[Animals] Hippos: one of the most dangerous animals in Africa

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Hippos: one of the most dangerous animals in Africa
Hippos at Oasys MiniHollywood

Hippos are semi-aquatic animals that love water. They spend up to 16 hours submerged in swamps and rivers, where they like to roll in the mud, which protects them from mosquito bites. However, behind these curious artiodactyl mammals hides one of the most aggressive and dangerous animals, being one of the species that causes the most deaths on the African continent, even ahead of the dreaded lions.

In this post you can read:
Characteristics of hippos
Habitats of hippos
Types of hippos
Hippos weight
How hippos breathe in water
Are hippos dangerous?
Curiosities
Characteristics of hippos

The hippopotamus diet is fundamentally herbivorous. Their diet includes roots, tubers, plants and leaves, as well as fallen fruit from trees. Their habits are nocturnal, since they usually stay most of the day submerged in the water resting, and look for food at night. They come to travel 10 kilometers to look for pasture.

Hippos have a single calf every two years, and the gestation period is about 200 days. On the other hand, the half-life of a species in the wild is about 40 years and 50 in captivity.

Habitats of hippos
Hippos: one of the most dangerous animals in Africa

Millions of years ago hippos were distributed throughout the African continent, southern Europe, and even Southeast Asia. However, over time their range was reduced, and today, hippos are found in central and southern sub-Saharan Africa.

Being semi-aquatic animals, hippos inhabit the rivers and lakes of Africa, in dense and humid forests and jungles.

Types of hippos

The great Hippopotamus family was made up of numerous species in the past. Currently, there are only two living species.

The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is distributed throughout central and southern sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest of all, with gigantic dimensions of several tons. It spends much more time in the water than the pygmy hippo - hence its Latin name amphibius. Its current status is vulnerable, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Common hippo

The second species is the pygmy or dwarf hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). Its name means "from Liberia", since the vast majority of individuals of this species are found in this country. They can also be found in other West African states such as Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. The main difference with the common hippopotamus is its much smaller size, being half in height and weighing between 180 and 280 kilos.

Pygmy hippo

In addition, it has more developed terrestrial habits than its older relative, spending much of its time in the forests. Likewise, it is more solitary than the common hippo, since the latter can live in communities. It is in serious danger of extinction.

Hippos weight
The weight of hippos varies greatly between the two species. While the common hippos reach weights between 1500 and 1800 kg for males, and 1300 and 1500 for females, the pygmy hippo does not weigh 300 kilos.

How hippos breathe in water
How hippos breathe in water

Hippos are great swimmers and can last up to 5 minutes underwater. In fact, they have a morphology adapted to their semi-aquatic life, with their eyes and nose raised, which allows them to breathe and see what happens on the surface, while staying submerged.

Are hippos dangerous?
Hippos, especially the common hippo, are aggressive species. Therefore, they are considered one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. In fact, it is the animal that causes the most deaths in Africa among humans, ahead of such feared species as the tiger or the rhinoceros. They have strong jaws and long fangs that they do not hesitate to use to attack, in addition to their enormous weight.

Only the mosquito, which transmits serious diseases such as malaria or malaria, removes him from this position.

They develop a very territorial behavior in the water, establishing areas of dominance for each male hippopotamus. Although they are gregarious animals, they have a solitary behavior.

Dangerous hippos

Curiosities
For a long time there was a myth that hippos sweated blood, as they gave off a very similar reddish substance. However, this particular sweating is due to a natural reddish pigment that serves as a skin moisturizer, as an antiseptic against germs, as well as sunscreen.