The Pygmy Hippo Story

West Africa's Enigma of the Rainforest

Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke, and Knut M. Hentschel

Is the only definitive, single-volume account of this flagship species
Appeals to readers and biologists who want to know more about this "cryptic" species

The Pygmy Hippo Story

West Africa's Enigma of the Rainforest

Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke, and Knut M. Hentschel

Description

Though the pygmy hippopotamus has been designated as a flagship species of West African forests (meaning that by raising conservation efforts for a single species, an entire ecological region could benefit), very little research has been published on the animal. They are solitary, nocturnal, and highly evasive, and until recent developments in "camera trap" technology, they were considered the least-photographed large mammal species in the world. The information currently available on this endangered species is scattered, limited, redundant, and often inaccurate, and no major volume exists as a resource for those interested in the conservation effort for the species, until now.

Phillip Robinson and his coauthors provide a treatment of the natural history, biology, and ecology of the pygmy hippo, along with a discussion of the rare animal's taxonomic niche and a summary of the research initiatives involving it up to this point. The authors show the ways in which the pygmy hippo has come into contact with people in West African countries, both in terms of ecological and cultural impact. This creature has been the subject of local folktales, and is treated as almost mythic in some regions. Information on issues related to captivity, breeding, and zoos is provided. The book is heavily illustrated with original photographs and anatomic drawings. The project should be of use to conservation biologists, zoologists and natural history readers, and will be the definitive single-volume account of an animal that the scientific community has designated to be ecologically significant to West Africa.

The Pygmy Hippo Story

West Africa's Enigma of the Rainforest

Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke, and Knut M. Hentschel

Foreword - David P. Mallon, Manchester Metropolitan University
Preface - Phillip. T. Robinson
Authors' Introduction - The Authors

I. DISCOVERY, HISTORY AND CAPTURE

1. What is a Pygmy Hippopotamus - Gabriella L. Flacke

2. Hippos in Popular Culture and Folklore - Gabriella L. Flacke

3. Looking for Enigmas in the Forest - Phillip T. Robinson

4. The Use and Abuse of Hippos in Nature - Phillip T. Robinson

5. Heslop's Pygmy Hippopotamus - Phillip T. Robinson

6. Hans Schomburgk - Hunter, Trapper, Bush Bicyclist - Phillip T. Robinson

7. Frans Van den Brink- Master Hippo Catcher - Phillip T. Robinson

II. WORKING IN PYGMY HIPPO COUNTRY
Phillip T. Robinson
8. Arriving in West Africa

9. Just Getting There is Most of the Journey

10. Wrestling the Town Chief in Pygmy Hippo Country

11. Journeys Without Destinations

12. Going Bush in Sierra Leone

13. Traveling Hammocks and Piggyback Rides

14. A Six to Six Walk

15. Small Planes

16. Navigating Pygmy Hippo Country

Co-authors and Contributors
17. Pygmy Hippo Research on Tiwai Island - April L. Conway

