The Hippo, short for Hippopotamus, The magnificent hippopotamus (ancient Greek for river horse) is a very unique looking creature most commonly (and frustratingly) spotted with its enormous, bulky body submerged beneath the water with only its nostrils peeking out. Only very lucky or patient nature lovers get to witness their various characteristics as described below. The name of these animals comes from the ancient Greek language and means River Horse.
Two hippo species are found in Africa. The common hippo (also known as the large hippo) Hippopotamus amphibius, found in East Africa and The other much smaller species of hippo; the pygmy hippopotamus (Hexaprotodon liberiensis) also known as Choeropsis liberiensis.
Common Hippo: 2 to 5 meters in length (6 to 16.5 feet) and stand about 1.5 meters tall (5 feet); Pygmy Hippo: 1.5 to 1.75 meters in length (about 5 feet) and stand about 1 meter tall (3 feet)
Hippos are the third-largest living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. Common Hippo: 1.4 to 5 tons; Pygmy Hippo: 160 to 275 kilograms (352-606 pounds). Despite their large and bulky appearance, they have adaptations to their semi-aquatic environments allowing them to move swiftly on both water and land. Their feet have four-webbed toes that splay out to distribute weight evenly and therefore adequately support them on land, and their short legs provide powerful propulsion through the water. The ears, eyes, and nostrils are located high on the head so that the rest of the body may remain submerged. If the whole head goes under, the ears swivel to shake out water when the hippo resurfaces. But what about sounds below the water! That’s a job for the hippo’s jawbone, which conducts sound waves. So a hippo with its jaw submerged can hear sounds above and below water at the same time! Hippo’s body is so dense that they can walk underwater, where they can hold their breath approximately 5 minutes. Most adult hippos resurface every three to five minutes to breathe and this is an automatic process even sleeping hippo surface to breathe without waking.
During daylight hours, Hippos spend most of their time wallowing in shallow in groups called pods. By night, pods break up and the hippos leave the water, either singly or as females with their calves. they walk along familiar paths as far as 10 km (6 miles) into surrounding grasslands to feed for five or six hours. Grazing is accomplished by grasping grass with the tough wide lips and jerking the head, the long canines and incisors are used strictly as weapons. Hippos, however, eat relatively little vegetation for their size about 35 kg (80 pounds) per night, as their energy requirement is low because they are buoyed in warm water much of the time. A hippo’s stomach has four chambers in which enzymes break down the tough cellulose in the grass that it eats. Though, hippos do not chew cud, so are not true ruminants like antelopes and cattle. They retain food for a long time in the stomach, where protein is extracted by fermentation.
Mating occurs during the dry season and usually takes place in the water. Females breed with territorial males and may visit two or more different territories over the course of their two- to three-day estrus period. After a 240-day gestation, a mother gives birth in the water to a tiny calf, weighing between 50 and 110 pounds (25 to 45 kg). For about ten days, the calf and its mother are solitary and stay close to the water’s edge. The mother will attack any other hippo, including a territorial male that approaches. Females give birth to calves about once every two or three years.
Although often seen basking in the sun, hippos lose water rapidly through the skin and become dehydrated without periodic dips. Both species must rely on water or mud to keep cool, for they do not sweat. Instead of sweating, they secrete a viscous red fluid that acts as a moisturizer, sun block filtering out ultraviolet radiation, and possibly acts as healing agents. This makes them look like they are sweating blood which led to the ancient myth that hippos sweat blood.
The hippo is considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa and it is highly aggressive, particularly if you get between it and the water. Their sharp canine teeth are used for fighting. An open mouth can be misconstrued as a yawn, while it’s much more serious than that. This means they are marking their territory and warning you off. Their powerful jaws are capable of opening up to 150 degrees revealing their enormous incisors. You can hear ‘honking’ and ‘grunting’ as well. Hippos are only mammals that make amphibious calls. A hippo can live for up to 40 years and their closest living relatives are whales, porpoises and pigs.
Did you know Hippos help other animals that live in their habitat? Hippo poop adds terrestrial nutrients to lakes and rivers. When hippos return to the river, they help the fish who swim there. Hippos defecate in the water, and their tail acts like a “manure spreader,” shooting dung everywhere. Small fish, snails, and other little critters gobble up the nutrient-rich dung — and are themselves eaten by larger fish. Downriver, people and other animals catch and eat the fish. They can thank a hippo for their food! Also many birds, such as oxpeckers, like to perch on hippos’ backs and hunt for ticks and other insects.
FUN FACTS
An adult hippo can hold its breath underwater for up to 30 minutes.
When agitated, a hippo can charge at up to 14 miles per hour (30 kilometers per hour) on land.
Hippos can store two days’ worth of grass in their stomachs and can go up to three weeks without eating.
Hippos vocalize on both land and in the water and are the only mammals that make amphibious calls.
Hippos have stiff whiskers above the upper lip and some fuzziness around their ears and on their tail.
A group of hippos is sometimes called a bloat, pod, or siege.
The hippo is similar in size to the white rhinoceros.
In African rivers, hippos look like floating islands, with birds fishing from their backs. Turtles and even baby crocodiles have been seen sunning themselves on hippos.
Email us [email protected] for Safari to Akagera, A park with the highest concentration of hippos in East Africa
Source:
https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/hippopotamus
https://www.britannica.com/animal/hippopotamus-mammal-species
https://www.stlzoo.org/animals/abouttheanimals/mammals/hoofedmammals/hippopotamus