Time to address the hippo in the room...
America imports more hippo parts than any other nation. A new court ruling could finally change that — but we'll be waiting until 2028 to find out.
Did you know the United States imports more products made from poached hippos than any other country? And it's not particularly close — we're responsible for more than 50% of the trade in hippo items, usually teeth but often skins and skulls, too.
American tourists are the most frequent trophy hunters of hippos as well, according to a 2022 investigation by the Humane Society of the United States. All told, it's likely at least 13,500 hippos fell victim to the wildlife trade in the past decade. And it's not illegal, or at least not always — though poaching happens, there hasn't been a systemic effort to protect the hippo.
These unique creatures have been dubbed "the most ecologically influential African megaherbivore" by scientists, shaping the waterways and grasslands they inhabit. Despite their considerable heft, they’re also surprisingly vulnerable - hippos reproduce slowly, mature late, and depend heavily on shrinking aquatic ecosystems. With populations declining at 6-8% annually in some regions, they've already vanished from countries like Algeria, Egypt, and Mauritania where they once thrived.
But fortunately, there's hope that could start to change.
On Monday, a federal judge approved an agreement requiring the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to determine by July 2028 whether hippos deserve protection under the Endangered Species Act. While that deadline may seem distant, it represents the first concrete timeline for action since conservation groups petitioned for protection in 2022.
The potential listing would transform how America handles hippo products. Instead of the current unregulated domestic trade, importers would need to prove their items don't threaten the species' survival. It's a much higher bar - and one that could help stem the tide of hippo parts flowing into U.S. markets.
With as few as 115,000 adult hippos remaining in the wild, the decision can't come soon enough. "The iconic hippo deserves better than to be traded as parts and frivolous souvenirs," Tanya Sanerib of the Center for Biological Diversity told USA Today. For a species that's already lost 20% of its population in just over a decade, every day of delay has consequences.
The question now is whether this proposed protection will only ever hippo-thetically save these unique animals, or if we'll need to move even faster to secure their future.
Subscriber Patti is a FUZZ Founder and requested more animal puns. You can blame her for that one. If you upgrade your membership and become a paying subscriber, not only will 100% of your support go to every month’s FUZZ Funds contribution to conservation causes around the globe, you can make requests just like Patti. Use your powers carefully, paying subscribers.
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While common hippos face threats from the wildlife trade, their tiny cousins need help too. You might remember Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo who took the internet by storm in 2024 - but with fewer than 2,500 of her species left in the wild (that's one pygmy hippo for every 3.5 million humans), conservationists hoped her viral fame can translate into real support for her wild counterparts. They haven’t seen results yet, according to a report in Mongabay. While her home zoo in Thailand is working to help fund GPS tracking of wild pygmy hippos, it's a reminder that social media stardom doesn't automatically save species.
For all my Colorado subscribers — photographer Deirdre Denali is an incredibly talented wildlife photographer in southern Colorado who focuses a lot of her work on the American pika, the diminutive mountain cousin to the rabbit that lives in rocky high mountain outcroppings. (Their cousin, the plateau pika of Asia, is a frequent snack for manuls.) A proposed development near Wolf Creek Ski Area, one of the last remaining independent ski hills in the state, would plop housing for 10,000 people next to the rural resort and disrupt prime pika habitat, not to mention an important corridor for other Colorado wildlife. She’s raising money to support the San Juan Citizens Alliance in trying to reject the development, and you can even win a photography tour with Deirdre to go meet the pika yourself. Check it out on her site and go check out her pika photos, too. They’re great.
Good news for big cat fans. India roared (that’s two, Patti!) past its conservation goals, doubling its tiger population in just over a decade. A new study shows how protecting these big cats has also benefited local communities, with India now home to 75% of the world's wild tigers. It's a remarkable turnaround from the early 2000s when experts warned tigers might go extinct. The secret? It wasn't just about the tigers - researchers found success came from reducing human-wildlife conflict and improving living standards for communities near tiger habitats.
