- Also called:
- hippo or water horse
hippopotamus
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What is a hippopotamus?
The hippopotamus, or Hippopotamus amphibius, is an amphibious African ungulate mammal whose name means "river horse" in Greek. They are considered the second-largest land animal. Hippos have bulky bodies on stumpy legs, large heads, short tails, and four toes on each foot, each with a nail-like hoof.
Well-adapted for aquatic life, their ears, eyes, and nostrils are located high on their heads, allowing the rest of their body to stay submerged. Hippos are unable to sweat and must retreat to the water to keep cool and avoid dehydration. They dwell in eastern, central, and southern Africa in rivers, lakes, and swamps next to grasslands.
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Where do hippos live?
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is an amphibious African ungulate mammal that lives in rivers, lakes, and swamps next to grasslands. Once ranging throughout the continent, hippos now live in eastern, central, and parts of southern Africa. They favor shallow areas where they can sleep half-submerged, and as many as 150 hippos may use one pool in the dry season. By night, hippos walk as far as 10 km into surrounding grasslands to feed.
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What do hippos eat?
Hippos graze on land, consuming approximately 35 kg (80 pounds) of food per night, which is relatively little for their size because they spend much of their time buoyed by warm water, which reduces their energy needs. They use their tough, wide lips to grasp grass and jerk their heads to graze.
Though they don't chew cud, hippos retain food in the stomach for a long time, where protein is extracted through fermentation. Their digestive process is important to their ecosystems, cycling nutrients into African rivers and lakes, which supports fish populations that are a crucial protein source for local people.
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How do hippos spend most of their time?
Hippos spend much of their time in shallow water, often sleeping half-submerged in groups of up to 150 during the dry season. They favor aquatic environments because they lack sweat glands and their skin dehydrates quickly without periodic dips to stay cool. Their ears, eyes, and nostrils are positioned high on their heads, allowing the rest of their body to stay submerged. They can also close their ears and nostrils to keep water out and hold their breath for up to five minutes underwater, where their dense bodies allow them to walk along the bottom. At night, hippos travel up to 10 km (6 miles) into grasslands to graze for about five or six hours.
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How are hippos adapted to life in water?
Hippos are well-suited for aquatic life with their unique adaptations aquatic life. Their eyes, ears, and nostrils are located high on their heads, allowing the rest of their body to stay submerged. To keep water out, they can fold their ears and nostrils shut.
Their bodies are dense, so they can walk underwater and hold their breath for up to five minutes. Hippos must regularly retreat to the water to stay cool and avoid dehydration because they don't sweat and lose water rapidly through their skin. They also have glands that secrete a reddish pigment that acts as a sunblock.
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What threats do hippos face in the wild?
Hippos face several threats in the wild, primarily from human activities. They were extinct in Northern Africa by 1800 and South of Natal and the Transvaal by 1900 due to trampling, crop raiding, and demand for their hides and meat.
There is continued demand for hippo teeth as a fine-grained "ivory" that is easy to carve. After the international elephant ivory ban went into effect in 1989, hunting pressure on hippos increased, and hippo populations declined. A population assessment performed in 2008 estimated that between 126,000 and 149,000 individuals remained.
Hippos are also vulnerable because their populations are limited by the availability of shallow areas where they can sleep half-submerged.
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hippopotamus, (Hippopotamus amphibius), amphibious African ungulate mammal. Often considered to be the second largest land animal (after the elephant), the hippopotamus is comparable in size and weight to the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).
Hippopotamus is Greek for “river horse,” and the animal has been known since ancient times. Hippopotamuses are often seen basking on the banks or sleeping in the waters of rivers, lakes, and swamps next to grasslands. Because of their great size and aquatic habits, they are safe from most predators but human beings, who have long valued their hide, meat, and ivory and at times have resented them for ruining crops. Once ranging over the entire continent and beyond, hippopotamuses (or “hippos”) now live in eastern, central, and parts of southern Africa.
General characteristics
The hippopotamus has a bulky body on stumpy legs, an enormous head, a short tail, and four toes on each foot. Each toe has a nail-like hoof. Males are usually 3.5 meters (11.5 feet) long, stand 1.5 meters (5 feet) tall, and weigh 3,200 kg (3.5 tons). In terms of physical size, males are the larger sex, weighing roughly 30 percent more than females. The skin is 5 cm (2 inches) thick on the flanks but thinner elsewhere and nearly hairless. Color is grayish brown, with pinkish underparts. The mouth is half a meter wide and can gape 150° to show the teeth. The lower canines are sharp and may exceed 30 cm (12 inches).
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Hippos are well adapted to aquatic life. The ears, eyes, and nostrils are located high on the head so that the rest of the body may remain submerged. The ears and nostrils can be folded shut to keep out water. The body is so dense that hippos can walk underwater, where they can hold their breath for five minutes. Although often seen basking in the sun, hippos lose water rapidly through the skin and become dehydrated without periodic dips. They must also retreat to the water to keep cool, for they do not sweat. Numerous skin glands release an oily reddish or pinkish “lotion,” which led to the ancient myth that hippos sweat blood; this pigment actually acts as a sunblock, filtering out ultraviolet radiation.
Behavior
Hippos favor shallow areas where they can sleep half-submerged (“rafting”). Their populations are limited by this “day living space,” which may become quite crowded; as many as 150 hippos may use one pool in the dry season. In times of drought or famine, they may embark on overland migrations that often result in many deaths. By night, hippos walk along familiar paths as far as 10 km (6 miles) into surrounding grasslands to feed for five or six hours.
The long canines and incisors are used strictly as weapons; grazing is accomplished by grasping grass with the tough wide lips and jerking the head. Near the river, where grazing and trampling are heaviest, large areas may be denuded of all grass, which results in erosion. 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. Hippos do not chew cud but retain food for a long time in the stomach, where protein is extracted by fermentation. Their digestive process cycles tremendous quantities of nutrients into the African rivers and lakes and thereby supports the fish that are so crucial as a protein source in the diet of the local people.
Reproduction and life cycle
In the wild, females (cows) become sexually mature between ages 7 and 15, and males mature slightly earlier, between ages 6 and 13. In captivity, however, members of both sexes may become sexually mature as early as ages 3 and 4. Dominant bulls more than 20 years old, however, initiate most of the mating.
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Bulls monopolize areas in the river as mating territories for 12 years or more. Subordinate males are tolerated if they do not attempt to breed. Cows aggregate in these areas during the dry season, which is when most mating takes place. Rare battles may erupt when strange bulls invade territories in the mating season. Most aggression is noise, splash, bluff charges, and a yawning display of the teeth, but opponents may engage in combat by slashing upward at each other’s flanks with the lower incisors. Wounds can be fatal despite the thick skin there. Adjacent territorial bulls will stare at each other, then turn, and, with rear end out of the water, flip feces and urine in a wide arc by rapidly wagging the tail. This routine display indicates that the territory is occupied. Territorial and subordinate males alike make dung piles along pathways leading inland, which probably function as olfactory signposts (scent markers) at night. Hippos recognize individuals by scent and sometimes follow one another nose-to-tail on night treks.
Fertilization results in a single calf weighing about 45 kg (99 pounds), born after a gestation of eight months. The calf can close its ears and nostrils to nurse underwater; it may climb onto its mother’s back above the water to rest. It begins to eat grass by one month and is weaned at six to eight months of age. Cows produce a calf every two years. Young calves are vulnerable to crocodiles, lions, and hyenas. It is thought that attacks on small boats are antipredator behavior, with the hippos mistaking the boats for crocodiles. As a result, hippos have long had a largely undeserved reputation as aggressive animals. Cows live in “schools,” but they are not permanently associated with other cows, though sometimes they maintain bonds with offspring for some years. Longevity is up to 61 years in captivity but rarely more than 40 in the wild.
Distribution
Trampling and crop raiding by hippos led to early and determined efforts to exterminate them; their hides and meat were also valued. Hippos were extinct in northern Africa by 1800 and south of Natal and the Transvaal by 1900. They are still fairly common in East Africa, but populations continue to decrease continentwide. There remains a demand for hippo teeth as a fine-grained “ivory” that is easy to carve; it was once used to make false teeth. After the international elephant ivory ban went into effect in 1989, hunting pressure on hippos increased, and hippo populations declined. A population assessment performed in 2008 estimated that between 126,000 and 149,000 individuals remained.