Hunt History

When humans first reached Madagascar roughly 2,000 years ago, they encountered small, semi-terrestrial hippos like Hippopotamus madagascariensis, which foraged along forested rivers and swamps. These hippos were much smaller and slower than their mainland relatives, making them vulnerable to hunting by the island’s new human inhabitants.

Subfossil bones attributed to H. madagascariensis show stone-tool cut marks and breakage patterns, clear evidence that humans butchered them for meat and marrow. Archaeologists have uncovered such modified bones at several sites across western and central Madagascar, indicating that early settlers regularly exploited these animals as a food resource.

Hunting likely occurred at waterholes or riverbanks, where hippos could be ambushed or trapped during dry seasons. Oral traditions from Malagasy culture, recounting creatures called laloumena or omby-rano (“water cattle”), are thought to preserve folk memory of these small hippos surviving into the last millennium. The combined pressures of hunting, habitat loss, and competition for freshwater ultimately drove Hippopotamus madagascariensis to extinction within the past 1,000 years.