Hippopotamus

Facts

IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)

Facts about this animal

The Hippopotamus has a barrel-shaped body, with short, stumpy legs and a large head adapted for an aquatic life. The eyes, ears and nostrils are placed on the same level at the top of the head. The head-body length is 320-420 cm in males and 280-370 cm in females, the height is 130-165 cm. Males weight about 1500-3200 kg, females 1350-2500.

The upper part of the body is grey-brown to blue-black, the lower part is pinkish. The skin is adapted to aquatic life and the rate of water loss on land is considerably higher than in other mammals. The gestation lasts eight months and the litter size is one or rarely two. The female has one pair of mammae. The young were born underwater, the weight at birth is 35-55 kg.

Did you know?
that more people are killed every year by hippos than by any other wild animal in Africa?

Factsheet
Class	MAMMALIA
Order	ARTIODACTYLA
Suborder	NONRUMINANTIA
Family	HIPPOPOTAMIDAE
Name (Scientific)	Hippopotamus amphibius
Name (English)	Hippopotamus
Name (French)	Hippopotame
Name (German)	Flußpferd
Name (Spanish)	Hipopótamo anfibio
Local names	Afrikaans: Seekoei chiShona: Mvuu, ngwindi isiNdebele, isiXhhosa, isiZulu, siSwati: Imvubuki Swahili: KibokosePedi seSotho, seTswana, siLozi: Kubu tshiVenda: Mvuvhuxi Tsonga: Mpfubu, mpfuvu Somali: Jeer
CITES Status	Appendix II
CMS Status	Not listed

Photo Copyright by
Vladimír Motyčka

Distribution

Distribution
Range	Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitat	Rivers and lakes surrounded by grasslands
Wild population	Between 125.000-148.000 (Red ListIUCN 2011)
Zoo population	347 reported to ISIS (2005)

In the Zoo

How this animal should be transported

For air transport, Container Requirement 71 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.

Road transport (according to the South African Standard SANS 10331): Tranquillize and transport bulls and aggressive cows separately in individual compartments in a mass crate. Several calves of approximately the same size can be transported in a single compartment under tranquillization. The roof of the crate should be solid and low (± 1,6 m) to prevent the animals from rearing up on their hind legs.

Find this animal on ZooLex

Photo Copyright by
Multichill

Why do zoos keep this animal

The hippopotamus is not an endangered species. Zoos keep it primarily for educational reasons because of its aquatic lifestyle and anatomical peculiarities. As a charismatic megavertebrate it is also a corner stone for displaying wetland habitats and a good ambassador for in situ conservation projects (see Luangwa Wilderness e.V. - Managing Luambe National Park, Zambia ).

The zoo population is self-sustained. Because of restrictive veterinary import regulations AZA and ARAZPA run coordinated breeding programmes at the regional level.

How this animal should be kept

River hippos are large, social animals. As they spend much of the day in the water or sleeping at the pool edge, the design of exhibits may often be inadequate to meet the necessities of the animals, which, in the wild, leave the water at night wandering around for grazing.

River hippos should be kept in pairs or groups of one male and several females. Legal minimum space requirements vary from country to country, figures for outdoor exhibit ranging from 250 for two animals, to 2500 m² for a group, and providing for indoor stables of 20-40 m² per animal. The pair or group may be kept together also indoors, but there must be possibilities for separating individual animals.

River hippos must have access to a pool all year round. Minimum water surface should be 15 m² per animal, minimum average depth 1.5 m. The water must be heated where necessary to ensure a minimum temperature of 15 °C.

The diet consists of grass, hay, silage, fruit and vegetables.