By Lucas Thoelke

Description

Kingdom- Animalia Phylum- Chordata Class- Mammalia Order- Artiodactyla Family- Hippopotamidae

Shape and Dimensions

The shape of a hippo is a huge oval for a body with legs. It almost could look like a shaved cow.

Length- 13 to 14 feet

Height- About 5 feet

Weight- 4,000 to 8,000 lb

ColorHippo’s are mostly gray but have some pink spots of them and have some parts of body such as there head more pink than other parts.

Habitat

Part Of World And Environment

Hippo’s live mostly in Africa, But also in some parts of Asia.

Most zoo’s around the world have hippo’s though

The environment that Hippo’s like is swampy areas, some lakes, rivers and streams.

Diet

What They Eat

Hippo’s are herbivores which means they only eat plants, no meat.

They eat soft grass, shrubs, reeds, leaves, fallen nuts or fruits.

Family Life

Offspring

One baby calf born at a time Gestation- 8 months Born all year round The mother lets the baby calf ride on the

back until able to hunt and walk by them selves.

The baby calf will stay with the same herd for it’s entire life

Shelter

The only shelter a hippo has is the water it lives in and grass, but hippo’s don’t really need any shelter because nothing attacks hippo’s except for the occasional crocidile

Social Behavior

Hippo’s are born to a herd, and when they are born to a herd they stay with that herd for the rest of their lives and will stop at nothing to protect the herd

Characteristics

Temperament

One of the most aggressive animals in the world

About 300 people die per year from Hippo attacks

Habitats and Unique Behavior

Live mostly in Africa, by watering holes or rivers, or streams.

The average male Hippo will get into a fight 3 times a day.

For defense they fight with their mouths

Acquiring Food and Life-Span It doesn’t take very much effort for a

hippo to get food because they are herbivores.

At night hippo’s will often sneak into farms crop fields and eat there crops

Hippo’s live 30 to 40 years

But they live over 50 in captivity

History of the Hippo

Hippo’s In Ancient Egypt Large numbers of Hippo’s were found by

the Nile river in Ancient Egypt.

Hippo’s would forage in the wetlands along the Nile river

Egyptians feared Hippo’s due to their large bodies, large teeth, and aggressive nature

Present status

The regular hippo is vulnerable which means they have numbers but are almost considered endangered.

The pygmy Hippo is endangered.

Relationship to Humans

Relationship to Humans

In Africa hippo’s and humans actually live fairly close to each other, but the natives know not to get to close to them

Fun Facts!

An adult Hippo can run up to 14 miles per hour on land

Can store up to two days worth of grass in its stomach

Adult hippo’s can hold their breath up to 30 minutes

Hippo’s vocalization is measured at 115 decibels, which is like standing 15 feet away from a speaker at a rock concert!