Pygmy Hippopotamus

INTRODUCTION on Pygmy Hippo
The pygmy hippopotamus is a large mammal native to the forests and swamps of western Africa. The pygmy hippo is reclusive and nocturnal. It is one of only two extant species in the Hippopotamidae family, the other being its much larger cousin the common hippopotamus.It is semi-aquatic and relies on proximity to water to keep its skin moisturized and its body temperature cool.Introduced to zoos in the early 20th century, they breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens.There are estimated 3,000fewer pygmy hippos remaining in the wild.The pygmy hippo is a herbivorous.

DESCRIPTION
Pygmy hippos share the same general form as a hippopotamus. They have a graviportal skeleton, with four stubby legs and four toes on each foot, supporting a portly frame. The pygmy hippo, however, is only half as tall as the hippopotamus and weighs less than 1/4 as much as its larger cousin. Adult pygmy hippos stand about 75–83 cm high at the shoulder, are 150–177 cm in length and weigh 180–275 kilograms. Their lifespan in captivity ranges from 30 to 55 years.
The skin is greenish-black or brown, shading to a creamy gray on the lower body. Pygmy hippos have the same unusual sweat,that gives a pinkish tinge to their bodies, and is sometimes described as "blood sweat" though the secretion is neither sweat nor blood.The skin of hippos dries out quickly and cracks, which is why they spend so much time in water.

BEHAVIOUR
The behavior of the pygmy hippo differs from the common hippo in many ways. Pygmy hippos live either alone or in small groups, typically a mated pair or a mother and calf. Pygmy hippos tend to ignore each other rather than fight when they meet.

2nd reflection by Si Ying

oh hi:D im back! we didnt choose butterflies as our animal we were going to present on so there goes my chance to impress the MILK kids a little D; anyways i think we are doing on the hogs and kangaroos. I love the kangaroos and i cant wait to present to the kids but also a little worried as it is not the usual presentation in class to familiar people. It would be total strangers this time round. i hope that this presentation would run smoothly as we planned so that we would not embarass ourselves in front of kids. I really hope the kids are cute and adorable but not those that would wreck our presentation. we would'nt welcome any hipcups:D

cute right? i know you agree with me :D

2nd Reflection by Gen

This is my 2nd time writing on this blog.We have finally chose the animals to present to the students-the kangaroo and the warthog.We chose them as their enclosures are very near to each other and i want to know about these animals.
We chose the MILK fund as it has the most votes in our class.I hope that I do well for this project.

Reflection by Gen:)

This is my first time writing on this blog.I am very excited about our trip to zoo and leading the students around the zoo.I have never done this type of project before. So it will be quite a challenge for me. But I am kinda excited to do this project as I get to see my capability of 'public speaking'.
~Gen

2nd Reflection By Shirleen

We have chosen our animals to present. They are the warthogs and the kangaroos.We chose them as they are probably popuar among the children and their enclosures are near each other making it easier for us to walk from one animal to another, giving us more time for our presentation about the animals.
We chose for the VWO the MILK Fund ( Mainly I Love Kids) as i think that the children which
are troubled and come from low-incomed families have not been to the zoo. Even though there were many other VWO whom children might not have been to the zoo, our class all voted for the MILK Fund. Still researching on the animals and wondering how to design the brochure.So hard...
~Shirleen~

Reflection by Shirleen

This is my first post on this blog! I am very excited to go to zoo and see the animals as I have never been there before. I am also excited in leading the students to tour around the zoo. This is probably the first time I have ever experienced this before. I will try my best to make it an enjoyable trip to the zoo for my group and the students!
~Shirleen~

2nd Reflection by Hui Bing

I feel really excited and looking forward to this project, to guiding the needy children around the zoo and see the smiles on their faces. I guess we will probably do more research on the animals that we have chosen next week? We chose the kangaroo and warthogs parts because their enclosures are situated near each other, so it saves us times to go from one side to another. We have chosen the MILK Fund and their profile is:

Registered in June 2004, MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund is a charity organisation that was set up to reach out and help disadvantaged childdren and youth who "fall through the cracks" of our social safety net. We work alongside mainstream programmes, through our partners, to plug through the gaps and provide a holistic approach that guide guide these disadvantaged children back to mainstream society.

MILK reaches out to disadvantaged children and youth, both Singapore and overseas, into developing them to contributing members of society. These children and youth came from troubled or low-income families and impoverished and are often caught in a downward cycles that thier circumstances destined them to. We support them in their education, care and guidance, vocational and livelihood developement, or other special needs so as to help them break out of the disadvantaged circumstances they were born into.

Reflection by Hui Bing

Finally it is confirmed that we are going zoo!!! It will be very fun to guide the little children around the zoo and telling them about some cool animals... I was thinking of maybe doing on the penguins or otters because they are just so cute!!! Let's do our best and make this project a success!!!(it rhymes?)


daisuki daiyo,
Hui Bing XD

WARTHOG

Introduction of the Warthog
The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in Africa.The name comes from the four large wart like protrutions found on the head of the warthog, which serve the purpose of defense when males fight.
Descriptions
The Warthog range in size from 0.91-1.5 metres in length and 50-150kg in weight. A warthog is identifible by the 2 pairs of tusks protruding from the mouth, which are used as a weapon against predators. The tusks are used for digging, combat with other hogs, and in defence against predators. The male is called the boar and the female is called the sow. Wild warhogs can live up to 15 years and the captive warthogs can live up to 18 years. The sow takes 5-8 months to give birth to a litter of 2-8 piglets and can only give bith twice.
Behaviour
Warthogs prefer to forage in dense, moist areas when available. The warthog is an omnivore which eats on plants and animals both. Wartogs are good diggers, using both snout and feet. While feeding, they often bend their front feet backwards and move around on the wrists. Warthogs are fast runners and quite good jumpers. They will often run with their tails in the air. Despite poor eyesight, the warthog have a good sense of smell, which they use for locating food, detecting predators and recognising other animals.

reflection by Si Ying:D

yay! i so happy! we comfirm going zoo already! so many animals to choose from i dont know what to pick... maybe polar bear and white tiger. well, nothing much to reflect anyways. we now in the com lab doing some discussion and research. we might be doing on the butterflies saying about butterflies, let me tell u a joke:
open the fridge and take out a container of butter. throw it in the air and there you go: butter'fly' (yah i know very lame this joke) i ran out of funny jokes... yah i was thinking of maybe taking the butterflies and put on my shirt so veh cool:D

cheers,
Si Ying

the peeps that put so much effort into all this:D

Credits go to the members of the project work group: Genevieve Tay, Chen Si Ying, Shirleen Goh, Lim Hui Bing, Lee Jing Yi. wish us good luck:D and pls follow our blog cos there will be many useful infos soon (well not so soon cos cher haven tell us wat to do)


cheers,
Si Ying