Pygmy hippopotamus Conservation Union estimates that fewer than 3,000 pygmy hippos remain in the wild. Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farm land, and are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting for bushmeat, natural predators, and war. Pygmy hippos are among the species illegally hunted for food in Liberia. Nomenclature of the pygmy hippopotamus reflects that of the hippopotamus. The plural form is pygmy hippopotami ("hippopotamuses" is also accepted as a plural form by the OED, or "pygmy hippos" for short). A male pygmy hippopotamus is known as a "bull", a female as
Northern pygmy owl this species. It is not known whether these pygmy-owls maintain the same territory or same mate year to year, though these questions are being investigated. Dispersal of young and influences on their mortality are also poorly known, though barred owls and spotted owls are known to prey on pygmy owls. Pygmy owls are purportedly "sit-and-wait" predators, though they in fact hunt somewhat actively, moving from perch to perch with short flights, and pursuing prey at all levels of forest structure. They swoop down on prey; they may also catch insects in flight. They eat small mammals, birds and large insects,