Description

The hippopotamus [hihp'uh paht'uh muhs] is the third largest animal that lives on land, after the elephant and rhinoceros. The river hippopotamus has a large, barrel-shaped body; short legs; and a huge head. It weighs from 2,500 to 3,000 pounds, stands about 5 feet tall, and ranges from 12 to 15 feet long, not including the tail, which measures about 22 inches long. [The pygmy hippopotamus, described separately, is considerably smaller.]

River hippopotamuses have thick, brownish-gray skin. They are hairless except for a few bristles on the head and tail. Special glands in the skin give off a clear, pink or red, oily fluid that keeps the skin from getting too dry.

The eyes, ears and nostrils of the river hippopotamus stick out from its head, allowing it to see, hear and breathe with most of its head underwater.

A hippopotamus has an enormous mouth and can open it to a width of 3 to 4 feet. The animal often does so to show its powerful tusks, which may grow more than 2 feet long. When two hippos fight, they slash at each other with their tusks until one of the animals is either killed or seriously wounded. Few animals other than another hippopotamus will attack an adult hippopotamus, but crocodiles, hyenas, and lions will occasionally take the young.

Distribution and Habitat

The river hippopotamus is found in central and southern Africa. It lives in rivers, lakes, and marshy ponds near grasslands.

Diet, Habits and Behaviors

River hippopotamuses are good swimmers and can stay underwater for as long as six minutes. They spend most of their day resting in the water, eating water plants, and sunning themselves on sandbanks. They come on land at night to feed on fruit, grass, leaves, and vegetables. On land, they can run as fast as a human -- about 20 miles per hour. They sometimes wander for miles along a riverbank, grazing as they go. An adult hippopotamus eats about 130 pounds of vegetable matter a day. River hippopotamuses live in herds of from 5 to 30 animals.

Reproduction

A female hippopotamus has her first baby when she is 5 or 6 years old. A single calf weighing about 100 pounds is born after a gestation period of about 7½ months; twin births do occur but they are rare. The calf can swim almost immediately after birth and usually nurses on its mother's milk underwater. It begins to eat grass at the age of 4 to 6 months.

The average lifespan of a wild river hippopotamus is about 30 years.

Scientific Classification

Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata
Class Mammalia
Order Artiodactyla
Family Hippopotamidae
Genus and Species Hippopotamus amphibius

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