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An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young need to breathe every two to three minutes. [7]: 3–4 Hippos move on land by trotting, and limb movements do not change between speeds. They can reach an airborne stage (a stage when all limb are off the ground) when they move fast enough.
Lifespan in the Wild: In the wild, hippos typically have a lifespan of around 40 to 50 years. However, this can vary depending on factors such as predation, habitat quality, and access to resources like food and water.
Learn more about hippopotamus, including how much they weight, how fast they can run on land and where to see in the wild – and stay safe from an attack.
With a large barrel-shaped body, short legs and huge skull, the hippo is the third largest land animal in the world. Adult bulls can reach 4–5m long and weigh four tonnes (4,000kg).
- Size and Weight
- Appearance
- Diet
- Habitat
- Breeding
- Social Structure
- Threats
- Conservation Status
- Conservation Efforts
The hippo is one of the largest mammals on Earth. On average, males weigh 3,500 to 9,920 pounds and females weigh 3,000 pounds. On average, a hippo’s length is between 10.8 and 16.5 feet, and their height is up to 5.2 feet tall at the shoulder.
Hippos are known for their rotund bodies. While the name “hippopotamus” comes from a Greek word meaning “river horse,” hippos are not actually related to horses. Their closest living relatives may be pigs or whales and dolphins. Hippos spend most of their time in the water. Their unique skin needs to be wet for a large portion of the day. If a hipp...
Hippos typically feed on patches of short grass near water. However, at times, they need to travel several miles to find food. Their ears help them hear the sound of falling fruit, while their sense of smell helps them sniff out food. On average, hippos eat about 88 pounds of food each night, which is about 1 to 1.5% of their body weight. This figu...
Hippos are adapted for life in the water and are found living in slow-moving rivers and lakes in Africa.
The hippo breeding season is linked to the dry season. Therefore, most births happen during the wettest time of the year. The gestation period is just 8 months, only slightly shorter than the human gestation period. However, the hippo calf is about 10 times larger than a human baby. When the female nears the time to give birth, she leaves the herd ...
Hippos are social animals that spend most of their time in groups. They live in groups from 10 to 30 hippos, which includes several adult females, several adult males, their offspring and one dominant male. The dominant male has the right to mate with all the adult females in the herd. The dominant male reminds other hippos of his territory by flin...
Habitat loss and the illegal ivory trade are among the largest threats to hippos. While hippos are not yet classified as endangered, their numbers have decreased over the last 200 years as their habitat is reduced. As humans expand into hippo habitat, human-hippo conflicts have become more common. Hippos, especially dominant male hippos, are known ...
Hippos are classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN’s Red List. While hippos are not yet endangered, their habitat has been greatly reduced over the last 200 years.
While many “at-risk” African animals, such as elephants and cheetahs, have conservation organizations that focus on them, there is currently no organization focused on hippo conservation. The best effort to protect hippos is to continue to safeguard large areas of land. National parks offer the greatest amount of protection against poaching. Source...
Oct 8, 2024 · 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.
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Feb 18, 2022 · The average life span of a hippo in the wild or in captivity can range from about 40 to 61, according to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity Web.
