Commemoration of “World Days” allow us to focus attention on multiple topics of interest that, in many cases, would go unnoticed. The animals are some of them and throughout the year different species take center stage with this well-known format. In this sense, today, February 15, is World Hippopotamus Day and the BIOPARC of Fuengirola and Valencia join this celebration to raise awareness about the importance of its conservation Well, despite their apparent strength, they face threats that endanger their survival in nature.
Although it is a really popular animal, The vast majority of people are unaware that there are two species of hippopotamus and both can be seen in BIOPARC.. To start with the strangest, the pygmy hippopotamusChoeropsis liberiensis), its descriptive nomenclature accounts for its most differentiating characteristic, as it is much smaller (270 kg). Its habitat is the lush and impregnable African jungles, which meant that for a long time its existence was even considered a legend. Due to the descriptions that transcended it, it was believed that it was a species of wild boar, until at the end of the 2.000th century it was located, it began to be studied and a new species of hippopotamus was classified. It is currently listed as “in danger of extinction” according to the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List with a very worrying decreasing trend and a population estimate of between 2.500-XNUMX individuals. Part of its “salvation” is in the international preservation programs in which the BIOPARC of Fuengirola and Valencia participate.
The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), It is one of the “giants” of the iconic African fauna. It is the third largest land animal, after the elephant and the rhinoceros, weighing between 1.500 and 3.000 kg. At BIOPARC Valencia it can be admired in the only place in Spain that offers an underwater view, which makes it possible to understand the reason why the Greeks called it “river horse”. The enormous aquariums hidden in the recreation of the mythical Kitum cave faithfully recreate the ecosystems of the great African wetlands, where you can see hippos along with tropical freshwater fish and very close to crocodiles. Also included in the IUCN Red List, in this case as “vulnerable to extinction”, the Valencian park also participates in the international program for its protection.
Again, Human activity, habitat loss and poaching are the main threats to these two hippopotamus species. The BIOPARC Foundation shows its firm commitment to the conservation of biodiversity by promoting actions in the habitats of origin and the parks of Fuengirola, Valencia and the Gijón Aquarium, in addition to being references in the preservation of species in danger of extinction, become windows to this wild world at risk of disappearing, offering visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with wonderful natural life.
