Amazing Hippo

Dear students, we must have heard about hippopotamus and some of us are luckier to see it in zoos. But how many of us know about the amazing animal ? Let us know some of the amazing facts about them...

 The Hippopotamus or hippo is found only in Africa. They are the third largest mammal on earth. It is smaller than the rhino but still huge. - an adult hippo weighs around three and a half tones. It is an even-toed ungulate, which means that it has four toes on each foot, each  toe ending in a hoof like nail. 

Hippopotamus love water, which is why the Greeks named them the " river horse". Hippos spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in water. This keeps their massive bodies cool. Hippos are good swimmers, and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. They are often large enough to simply walk and stand on the lake floor.  Their eyes and nostrils are located high on their head, which allows them to see and breath while their bodies remain underwater. Hippos have huge mouths and if it opens its mouth wide....BEWARE !!  It is not yawning, but preparing to fight and its wicked-looking tusks can inflict terrible wounds on an enemy.

At sunset, hippopotamuses leave the water and travel overland to graze. They may travel up to 10 kilometres in a night, walking file along pathways, to consume some 35 kgs of grass. If they are threatened on land, they will rush back to water - and they can run as fast as a man for short distances, even though they are so huge. 

The hippopotamus has a smaller cousin, the pigmy hippopotamus. The pigmy hippopotamus resemble hippopotamuses but on closer look many differences can be noted. The pigmy hippopotamus is found in West Africa in dense, swampy forests near rivers, streams and creeks. .