Hippo Facts┃Amazing Facts of Hippo

 Hippo Facts/ Amazing Facts of Hippo

Hippopotamus, commonly known as hippo, is a large, herbivorous, semiaquatic mammal. There were two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, they are common hippopotamus or river hippopotamus and pygmy hippopotamus. The Latin word “Hippopotamus” comes from the ancient Greek, meaning “horse of the river”. Hippopotamidae also known as hippopotamids. It is believed that Hippopotamidae have evolved in Africa. Kenyapotamus lived in Africa around 16 million to 8 million years ago, which is possible ancestor of living hippopotamus of Africa. Hippopotamid species slowly spread across Europe and Asia bot they have ever been found in the Americas. Now hippos live in eastern central and southern sub-Saharan Africa.

Hippos are the third largest land animal in the world, after elephant and some rhinoceroses. Hippo has barrel-shaped body with four short legs. Their skeletal structures help them to carry their enormous weight burden when they are in water. Though, hippos are bulky animals, they can not jump but can climb up steep banks. The average weight of a male hippo is 1600kg to 4000kg and female is about 1400kg. They can grow up to 14 feet long and up to 5.2 feet tall at the shoulder.  

As they are semiaquatic animals, they have webbed feet but yet they are not actually good swimmer and not can it float. They have a big skull and on the high roof of the skull, their eyes, ears and nostrils are placed, which help them to keep these organs out of the water surface while the rest of the body submerges. During the day time, hippos immerse themselves in water because staying out of water for a long time, their skin may crack or can lead to dehydration.

Hippo has powerful jaws. They can open their mouth almost 180° because the jaw hinge is located far back enough. The male hippo’s canine teeth and lower incisor teeth are enlarge and grow continuously and the canine teeth reach up to 40 cm. These teeth are used for combat but not used in feeding.

 Hippos have broad horny lips which help them to grasp and pull the grasses and their molar teeth help to grind the grasses. Their three-chambered stomach helps them to digest the food but hippos do not chew-cud.

Hippos are grey to blue-black in colour but the color of their under parts ,around the ears and eyes are pink. Hippo’s body has less hair and the thickness of skin is 6cm which protects them from predator. Their skin secretes a red-coloured substance which is referred as “blood-sweat” but it is neither blood nor sweat. This substance is actually colourless but within minutes, it turns red-orange colour and slowly becomes brown. In the secretion two pigments have been identified, red and orange. Red pigment (hipposudoric acid) and orange (norhipposudoric acid), both pigments are highly acidic compounds. These pigments protect the hippo from pathogenic bacteria and act as sunscreen and antibiotic. These pigments also regulate the body temperature of hippos.

A hippo can live 40 to 50 years. Dona the Hippo lived at Mesker Park Zoo in Evansville, Indiana in the US, was the oldest living hippo, died in 2012, at the age of 62.

Hippos spend the day time in the lakes and rivers and can be found in Savannah and forest areas. At dusk, they leave the water and travel inland up to 15km and spend 4 to 5 hours grazing 68kg of short grasses each night. Short grasses are their main sources of food but they also eat fruits.

In water, an adult hippo moves at speeds up to 8km/hr and every 3 to 5 minutes, it resurfacing to breathe. An interesting fact is that when the hippos sleep under the water, they rise to the surface of the water and breathe without waking up. When they submerge into the water, they close their nostrils.

 Hippos are living in groups with 30 animals and a group is called a pod, herd, dale, school or bloat. Each pod has females, young and male hippos and led by a dominant male hippo.

Every two years female hippo gives birth only one calf under water. The weight of the new-born calf is between 25kg and 50kg and average length is 127cm. Then the mother brings the calf up to the surface within 40 seconds for its first breath. The calf rest on its mother’s back when the depth of the water is high for the calf and suckle into the water as well as land. Mother Hippo keeps her baby away from the others. This time mother hippo remains separated from the herd, and stays with her calf for about 2 weeks and then re-joins the herd. She nurses the calf for 8 months. Both male and female hippos protect their baby from the predators like lions, hyenas and crocodiles. When the calf is about 5 to 7 years old, it becomes fully mature.

Hippo is considered to be extremely aggressive, dangerous and unpredictable animal. They can charge and attack humans and boats. They can easily attack or drown small boats and can injure the passengers or kill them. In 2014, in Niger, a hippo attacked a small boat filled with Nigerian school children. 12 children and one teacher were killed by that hippo. In Africa, about 500 people are killed by hippos in each year.

In the late 1980s, Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was one of the wealthiest criminal in the history. This Colombian drug lord kept many animals included four hippos at his residence in Hacienda Napoles. In 1993, he was killed by Colombian National Police. After his death all animals which he kept in a private menagerie, sent to the zoo. But his four hippos made their way into Colombia’s waterways. By 2007, the hippos had multiple to 16 and today between 60 and 80. In 2009, two adults and a calf escaped the herd and attacked the people and also killed the cattle. Then the hunters killed one adult who was called Pepe.

Ward off enemies, hippo opens its big wide mouth and display their teeth which is a warning against attack. Their jaws are so powerful that they can cut a canoe in half with their jaws. When the hippos feel threatened they shake their head, roar, grunt and make loud wheezing sound.

Hippos face threat because of poaching and habitat loses. Each year hundreds hippos being shot to keep them out of crops. Hippos are killed by poachers for meat, fat and ivory canine teeth.

For a long time, hippo is considered a popular zoo animal. Obaysch was the first zoo hippo at the London zoo on 25 May 1850. Every day 10,000 visitors used to come to the zoo to see him and inspired a popular song “Hippopotamus Polka” In 1987, the Toledo Zoo was the first witness of the first underwater birth by captive hippos.

Greek and Romans also know about the hippo. Greek historian Herodotus and Roman naturalist Plini the Elder wrote about the hippo in their writings.