Emily Beament

One of the most secretive and elusive creatures on Earth has managed to survive two civil wars and destruction of its habitat, according to photographic evidence.

The pygmy hippopotamus is rarely seen in the wild but was caught on camera in Liberia's only national park by scientists who had feared that the endangered species was on the brink of extinction.

A team led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) set up camera traps in Sapo national park and were overjoyed and relieved when they captured the elusive pygmy hippo on film within three days.

The hippo, which looks like a smaller version of the common hippopotamus, had been identified by ZSL's Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (Edge) programme as being in need of urgent conservation, prompting the trip to Liberia. There are thought to be fewer than 3000 of the mammals remaining in the wild in Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Liberia and there are serious concerns about its survival.

The cameras will remain in place as part of a monitoring programme to produce an accurate population estimate and a conservation plan.

Ben Collen, ZSL research fellow, said the team had headed to Liberia, which had suffered two civil wars in the past two decades, to search for the "extraordinary, mysterious creature".

"We were delighted to discover that a population still persists there but we remain highly concerned for the species, which continues to face significant threats from poaching and habitat degradation," he said.

Flora and Fauna International senior projects manager Stephen van der Mark said: "Liberia's Upper Guinean forest ecosystem, where the pygmy hippo was photo-graphed, is a major global conservation priority.

"Though unsustainable forestry and mining operations were especially devastating during the civil wars, they still pose a significant threat.

"Only 10% of the original Upper Guinean forest is left, of which Liberia contains about 40%. This new sighting gives us hope that we can protect the area's remaining biodiversity, including the charismatic pygmy hippo," he said.

Liberia's Forestry Development Authority's managing director John Woods said he had been "pessimistic" about the existence of the pygmy hippo at Sapo.