Adorable and rare pygmy hippo moves to London Zoo as part of conservation breeding programme

  • Amara, the new pygmy hippo, has now arrived at her new home at ZSL London Zoo with her new hippo husband Thug

A new pygmy hippo has been welcomed into London Zoo as part of a conservation breeding programme.

The adorable pygmy hippo called Amara has now arrived at her new home at London Zoo, where she was enthusiastically welcomed by her new hippo-husband Thug.

The two-year-old female hippo travelled 400 miles from Edinburgh Zoo to the central London zoo on Thursday, February 9, after being matched up with Thug through the European Breeding Programme (EEP) for the Endangered species.

Pygmy hippo keeper Poppy Jewell said: “Amara was really chilled when she arrived – she happily trotted straight out of her cosy travel crate and into her new home where she enjoyed a tasty snack of kale and cabbage before settling down for a snooze.”

Amara is a two-year-old pygmy hippo Credit: London Zoo

There are only 2,500 pygmy hippos estimated to be left in the wild.

In a bid to protect the species, ZSL, the science-driven conservation charity behind London Zoo, is taking steps to stop threats posed to them, particularly threatened by hunting, logging and mining.

ZSL is undertaking work with local communities and wildlife authorities in Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as this vital conservation breeding programme to help keep the species thriving.

Pygmy hippos, positioned at No.33 on ZSL’s EDGE of Existence (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) mammals list - which ranks threatened species according to their evolutionary distinctiveness to prioritise them for conservation action - represent an important and unique branch of the evolutionary tree, as there is no other species like them on earth.

There are an estimated 2,500 pygmy hippos left in the wild Credit: London Zoo

Amara, who weighs 200kg, and 26-year-old Thug, who tips the scales at 280kg, hit it off straight away when they were introduced in the pair’s hippo hot tub - a warm soothing spa for the duo to wallow in as the species does in the wild.

Ms Jewell said: "Unsurprisingly, Thug - whose name is a purposefully ironic one as he is actually a gentle giant - was really excited about having a new lady in his hippo hot tub, while Amara was cool, calm and collected; she's definitely going to have the upper hoof in the relationship.

"All the signs we’ve seen so far have been really encouraging and in a few years’ time, when Amara comes of age, we have our fingers crossed we’ll hear the trot-trot of tiny pygmy hippos.

“Adding to the population of this Endangered species is all part of our core focus of protecting wildlife at London Zoo.

“We also hope that seeing her and Thug and learning about this unique species will inspire the next generation of conservationists.”

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