygmy hippo is 10 times smaller sized than a typical hippo.”
As grownups, pygmy hippos can weigh as much as 600 pounds, which might seem like a lot, till you discover that their cousins, the typical hippos, often weigh approximately 4.5 loads, which is 9,000 pounds.
Researchers have actually examined precisely what sets these 2 types apart– even making some appealing evolutionary discoveries.
Resemblances and distinctions
The size of both hippos and pygmy hippos is rather excellent when you think about that each types is mainly herbivorous. In the wild, pygmy hippos consume primarily lawns and marine plants, states Vacco. Moo Deng and other pygmy hippos that live in zoos consume primarily greens, veggies, and what’s understood as “herbivore biscuits,” which supply additional nutrients.
A two-month-old female pygmy hippo called Moo Deng consumes with her mom Jona at Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Thailand. Social network is consumed with Moo Deng in part since of her small size compared to the typical hippo. Pygmy hippos can still weigh up to 600 pounds.
Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters/Redux
Geographical variety is another huge distinction amongst the hippo types. Typical hippos can be discovered throughout main and southern Africa, consisting of a little sliver of area that follows the Nile River north to the Mediterranean.
Pygmy hippos are native to the forests and swamps of West Africa, where they live primarily singular lives– which Vacco states is another divergence from typical hippos that live in herds of around 40 people or as numerous 200.
Something both types share, and something you should look out for when visiting them at the zoo or on safari? The splash zone.
“Hippos spray their feces like a sprinkler by wagging their tail backward and forward,” states Vacco.
Advancement of the hippo ancestral tree
Researchers wondered about how carefully the associated the types are, too, so in 2023, they chose to utilize molecular information to examine the only 2 living members of the hippo ancestral tree. And what they discovered was rather unexpected.
“Our research study discovered that they divided around 4 million years earlier, which is more just recently than formerly believed,” states Jan Janecka,