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
Eurasian pygmy shrew and eight young per litter and care for the young in an underground nest. Since the gestation period is just over three weeks, they can have up to five litters in one year, though the life span of a pygmy shrew is a little over 15 months. In April 2008, the greater white-toothed shrew was discovered in Ireland. While the introduction of the species will possibly sustain threatened birds of prey, such as the barn owl, the nonnative mammal could threaten some of the smaller native species, such as the Eurasian pygmy shrew. Eurasian pygmy shrew The Eurasian pygmy shrew