The Fish and Wildlife Service has cut a deal with environmentalists to end a lawsuit and finally decide on whether to protect the hippopotamus under the Endangered Species Act.
But it won’t happen soon.
Pressed by litigation over a missed ESA deadline, the federal agency on Wednesday joined several conservation organizations in a settlement agreement that includes an FWS commitment to make a hippo listing decision by July 27, 2028.
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“The iconic hippo deserves better than to be traded as parts and frivolous souvenirs, so I’m relieved these animals will finally get a decision on protections,” Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in an email Friday.
