![]() If you are on a walking or canoeing safari, listen and adhere to your guide’s safety instructions. Be warned, they are faster than you and will attack. These gigantic creatures are best appreciated from afar!Īs for anyone embarking on an African safari, these gigantic and fascinating mammals are best appreciated from afar. The fact that humans also need to make use of the river (to collect water or to do washing in some areas) means that they have to be extra cautious of hippos, especially in the early evening when they are coming back onto land to grase. Rural villagers who live near rivers are most as risk as they share the same paths down to and along the river banks as hippos. Hippos are very adept in water and count amongst the largest animals in the worldĪmongst the world’s most dangerous and aggressive animals, hippos often attack humans without any warning, reason or apparent provocation. They are also amongst the largest animals in the world only elephants, whales and rhinos being larger. Perhaps this is why they are so adept in the water. They may look like pigs or rhinos, but their closest relative is the whale. While hippos are land-dwelling mammals, their closest relative is not what you’d expect. You will never see a group of hippos moving and grazing as one, but rather individual hippos munching on their own patches of grass at night. Interestingly, hippos eat by themselves because in the hippo community eating is private. In one day, they generally consume about 50 kilograms of vegetation – which, when you consider how large they are, really isn’t that excessive. Hippos are herbivores and consume a massive amount of vegetation. This is, in fact, their natural sunscreen that protects their hides from the harsh African sun and also acts as an antiseptic. It was originally thought that hippos bled from their skin because of the red skin oil residue in the water surrounding them. The spike-like teeth and enormous jaws of the hippo are quite frighteningīeing Africa’s Most Dangerous Animal is however not the only fascinating fact about these massive mammals. Ironically, hippos are vegetarian but this hasn’t stopped them from regularly biting crocodiles in half. Their teeth are so large, in fact, that they require large cavities in their head to be able to house them. Their enormous jaws are studded with spike-like teeth that can measure up to 20 inches and have been known to cause great damage. Due to their specific gravity they can even walk and run underwater along the river floor and can even sleep underwater! ![]() They have been known to reach overland speeds of up to 32 kilometres per hour and can easily outrun any human. They are massive creatures but don’t let this fool you into thinking they are slow. ![]() Females are tasked with protecting the youngsters and will attack anything that comes close to them – threatening or not.Ī female hippo will protect her young at every costĪt birth, hippos weigh about 45 kilograms and grow to reach weights of around 2 to 3 tonnes. It comes as no surprise, then, that most human fatalities occur on a riverbank that belonged to a hippo. Male hippos are tasked with guarding the riverbank and defending their homes from any animal or person who threatens it. Hippopotamuses spend most of their days lolling around in waterīoth male and female hippos are enormously territorial. They can even hold their breath for as long as 30 minutes at a time! This is where their name comes from – the Greeks named them ‘river horse.’ It is estimated that these semi-aquatic animals spend up to 16 hours a day in the water, where they mate, give birth and feed their young. Hippopotamuses make their home on the banks of rivers or lakes and spend most of their days lolling about in or around the water. The hippopotamus appears cute and cuddly, but be aware, its one of Africa’s most unpredictable and dangerous And so this month we thought we’d shed some light on hippos, explain why they are so dangerous and point out a few other fascinating facts. Many people perceive them as being docile, fat, lazy and slow when in fact they account for more human fatalities in Africa than any other animal. But did you know that they are, in fact, well-known as the Most Dangerous Animal in Africa? This is in part due to their deceptively ‘cute’ appearance, and the fact that these enormous grunting fellows are extremely aggressive and unpredictable. The hippopotamus is one of Africa’s most loved and popular animals, along with the giraffe, elephant, zebra and lion. ![]()
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