Another reason hippos stay in the water so much is to avoid the intense sun damaging their skin. So this liquid comes in very handy! The liquid also acts like a natural sunblock, giving the hippo some extra protection. Hippos are big creatures, which means they have big appetites. Hippos can eat more than 40 kilograms of grass in one night. Hippos are most active at night and will keep a lookout for any tasty fallen fruit they can find, too.
But this species is vulnerable and their numbers are decreasing. They're threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting, as they're targeted for their meat and ivory canine teeth. The largest concentration in Africa is in Zambia's Luangwa Valley. With a nod to this colorful, charismatic species, below are some of our favorite hippo videos of In the murky water, the hippo calf pursues a crocodile , playfully nudging and chasing it around while the reluctant reptile tries to ignore the pound pest.
The young river horse brings the one-sided game up onto land, where it continues to poke at the croc. But the crocodile wants nothing to do with the calf and passively snaps at it. The pairing is unusual because normally, crocodiles eat hippo calves, and hippos will usually only play within their species. The unlikely match doesn't last too long. The croc gets its way when a herd of elephants come along and chase the hippo away. Another animal you don't want to get too close to in the wild is the lion.
This is important if the hippo needs to defend itself, or even scare away any other animals. Adult bull hippos will even come closer to degrees. A hippo's lower canines and incisors are enlarged - especially in males, and keep growing with age. The incisors can grow up to a length of 40 centimetres 1 foot, 4 inches while the canines can reach 50 cm 1 foot, 8 inches. Both these strong sets of teeth are used for fighting and have no role in their eating.
An adult hippo can weigh up to kilograms 4 tons. On average, an adult male hippo weighs between - kilograms. A female hippo weighs between - kilograms. A male hippo keeps growing in size and weight, unlike the female which whose size doesn't change after a certain age. This is why a grown bull hippo can weigh upwards of kilograms. Hippos are not related to pigs despite the physical resemblance. Their closest living relatives are actually the cetaceans such as whales and dolphins.
It is believed that they diverged evolutionally speaking about 55 million years ago. Big as it is, a hippo can run at a speed of 30 kilometres per hour on land. It can move at about 8 kilometres per hour in water.
This adds to the dangerous factor because it can very easily surprise and attack an encroaching human or predator. A group of hippos is called a dale, herd, pod or bloat. The most common way to refer to a group of hippos is by calling it a herd. The other terms might be a bit too technical for everyday conversation.
In drier areas where the water source is small, groups of up to might be seen together. Such large groups usually have many power struggles and fights might be witnessed as the dominant bulls assert their power.
The bite force of a hippo is 2, pounds per square inch. In Comparison, a lion or a tiger has a bite force of pounds per square inch. This is why very few animals will dare to disturb a hippo's territory, because a hippo will tear up most animals in a single bite. For farther comparison, an adult human has a bite force of pounds per square inch. Hippopotamuses by defecation. They do this by spinning their tails to distribute their poop as far as possible. Hippos are only territorial in water, and a dominant bull controls a stretch of around meters - with about 10 females.
Staying in water helps hippopotamuses stay cool from the strong African sun. A hippo's skin is hairless, which means the sun and bugs are a serious problem to deal with. Hippos sleep in the water by fully submerging their bodies. They automatically rise up to the surface and breathe without waking up. Otherwise, they would have had to wake up ever 5 minutes to breath, and then go back to sleep for another 5 minutes.
Hippos are herbivores that will graze on grass. Their main diet is short grass and some very few fruits species. Their digestive systems resemble those of other herbivores - with a few their own adaptions. They even do this when sleeping! The motion of surfacing and breathing through their nostrils is an automatic one, so hippos who are deep in their slumber will still subconsciously rise to the top for a breath of air.
Water is a safe place for hippo, two of the most important things in their life takes place in water, mating and giving birth. Most people know that the hippo is an aggressiveanimal but they are only known to show territorial behaviour when submerged. If threatened on land, most hippo will run for cover in water nearby.
Hippos are also known to make honking or grunting sounds whilst in water to mark their territory. Becuase of their humungous size, one would be forgiven for thinking hippos eat a lot, but this is actually not true. A male hippo can weigh anywhere between 1 kg — 3 kg and females can weigh between kg — 2 kg — pretty impressive!
Even though they are surrounded by aquatic plants for most of the day, it is still not understood exactly why hippo do not eat these plants but rather opt to search for food on land. Hippo can walk up to 5 miles in search of food and spend around 5 hours a night grazing. If you were to live in prehistoric Britain, you would find not only hippo but lions, elephant, and other megafauna large or giant animals roaming the land.
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