By Peter Orengo
A rare female pygmy hippo donated by former Liberian President, the late William Tubman in the 1970s, has died at the Nairobi Safari Walk.
The 29-year-old Elizabeth died Monday night from pneumonia.
According to a post-mortem examination report prepared by a Kenya Wildlife Service veterinarian Dr Edward Kariuki, the animal succumbed to a bacterial infection at the animal welfare facility.
Parts of the animal have been specially preserved for mounting and stuffing to keep it at the Nairobi Safari Walk museum for posterity.
Unlike the Nile hippo, which is indigenous to East Africa, the pygmy hippo is found in isolated pockets of West African forests and swamps of the Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and possibly Nigeria and Guinea.
Pygmy hippos are severely threatened due to deforestation and bush meat hunting with an estimated 2,000-3,000 individuals remaining, according to the World Conservation Union. According to IUCN, the survival of the species in captivity is more assured than in the wild.
Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farmland, and are also vulnerable to poaching for meat and natural predators.
