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February 15, 2006

African Field Notes: The Hippopotamus

Hippos are the third largest land mammal. Although they are hooved, they also have webbed toes since they spend a lot of their time in the water. At night, they leave the safety of the water and forage, even miles away.

Males battle for dominance using their ivory tusks and sharp canines and the displays can often end with one bull bleeding to death.

Hippos make all sorts of interesting honking noises both above and under the water. They live in groups called pods- usually with a bunch of females called cows, youngsters called calves and a very territorial dominant males called a bull.

The herd will keep a crèche – a shallow safe area that serves as a nursery for the young baby hippos. Baby hippos are often born in the water, but they cant hold breathe long, instead they bounce on their mother’s back to reach the surface to breathe every few seconds. When they nurse, their ears and nostrils close up so they hold their breath – so they can do it out of or under the water.

Hippos kill more people every year than any other African wild animal. Despite their large size, they can run up to 30mph, and you do not want to be between a hippo and water. We once accidently started a hippo stampede, but luckily, we were standing far above them on the opposite side of the river. They were triggered solely by our scent on the wind.

Latin Name: Hippopotamus amphibius
A Group Is Called: A Bloat (More At: Critter Collectives)

Check out our Safari South Africa podcast - an audio program and a video that features this animal!

Also on Perlgurl.Org:
Why Can't I Have A Pet Hippo?
Photos: San Francisco Zoo - Hippo

Check out our Frolicking Hippos podcast - a video program highlighting these playful animals!

Check out our Kenya Waterhole podcast - a video program experiencing a sunrise in Africa!

Posted by sorsha at February 15, 2006 9:37 PM