Aalborg Zoo - African Village (Pygmy hippo)

The outdoor exhibit for pygmy hippopotami (Choeropsis liberiensis liberiensis) next to the savannah viewing hut in The African Village in Aalborg Zoo. The door in the back can be opened combining this exhibit with the main savannah.

The African Village opened in 2006 and is the biggest project in Aalborg Zoo’s history. It features wildlife from the African savannahs and wetlands.

July 2012

I've seen plenty of pygmy hippo exhibits in American zoos, but very few of them feature the species grazing on grass. It is quite a shocking sight to see this photo, as other than Oklahoma City and a couple of other locations practically all American zoos have pygmy hippos indoors within fake, textured environments. I do know that many European zoos have a standard practice of allowing the species a large outdoor habitat.

Are Pygmy Hippos also susceptible to eye problems from over exposure to sun light like other large forest ungulates (e.g. Malayan Tapirs, Sumatran Rhino, etc)?

snowleopard said:

I've seen plenty of pygmy hippo exhibits in American zoos, but very few of them feature the species grazing on grass. It is quite a shocking sight to see this photo, as other than Oklahoma City and a couple of other locations practically all American zoos have pygmy hippos indoors within fake, textured environments. I do know that many European zoos have a standard practice of allowing the species a large outdoor habitat.

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Having only seen one North American pygmy hippo exhibit (Toronto) I can't really comment but there does seem to be an abundant number of pictures in the Gallery of the kind of exhibit you describe. Most of the European zoos keeping pygmy hippos I have seen keep them in very nice exhibits.

mstickmanp said:

Are Pygmy Hippos also susceptible to eye problems from over exposure to sun light like other large forest ungulates (e.g. Malayan Tapirs, Sumatran Rhino, etc)?

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I have never heard that they should suffer the same kind of problem. In fact, I have often seen pygmy hippos sunbathing even in high summer, preferring the sunny to the shady areas of their exhibits. They also don't seem to be as forest-adapted as the sumatran rhinos and malayan tapirs.

The Montgomery Zoo in Alabama keeps their lone pygmy male with the other African hoofstock; Zebra, Kudu, Bontebok, cranes, and storks in a large three acre grass exhibit.