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
Pygmy owl Pygmy owl Pygmy owls are members of the genus Glaucidium. They belong to the typical owl family, Strigidae. The genus consists of about 26 to 35 species distributed worldwide. The exact number of species is somewhat disputed. These are mostly small owls, and some of the species are called "owlets". Most pygmy owl species are nocturnal and hunt mainly large insects and other small prey. "Glaucidium" forms a paraphyletic group with "Surnia". The supposed prehistoric species ""Glaucidium" dickinsoni" is now recognized as a burrowing owl, probably a paleosubspecies "providentiae". Bones of an indeterminate "Glaucidium" have been recovered from Late Pliocene