I don't particularly like these kinds of stories involving the shooting of animals but this one is rather bizarre. Makes you wonder what other species could be out there roaming in our Australian bushlands.
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Shared from NEWS.com - Weird True Freaky
Pygmy hippopotamus shot during Northern Territory hunting trip
 Nico Courteney with the pygmy hippo he shot south of Darwin while spotlighting for pigs. Picture: Northern Territory News |
- Pygmy hippopotamus shot on hunting trip
- Shooters thought it was a pig
- May have come from exotic wildlife sanctuary
A PYGMY hippopotamus has been shot dead during a pig hunting expedition in the Northern Territory.
The hippo is normally native to the swamps of west Africa, in particular Liberia.
The Northern Territory News reports, Nico Courtney, 27, was out spotlighting for pigs with his mate Rusty on a station in the Douglas Daly district 200km south of Darwin on Saturday night.
"It was about 1am and running away from us - from the tail end it just looked like a big pig," Mr Courtney said. "We got out, had a look at it, and thought 'that's not a pig, it's a hippo'.
"Then we thought 'you don't get hippos in Australia'."
Mr Courtney's boss, Gordon Coward said he believed the female hippo - estimated to be about 250kg - is an old escapee from Tipperary Station. The station was turned into an exotic wildlife sanctuary by its former owner, millionaire Warren Anderson.
But it shut in in 2003 - meaning the hippo has been roaming the bush for at least six years.
"I heard all sorts of funny stories of break outs and people kept saying 'look out for giraffes in the paddock', but I didn't think much of them."
Mr Anderson began trying to sell the animals - which included rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, giraffes, zebras and deer - after selling his interest in the station.
RELATED ARTICLES:
Pygmy hippopotamus shot during Northern Territory hunting trip - NT NEWS ( Nov 16 2009)
Pygmy hippo could be tip of iceberg - NT NEWS ( Nov 17 2009)NT pygmy hippo was Tipperary escapee - NT News ( Nov 18 2009)
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