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Hippopotamus
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Mammals |
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Africa |
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Africa Savannah |
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Hippopotaidae |
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1400 to 3200 K.G |
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Streams, estuary |
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Grass, Leaves, plants |
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8 months |
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1 |
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Lions, leopards, crocodiles |
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Abundant |
Wow! A young hippo can
suckle underwater.
The hippopotamus has a heavy gate, short legs and a short tail. It is adapted to
an aquatic or amphibian life. The partly webbed toes enable it to swim better.
The bulging eyes, short ears and nostrils are located on top of the head to
enable it to see better even while under water. It can run at speeds of up to 30
km/h (48 miles/h). An adult can remain under water for 5 to 6 minutes. A male
can weigh from 1.5 to 3.2 tons (3,000 to 6,400 lbs) whereas a female can weigh
from 1.4 to 2.5 tons (2,800 to 5,000 lbs). An individual can be from 3 to 5
metres (10 to 16 feet) long. The tail can be 40 cm (16 in.) long. The hearing
and sense of smell are well developed; the small mobile ears can move in all
directions. The only large populations inhabit Nile’s Valley, Eastern Kenya,
Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. Their days are spent wallowing in the shallow waters
of freshwater rivers and estuaries. This herbivore feeds on grass on land at
dawn and at night. Males can be particularly aggressive and fight bloody combats
with their mouth wide open, using their long tusk-like teeth. This mammal lives
in a colony of 30 to 100 individuals made up of one male and many females with
their young. One female gives birth to only one young at a time. An adult has no
predators, a young however is vulnerable to a lion, a leopard, a hyena or a
crocodile. A hippopotamus can live between 30 and 40 years old, and is abundant
in nature. This species is hunted for the meat, fat and ivory, and it is
affected by the loss of habitat. There is a sub-species of hippopotamus
classified as vulnerable by the IUCN. The hippopotamus is classified under
CITES’ appendix II.