The hippopotamus is recognisable by its barrel-shaped torso, wide-opening mouth revealing large canine tusks, nearly hairless body, columnar legs and large size; adults average 1,500 kg (3,310 lb) and 1,300 kg (2,870 lb) for bulls and cows respectively. Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it is capable of running 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances. Source: WikiPedia See if you can spot the Baby! [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb_QqCS11sE[/embedyt] Below is a picture of our Second encounter with Hippos… This time were able to find not just 1, but a whole pod of Hippos with babies as well… They were basking close to the Shoreline. At first we thought it was a carcass, but upon closer inspection found out it was a pod of Hippos! Our Second encounter with Hippos… This time were able to find not just 1, but a whole pod of Hippos with babies as well… They were basking close to the Shoreline. At first we thought it was a carcass, but upon closer inspection found out it was a pod of Hippos! Fun facts about the Hippo’s of Lake Sibaya: Lake Sibaya has the second largest population of Hippos in Kwa-Zulu Natal! Unfortunately this number is decreasing due to poachers, erosion and loss of habitat! We need to protect these gorgeous creatures, especially with Lake Sibaya been a world heritage site and a wetlands park protected area! Have any suggestions? Try stay clear of these unpredictable animals! Although it is amazing to find a hippo and see them in their natural habitat, you definitely don’t want to be to close to them, if you find a hippo to close to land or outside the water rather stay in your car or put some distance between you and the hippo, before admiring these majestic animals… They will charge if spooked or feel threatened… Think of a Hippo as a miniature Elephant! Hippos are the third largest land mammal after the Rhino and Elephant! I always thought a hippo was bigger than a Rhino – Guess I was mistaken… Interestingly enough hippos are more closely related to dolphins, whales and porpoises among other mammal sea creatures! Hippos can hold their breath up to 5 minutes underwater, which is quite impressive for such a heavy animal! Hippos spend up to 16 hours a day in the water! They try stay mostly in water to keep their skin cool and moist… Although Hippos are actually not great swimmers! They mostly stay in shallow waters where they can submerge to the point where only their eyes and nostrils breach the surface, the don’t go much deeper than what they can stand, the deepest a Hippo will go is how deep it can bounce off the surface and reach the water surface to breath…. Meaning don’t underestimate shallow waters, keep your eyes open for strange movements in the water! It is certainly not recommended to swim in a Hippo or Crocodile infested lake or any water bed! If the crocodiles don’t object to your presence the Hippos certainly will… Hippos are very social animals, but also a close community… They don’t just let anyone join in on their group especially if they have young! Hippos Schools usually consist of about 10 – 30 members per School, although some Schools have been reported to have almost 200 individuals in 1 school… Never the less – Hippos are not sexist like most other herding/pack animals they don’t mind having males and females in their herd… Although there is always an alpha male that should never be challenged and always respected! Hippos are nocturnal grazers, every night in the coolness of the dark skies hippos will start grazing on grass. An adult Hippo can eat up to 35 kg in a single night and travel up to 10 km just to get their fill! Now that’s devotion. Hippos can live up to 3 weeks without food and although mostly herbivore – It has been observed that hippos eat carcasses of dead animals as well including dead hippos! Female Hippos pregnancy lasts about 8 months in total! That’s almost as long as a human pregnancy… The calf will suckle on it’s mom for the first 8 months of it’s life and will reach maturity between 5-7 years… The average life span of a hippo is 35 years! Our factual sources for this article came from: Sodwana Bay Information, WikiPedia and Live Science
