A rare pygmy hippopotamus calf is making its debut at a zoo in the Czech town of Dvur Králové nad Labem. The baby is already one and a half months old. Now he is getting acquainted with the open enclosure. The cub was named Mykolas, and his mother is called Malaya.
Pygmy hippos are native to Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast. Like their larger relatives, they lead a semi-aquatic lifestyle. At the same time, pygmy hippos do not gather in herds, but stay alone, or less often in pairs. When meeting each other they do not show aggression.
These mammals grow up to 83 centimeters at the shoulder and weigh between 180 and 275 kilograms. They breed in zoos at any time of the year.
There are no more than a thousand of these herbivores left in the wild. They are threatened by poaching and deforestation. Due to civil wars, it is impossible to protect and study pygmy hippos.
This zoo in the Czech Republic is one of the largest in Europe. He is known for his large-scale projects for the breeding and conservation of rare species of African fauna.
