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Where Do Hippos Live? 
Hippos
can
be found in the wild on the continent of Africa. They may be
found in
swampy areas, lakes, rivers, and streams. There are two
species of
hippo, the Large Hippo and the Pygmy Hippo.
The first species of hippo is the Large Hippo or Common Hippo (Hippopotamus
amphibius), which is found in East Africa, south of the
Sahara. The
large hippo is now extinct north of Khartoum and south of the Zambezi
river,
except in a few protected areas such as the Kruger National Park.
The
large hippo is a gregarious, group-living mammal, and it is so numerous
in some
areas where it is still found that "cropping" schemes are used to
control populations that have become larger than the habitat can
sustain.
The second species of hippo is the Pygmy Hippo (Choeropsis
liberiensis),
which may now only be found in the wild in very restricted ranges in
West
Africa. The Pygmy Hippo now only lives in forest stream areas in
Liberia,
Guinea, Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone, and possibly part of southern
Nigeria
(though it may be extinct there). The numbers of pygmy hippos are
unknown, but they probably total a few thousand at the most. It
is
described as "vulnerable" amongst the threatened animals of the
world. Although numbers have probably declined recently, there is
not, as
yet, enough evidence to classify the Pygmy Hippo as
"endangered." The Pygmy Hippo is a solitary forest dweller and
considered to be shy compared to its Large Hippo brother.
Did You Know?
> The common hippopotamus is the
second largest living land animal, rivalled only by the great Indian
rhinoceros (the elephant is the largest).
Much of
the information provided on this page may be found
on the
following websites. Please visit them to learn more about hippos
and to
learn what you may be able to do to help preserve the precious hippo
populations that remain.
National
Geographic (specifically the
facts page provided by "Young Peoples Trust for the Environment")
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