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The name hippotamus comes from the Greek words "hippos," meaning
horse, and "potamus," meaning river. Though the hippo spends most of its day
in the water, it is more closely related to the pig than the horse.

    

The hippopotamus, whose hide alone can weigh half a ton, is the third-largest
living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. It was considered a
female deity of pregnancy in ancient Egypt, but in modern times has been
wiped out of that country because of the damage it inflicts on crops. The
hippo continues to thrive in other parts of Africa.

Hippos are the third-largest living land mammal, after elephants and white
rhinos. A hippo·s foot has four webbed toes which splay out to distribute
weight evenly and therefore adequately support it on land. The grayish body
has very thick skin which is virtually hairless. The hippo has neither sweat nor
sebaceous glands, relying on water or mud to keep cool. It does, however,
secrete a viscous red fluid which protects the animal·s skin against the sun and
is possibly a healing agent. The hippo·s flat, paddle-like tail is used to spread
excrement, which marks territory borders and indicates status of an
individual.

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Two hippo species are found in Africa. The large hippo, found in East Africa,
occurs south of the Sahara. This social, group-living mammal is so numerous in
some areas that "cropping" schemes are used to control populations that have
become larger than the habitat can sustain. The other, much smaller (440 to
605 pounds) species of hippo is the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis
liberiensis). Limited to very restricted ranges in West Africa, it is a shy,
solitary forest dweller, and now rare.

 

Hippos have a flexible social system defined by hierarchy and by food and
water conditions. Usually they are found in mixed groups of about 15
individuals held by a territorial bull, but in periods of drought large numbers
are forced to congregate near limited pools of water. This overcrowding
disrupts the hierarchical system, resulting in even higher levels of aggression,
with the oldest and strongest males most dominant. Old scars and fresh, deep
wounds are signs of daily fights that are accompanied by many vocalizations.

A single young is born either on land or in shallow water. In water, the mother
helps the newborn to the surface, later teaching it to swim. Newly born hippos
are relatively small, weighing from 55 to 120 pounds, and are protected by
their mothers, not only from crocodiles and lions but from male hippos that,
oddly enough, do not bother them on land but attack them in water.

Young hippos can only stay under water for about half a minute, but adults can
stay submerged up to six minutes. Young hippos can suckle under water by
taking a deep breath, closing their nostrils and ears and wrapping their tongue
tightly around the teat to suck. This procedure must be instinctive, because
newborns suckle the same way on land. A young hippo begins to eat grass at 3
weeks, but its mother continues to suckle it for about a year. Newborns often
climb on their mothers' backs to rest.

Hippos like to be close to shore lying on their bellies. In areas undisturbed by

people, hippos lie on the shore in the morning sun.

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Hippos are surprisingly agile and often traverse steep banks each night to
graze on grass. They exit and enter the water at the same spots and graze for
four to five hours, covering one or two miles, with extended forays of up to
five miles. Their modest appetites are due to their sedentary life, which does
not require high outputs of energy.



Female hippos reach sexual maturity at five to six years of age and have
a gestation period of 8 months. A study of endocrine systems revealed that
female hippopotamuses may begin puberty as early as 3 or 4 years of
age.[47] Males reach maturity at around 7.5 years.

A study of hippopotamus reproductive behavior in Uganda showed that peak

conceptions occurred during the end of the wet season in the summer, and
peak births occurred toward the beginning of the wet season in late winter.
This is because of the female's estrous cycle; as with most large mammals,
male hippopotamus spermatozoa is active year round. Studies of hippos in
Zambia and South Africa also showed evidence of births occurring at the
start of the wet season. After becoming pregnant, a female hippopotamus will
typically not begin ovulation again for 17 months.
Hippos can be dangerous to humans, as this sign from Kruger National
Park notes.

Mating occurs in the water with the female submerged for most of the
encounter, her head emerging periodically to draw breath. Hippos are one of
the few mammals that give birth under water, along with Cetaceans
and Sirenians (manatees and dugongs). Baby hippos are born underwater at a
weight between 25 and 45 kg (60²110 lb) and an average length of around 127
cm (50 in) and must swim to the surface to take their first breath. A mother
typically gives birth to only one hippo, although twins also occur. The young
often rest on their mothers' backs when in water that is too deep for them,
and they swim underwater to suckle. They also will suckle on land when the
mother leaves the water. Weaning starts between six and eight months after
birth and most calves are fully weaned after a year.

Like many other large mammals, hippos are described as K-strategists, in this
case typically producing just one large, well-developed infant every couple of
years (rather than large numbers of small, poorly-developed young several
times per year as is common among small mammals such as rodents).

 

The hippo once ranged from the Nile delta to the Cape. Now it is mostly
confined to protected areas. Hundreds of hippos are shot each year in
´controlled managementµ schemes, despite the fact that hippos are easily
deterred by ditches or low fences. It is more likely that the popularity of
hippo meat is the reason for this strategy. The fat and ivory tusks of the
hippo, as well as the land on which it grazes, are also of value to humans.

 
Studying the interaction of male and female hippopotamuses has long been
complicated by the fact that hippos are not sexually dimorphic and thus
females and young males are almost indistinguishable in the field. Although
hippos like to lie in close proximity to each other, they do not seem to form
social bonds except between mothers and daughters, and are not social
animals. The reason they huddle in close proximity is unknown.
It is difficult to identify the gender of hippos in the field, because all
researchers can usually see are their backs, like with this pod inZambia.

Hippopotamuses are territorial only in water, where a bull presides over a

small stretch of river, on average 250 meters in length, and containing ten
females. The largest pods can contain up to 100 hippos. Other bachelors are
allowed in a bull's stretch, as long as they behave submissively toward the bull.
The territories of hippos exist to establish mating rights. Within the pods,
the hippos tend to segregate by gender. Bachelors will lounge near other
bachelors, females with other females, and the bull on his own. When hippos
emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.

Hippopotamuses appear to communicate verbally, through grunts and bellows,

and it is thought that they may practice echolocation, but the purpose of
these vocalizations is currently unknown. Hippos have the unique ability to hold
their head partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through
both water and air; hippos above and under water will respond.