The huge hippo and many facts about this animal

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius is a mammal from the family of Bernicelles, called Hippopotamus amphibius in English.  The hippo is currently the second largest land animal (after the elephant) and is similar in size and weight to the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and the Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis).

Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the second heaviest mammal in the world - the hippo.  His dense body makes it difficult to swim and move smoothly in the water, although he spends most of his time in the water.  However, the hippo's body is well suited to aquatic life because its eyes, ears, and nostrils are located at the top of its head, so it is able to see, hear and breathe while it is mostly submerged in water.  It has a transparent membrane that covers and protects its eyes, just as this membrane allows it to see underwater, the hippo can hold its breath for several minutes inside the water.

Staying underwater helps the hippo not to feel the weight of its huge body.  It can weigh up to 3,600 kg under water, hippos pit their feet on the ground to propel themselves.  Diving in the water most of the day helps keep your hippo cool and protect it from the sun's rays.  When they venture out of the water for an extended period of time, the hippo secretes a red substance to cool its hairless skin.  This secretion is referred to as "blood sweat," but in reality it is not the case and is only a name.

In the evening, hippos leave the water to feed.  

As a herbivore, they forage on short grass for six hours per night and consume up to 68 kg.  You may travel several kilometers to reach a suitable grazing area to get lunch.

Maturity and reproduction

Although it feeds on land grasses, hippos do many different activities as well in the water.  Also, like all other creatures in the animal world, there is a period of mating and birth.  For example, groups of 10 to 30 female hippos live with one dominant male.  When the dry season approaches, the dominant male chooses a mate, and the other males then fight each other for the remaining females.

 In the wild, females mature sexually between the ages of 7 and 15, and males mature shortly before that, between the ages of 6 and 13.  However sometimes individuals of both sexes may mature at ages 3 and 4.  But only the dominant males over 20 years of age initiate most mating relationships.

 After eight months of pregnancy and at the height of the rainy season, female hippos give birth to one calf at a time, whether on land or underwater.  After that, mothers leave the herd for a short period of time to stick their calves underwater.  After a few weeks, the calves finally come out of the water to feed on the grass.

 

The danger of the hippo and the human interest in it

While many people view Hippo as a simple and harmless comic character, this is not the truth.  In fact, a hippo is a dangerous creature with a strong jaw and sharp teeth that can crush a crocodile or split a small boat in two.

 The trampling of crops and various corruption by hippos led to great and resolute efforts on the part of farmers to eradicate them, especially since their skins and meat were also exploited at a great price.  Hippos were extinct in North Africa by 1800, southern Natal and Transvaal by 1900. They are still present to some extent in East Africa, but their numbers are constantly declining across the continent.  Hippo teeth are still in great demand as a fine-grained "ivory" that is easy to carve ... it was once used to make artificial teeth.  After the international ban on elephant ivory came into effect in 1989, hunting pressure increased on hippos, and the population of the latter decreased.  Population assessment and statistics conducted in 2008 estimated that approximately 126,000 to 149,000 individuals remained.