18. Living the Dream - Gabriella L. Flacke

19. Pygmy Hippo Research in the Ivory Coast - Knut M. Hentschel

20. The Hippo Hotel of Ivory Coast - Waldemar Bülow

III. BIOLOGY AND NATURAL HISTORY
21. The Flora and Fauna of Pygmy Hippo Country - Gabriella L. Flacke

22. The Feeding Behavior of Pygmy Hippos in the Wild - Knut M. Hentschel

23. The Pygmy Hippo Hunters - Phillip T. Robinson

24. Common Ground for Hippos in West Africa - Phillip T. Robinson

25. Sly, Shy or Focused? The Origins of Elusiveness - Phillip T. Robinson

26. Husbandry, Health and Pathology of Pygmy Hippos - Gabriella L. Flacke

IV. CONSERVATION DURING WARTIME
27. Staying Alive During the War - Phillip T. Robinson

28 The Disruptions and Setbacks of Civil War - Phillip T. Robinson and Henk Dop

29. The Shortcut from Master Sergeant to President - Phillip T. Robinson

V. CONSERVATION AND THE FUTURE

30. A Very Sad Story of Greed - Knut M. Hentschel

31. Conservation Genetics and Fragmented Populations - Gabriela L. Flacke and Phillip T. Robinson

32. Distribution and Population Estimates - Gabriella L. Flacke

33. Conservation Planning and Priorities - Gabriella L. Flacke

AFTERWORD - The Authors

IMAGE CREDITS

INDEX

The Pygmy Hippo Story

West Africa's Enigma of the Rainforest

Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke, and Knut M. Hentschel

Author Information

Philip T. Robinson, MS, DVM, DACZM, is a board certified veterinarian in zoological medicine and recently retired as the Director of the Department of Laboratory Animal Resources at the University of Toledo (Ohio). He was formerly the chief veterinarian at the San Diego Zoo and first worked with the pygmy hippo in West Africa in 1968.

Knut Hentschel, MS, PhD is now retired after a long career of research and conservation efforts, notably in Africa. After completing his PhD at the University of Braunschweig, Germany in 1990, Hentschel dedicating twenty years to positions in Uganda, Central African Republic, and the Ivory Coast, including radiotelemetry studies of the pygmy hippopotamus.

Gabriella Flacke, DVM, MS has lived and worked in Southern Africa where she served as clinical veterinarian for both the KwaZulu-Natal African Wild Dog Conservation and Reintroduction Programme in South Africa and the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia. She has recently completed her PhD at the University of Western Australia, where her research focused on pygmy hippo health, reproduction, and conservation. She is now working as an associate veterinarian at Zoo Miami.

The Pygmy Hippo Story

West Africa's Enigma of the Rainforest

Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke, and Knut M. Hentschel

Reviews and Awards

"Overall, this book is the most up-to-date scientific and most comprehensive book about pygmy hippos. The combination with the personal experiences and challenges of scientific and conservation work is quite unique. Therefore, not only people who are interested in hippos should read it but also those who are generally interested in the Upper Guinean forests, their social troubles, armed conflicts and in vivid descriptions and adventures of scientists. Hopefully the book will help to raise interest in these forests and the enigmatic and cute but endangered Pygmy Hippos living in them!" -- Thiemo Braasch, Suiform Soundings Newsletter of the IUCN

"This book fills an important gap in the monographic treatment of African large mammals... a delightful mixture of natural and cultural history, reviewing facts, folklore, and fiction surrounding this little-known species, organized into 5 parts and 33 chapters." -- Jan Decher, The Journal of Mammalogy

"This book, written by Phillip T. Robinson, Gabriella L. Flacke and Knut M. Hentschel is the first monograph of West Africa's enigma of the rainforest. It presents the most comprehensive description of this species...Hopefully the book will help to raise interest in these forests and the enigmatic...pygmy hippos living in them!" -- Thiemo Braasch, Suiform Soundings

"The Pygmy Hippo Story is not your classic monolithic and scientifically detached monograph of single species research [...] It is a highly informative and passionate call for attention and action that something very unique may be irreversibly disappearing in West Africa. The authors leave us with an afterword [...] wherein they conclude that [t]he forecast for the pygmy hippo is clearly pessimistic, but not entirely hopeless if things change very soon. There is, however, keen competition in the information and misinformation wars that are now being waged between true scientists and special interests, such as the carbon industry climate science deniers." - Jan Decher, Journal of Mammalogy

"[...] When it comes to species for which little is known, particularly one as vulnerable as the pygmy hippopotamus, any account is valuable and this is no exception. What is striking is that the vast majority of the content focuses on the history and the sociopolitical aspects of the region where this species calls home, and documents the authorsâ efforts to study and protect the pygmy hippopotamus from extinction." -- Jennifer L. Verdolin, The Quarterly Review of Biology