Vulnerable Species: The Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal by weight, beaten only by the white rhino and the separate species of elephant, which means that this is possibly one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. Able to run at speeds up to 19mph over short distances these highly aggressive animals are so large that, should they attack, there is very little that can be done to stop them.

Despite this aggressiveness and their large size, they are desired for their ivory which is harvested by removing their large teeth, which are used for fighting and asserting dominance over other hippopotamuses. Such poaching presents a problem to the populations of the hippopotamus, as their reproduction habits mean that they only have one offspring per year at most, and heavy levels of hunting and poaching can lead to a faster decline in population than reproduction can compete with.

Hippos' closest relations are surprisingly cetaceans, such as whales, dolphins or porpoises, unlike the mammals such as pigs that you would be forgiven for assuming they were closer to; indeed, it was not until 1909 that naturalists had been categorising them with pigs based on their molar patterns. Blood proteins, DNA and fossil records however showed that the common ancestors of whales and hippos split off from the even-toed ungulates, and soon after the cetacean and hippo lineage split apart as well.

Hippos have been highlighted as a vulnerable species since 2006 after reports that populations had decreased drastically across Africa, at an approximate loss of 20% since the 1996 IUCN report. The area of most dramatic decline is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where numbers fell to around 800 or so down from 29,000 in the 1970’s – this loss is attributed to the Second Congo War.

Nowadays poachers hunt them for protection, as it is believed that the hippos are dangerous to society, as well as for money – the sale of hippo meat is illegal however it is difficult for conservationists and park officers to track any black market trading or dealings. As it is, the Hippo appears to be unmoving from its vulnerable status any time soon. The best ways to tackle this problem would be through a governmental crackdown on ivory and bush meat trade, whilst simultaneously imposing high charges on the illegal exportation of such material to make it undesirable for those individuals utilising the hippo as a source of income.