GATESVILLE, Texas (KXXV — Inside the Hippo Dome at Dragonstone Ranch, is the home for endangered pygmy hippos.
“There are only about 2,000 to 3,000 of them in total in the entire world,” Mimi Roach said.
Owners Monty and Mimi Roach are on a new adventure, after they saw the need for conservation efforts for these endangered species.
“The hippos in particular are very endangered in the wild. It's great to have them and have the opportunity to get some – it’s a rare experience,” Monty said.
“There’s not any zoos that have them around very close. It’s nice to be able to have that and provide this community outreach.”
Monty said there’s a one-in-five chance of receiving a male pygmy hippo.
Dragonstone Ranch beat those odds, and now has the opportunity to breed them, right here in our community.
Monty said this is not only a big deal for Gatesville, but Central Texas overall.
“It’s great to be able to give back to the community, to let people come in and see that and do education programs with the community,” Monty said. “But it’s bigger than that – We’re talking about all of the Central Texas area, because there are not any [pygmy hippos] around.”
Loss of habitat, due to logging and mining, is one of the main reasons these hippos are going extinct. As that encroaches on their homes, they become more exposed to people and hunting.
At Dragonstone Ranch, they are protected and slowly growing in numbers.
Pygmy hippos are not the only animals they care for. They actually have 57 unique species on the property, including lemurs, giraffes, and Grévy's zebras.
Now, Monty and Mimi are in the process of starting a non-profit for the endangered animals, in hopes of saving and bringing more awareness to them.
“We want to do research programs,” Monty said. “Our goal is to partner with some of the universities and colleges around – even the high schools – to have people come out and do research and see what the hippos are doing, or the lemurs are doing.”
