Probably, while walking around the zoo, you noticed a huge animal called a hippopotamus.
In fact, its natural habitat is rivers, and you can meet it in its natural conditions only on the territory of Africa. To make you realize its size, you should say that among all terrestrial animals, only an elephant surpasses it in size.
Its weight may exaggerate four tons. Hippopotamus, as this animal is also called, refers to those species of the animal world, the number of which decreases markedly every year. Therefore, in those African countries, where this huge animal lives, various activities prolong the life of hippos, as well as help, save and preserve their species.
Hippos spend most of their lives in water, and on land are chosen for one simple reason. Because outside the water, they are looking for a livelihood. Mainly, representatives of this species of animal live in fresh river waters. Sometimes, according to the facts about the life of these animals, hippos can also be found in saltwater.
To better understand the nature of these creatures, you must have information about what feeds such a giant animal world. There are some contradictions and guesswork, but, mainly, hippos are considered to be herbivorous animals. That is, the basis for their diet is the grass and a variety of plant species.
To find food, hippos leave their usual environment, leaving the river on land. He does this, as a rule, when it’s twilight time. Every night, he grazes for several hours in a row. This time can reach a maximum of six hours.
If we compare the amount of food absorbed by the hippopotamus, it should be noted that the animal eats a little. At one time, it may eat up to fifty kilograms of grass. If we take into account its huge heavyweight, such a small amount of grass will make up only one or two percent of the total body weight of the animal. This small consumption of food is easily explained by the internal structure of the hippos.
A hippopotamus eats very little because its intestines in a fairly short time can quite effectively assimilate all the useful properties that his body needs.
By the way, the most favorite in the hippopotamus diet is the sausage tree. Its fruits are the most desirable for this animal if it is located directly in the wilderness.
It should also be noted that although the hippopotamus spends almost all his life in the aquatic environment, he can not find a livelihood in the rivers. In no case, he will not feed on various algae and other plants of all kinds, which grow and characters for water.
If we talk about those hippos, which are deprived of their natural life and placed in zoos, the situation is quite different from their living conditions and, in particular, with food. After all, in the zoo, the hippopotamus is deprived of the opportunity to look for food on their own and to choose the food that is necessary for their sustenance.
Therefore, hippos living in the zoo, as a rule, are fed special food, the composition of which is carefully selected by experts on a special recipe. Hippos require vitamins belonging to group B for their normal life. Therefore, zoo workers feed these animals with yeast, the volume of which reaches two hundred grams.
For hippopotamuses, this is an additional source from which they receive the necessary vitamins. In addition to fodder and yeast, hippos living in zoos also receive various vegetables in their diet.
In their daily diet, of course, also includes the herb that is absorbed by their intestines, and which enriches the body with the necessary properties and components. Such hippos do not refuse to eat porridge.
By the way, if we are talking about a female hippopotamus, who is brought up in the zoo and is in the life stage of feeding her offspring, the zoo workers even prepare her a special individual porridge. When cooking such porridge, milk is used, and then the necessary amount of sugar is added to it.
By the way, some scientists assure that hippos should be counted as meat because they do not deny themselves the opportunity to taste the scavenger. Also, some of them steal food extracted by crocodiles. But such behavior, as for the food, is not inherent to all representatives of this animal. Most often, such cases can be found in South Africa.
What Does a Hippo Eat? Hippo’s Diet
In Africa, hippos are the third largest land animal. They eat grass, leaves, and fruits. The pygmy hippopotamus eats ferns, roots, and fruits. The common hippopotamus is known to eat primarily grass. Both species are herbivorous, but the pygmy hippopotamuses supplement their diet with some plants.
Although they spend most of their time in the water, hippos are able to live on land. Their habitats include freshwater rivers, inland wetlands, and even saltwater. They are herbivorous animals, so their diet includes grass and a variety of plant species. The average hippo will consume 80 pounds of grass per night. They can travel up to 6 miles during the night and go up to three weeks without eating.
The average hippos eat grass, but they are omnivorous, meaning they eat mostly plant-based food. While their diet consists mostly of plant matter, they have been seen to eat animal corpses. Nevertheless, experts still do not fully understand why they don’t eat plants. In fact, hippos spend most of the day sleeping, so they can only graze on grass during daylight hours.
Because of their size and amazing sense of smell, hippopotamus feed during the day. Their nocturnal feeding habits enable them to avoid predation. The nocturnal hours of feeding are often called “hippo lawns.” The hippo’s nocturnal feeding habits allow it to graze on grassy areas near its waterbed and avoid predators. Their eyes, which are situated on their top part, allow them to detect fruit and other prey.
A hippo’s diet consists largely of plant matter. Its diet includes plants, seeds, and some meat. In the wild, hippos are largely herbivorous and eat plants and other animals. Despite their herbivorous status, hippos eat a variety of foods and are notoriously aggressive. The pygmy hippo’s eating habits are highly controversial, but they are not the only ones with an aversion to human contact.
Though the species has no natural preference for meat, it does eat plants, especially when it’s available in the wild. They can be vegetarians, but their eating habits are very different. In water, hippos live almost entirely in swamps, where they live in large numbers. They live in shallow water bodies, which makes them vulnerable to predators. While they have a diet rich in plants and insects, they don’t eat other animals.
The hippo’s diet consists largely of plants. Its diet consists of a variety of plant materials. It is mainly an herbivorous animal, but it is also found in other environments. It lives in groups of up to 200 individuals. They are solitary animals, but they can be found in larger groups of up to 200. The hippopotamuses live in herds with several adult males and females. The dominant male has the right to mate with all adult females in a herd. Its mate territory is defined by other hippos.
The hippo is closely related to the pig. Its name means “water horse.” It is related to the pig and the dolphin. Its skin is smooth with no hair and its head is huge. Its lower incisor teeth are up to 50 cm (20 inches long). Their lower canine teeth are used for fighting. They also love watermelon. They are also closely related to the pig.
The hippo’s diet includes a variety of plants. In the wild, they typically eat reeds and green shoots. In captivity, they can eat up to 150 lb of meat a night. A hippo’s yawning is a territorial gesture. It can swallow up to 8,000 pounds of plant matter a day, so it’s not surprising that it prefers plants to other food.
Its diet is largely comprised of a variety of foods, including fish, fruits, and vegetables. Its diet consists of meat, and it is also a mainstay of aquatic ecosystems. Besides their meaty diet, hippos are also predators. They can attack and destroy other animals, and they often steal their kills from other predators. However, it’s not always clear how these animals get their food.
