Hippo

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Hippopotamus amphibius

The word hippopotamus comes from a Greek word meaning,” water or river horse”. However, hippos look like pigs but are closely related to cetaceans and are the second heaviest land mammal on earth. Hippos have webbing between their toes, which aids in their dog paddle swimming style. But, hippos can not swim. Since they are too heavy to float, they move by bouncing off the riverbed floor and walking on the bottom. Hippos can be found in lakes, swamps, and slow-flowing rivers in the West, Central, East and South of Africa. Their average length is 10.8-11.3 feet, with males weighing an average of 3,086 lbs. to 7,055 lbs. and females weighing an average of 3,086 lbs. The hippos’ life span is about 40 to 50 years. After the hot African sun has set, the hippo will emerge from wallowing in shallow water and graze on short grasses for about 6 hours in a single night. Hippos even give birth underwater, but the hippo calves must immediately swim to the top to catch their first breath. The average calve will weigh about 90-100 lbs. For additional protection from the sun, the hippo’s skin secretes a natural sunscreen substance red in color, “blood sweat”. The acidic secretion is colorless at first, minutes later turning red-orange and then brown. This secretion has an antibiotic and light absorption affect. Hippos have been known to be very aggressive towards humans; even crocodiles when hippo calves are present. Hippo populations across the continent are threatened by habitat loss and unregulated hunting. The common hippo is now in serious danger of extinction.

A Hippo can stay under water for five minutes…

It is more closely related to the pig or the horse?

A Hippo’s teeth are made up of Ivory…

Fact or Fiction??

Vulnerable

Hippos distribution in Africa.