Heavy Weight Hippo

Thanks friends for love and support, I hope everyone is following the zebra crossing rule and following blog as well 😆. Today I am opting one my favorite animal for the topic it has a place in my top ten list, though some time behavior gives lazy sign still I love them for their fitness 😄😄 I mean roly-poly look especially the young ones they are so cute. So let me introduce my favorite heavyweight champion Hippo.

A date with Hippo

Before I provide you information on this chubby animal let me share the memorable time I spent with a hippo. In African countries where the habitat is best suited, the count is never a problem. I am not counting the zoo because I feel animal's place is not captivity but it is forest and we should explore them only in its natural habitat to enjoy unique behavior. I had been to Kenya where I could see Hippos at Lake Naivasha and at Masai Mara both the places are the beautiful place and highly rich with the cont as well. Firstly we saw Hippos during our Lake safari where they were playing hide and seek with us, they were enjoying the swim with large numbers including baby one. The reason I said hide & seek because they were not giving constant pose but like a fish, they were coming out of water for a moment only, still, we captured them in our camera and heart.

Nevertheless, the behavior at Masai was completely different where they were out of the water and were lying on the bank as a beanbag. If you see them from far you will surely feel its beanbag and not the Hippo. After this, on one lovely morning, we were surprised with unique behavior where they were kissing each other or playing and fighting with each other. It was such a unique sighting that no one expected out of such silent cum violent animal but when you have a blessing from Mother Nature, nothing is impossible.

Do you know me well?

The name comes from the ancient Greek for River Horse. Hippo is a large, mostly herbivorous, semi-aquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus

Hippo inhabits rivers, lakes, and mangrove swamps, where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of five to thirty females and young

Hippos graze on land; they do not eat while in the water and do not graze on aquatic plants. They prefer short, creeping grass and small green shoots and reeds

Hippos bask on the shoreline and secrete an oily red substance, which gave rise to the myth that they sweat blood. The liquid is actually a skin moistener and sunblock that may also provide protection against germs

They are only territorial while in the water. Both reproduction and birth occur in the water. Hippo calves weigh approximately 45kg at birth and can suckle on land or underwater by closing their ears and nostrils

Each female has only one calf every two years. Soon after birth, mother and young join schools that provide some protection against crocodiles, lions, and hyenas

They spend four to five hours grazing and can consume 68 kg of grass each night. Considering their enormous size, a hippo’s food intake is relatively low

Just how deadly are Hippos?

Hippos are the third largest land animal, after elephants and white rhinos. Despite their large size and roly-poly looks, they are fast and furious -- and are considered one of the deadliest animals in the World

The truth is, hippos are extraordinarily aggressive. They live in groups called schools or bloat and jostle for position on the social ladder. The big "yawns" they make are actually aggressive displays, showing off their sizable and sharp teeth

Not only do they go for each other, but a hippo will charge anything it perceives as a threat, even cattle grazing nearby or people either on land or even when in boats traveling along a river. Just when it will charge is anyone's guess -- hippos are famously unpredictable

Hippos can run a surprising 14 miles per hour for short distances, so it is not easy to outrun one even on land

Conservation

The IUCN classified the Hippo as having vulnerable status in 2008

Despite the fact that hippos are so deadly to a human, humans are the ones causing hippos to fast disappear as a species. Hippos have lost vast portions of their habitat to human settlements and are now confined primarily to protected areas. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth