Hippopotamus - · PDF fileThe odd name of hippopotamus is derived from the ... distributed or reproduced in any format whatsoever without the express written ... unusual midnight

– Game Ranging / Field Guiding Course

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Mammals © Copyright

Module # 7 – Component # 18

Hippopotamus

Classification

Hippopotamus are classified in the following manner: Kingdom - Animalia

Phylum - Chordata Class - Mammalia

Order - Whippomorpha Family - Hippopotamidae Genus - Hippopotamus

Species - amphibius

Common names:

English - Hippopotamus German - Flusspferd / Nilpferd French - Hippopotame

Afrikaans - Seekoei Shangaan - Mvuvu

Swahili - Kiboko



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Myth & Legend The Shona people of the Northern Province and Southern Zimbabwe, believe that

it is an evil omen for a hippopotamus to wander into their village. If this occurs, it indicates that an enemy of the village has sent it to spread death and destruction.

If a hippo is killed on land, its hide, meat and fat may be taken and used. However, its bones must be carefully collected and thrown back into the nearest river. If this

is not done, then surely no rain will fall in the coming season.



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Vital Statistics

Males Females

Total Length 3.5m (11.5ft) 3.0m (10ft)

Shoulder Height 1.5m (5ft 1.45m (4.7ft)

Weight 1,500 Kg (3,300 lbs.)

1,350 Kg (2,970 lbs.)

Gestation period 241 days

Food preference Grazer

Maximum speed running 40 kph (± 25mph)

Ability to remain underwater

6 minutes

Social grouping Large herds in a harem structure

Longevity ± 40 years

Record Game Auction price: R 61, 000.00

Record length of Canine: 164cm (64 ½ in.)

Record length of incisor: 58cm (23in.)

Hippopotamus – Hippopotamus amphibius



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Introduction & Origins The odd name of hippopotamus is derived from the Greek for ‘river horse’ and

later it was frequently referred to as ‘sea cow’. While the animal is strongly associated with water it has no taxonomic affinity to either horses or cows, being

closer related to pigs with which it is assumed to have shared a common ancestor. The oldest fossils forms of this animal were found in Kenya and date back some

20 million years. Other closely related forms of the animal were widely distributed around Africa and fossil remains tell us that they radiated through the

Middle East into Europe as far west as the United Kingdom. After the last major glacial period, its distribution is now limited to Africa only.

Two extant (living) forms exist today. These are the pygmy hippo (pictured below) of West Africa and the normal hippo.



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Description & Distribution While its overall appearance requires no introduction, there are several peculiarities

that may need mentioning, mainly adaptations to its amphibious lifestyle. While the animal may look ungainly and uncoordinated on land, it is an excellent

swimmer and can close off its nose and ears while submerged.

Although zoologists can only speculate on any causal and effect scenario, hippos

have extremely sensitive skin. They are in fact virtually hairless, with a very thin epidermis (outer skin) and have no sweat glands. This translates to an animal that is highly susceptible to both dehydration and sunburn. Dehydration is

taken care of by their spending most daylight hours submerged in rivers and dams, but another mechanism is required to prevent skin damage when they lie outside of

water on river banks. To allow for this, hippos possess specialised skin glands that secrete a viscous reddish fluid onto the skin surface. The red colour is caused by skin pigments and the fluid has the benefit of protecting the animal from

ultraviolet radiation – nature’s own sunscreen. This reddish secretion caused early settlers to believe that hippos sweated blood.

Hippos are still regularly encountered throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa both in and outside of formal conservation areas. Every so often there are strange

reports of hippo sightings where no hippos were thought to exist. These hippos were either sequestered in small local farm dams or rivers or had decided to take

extended journeys, a phenomenon that occurs from time to time.



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Social Grouping Mature bulls control and defend a section of river, lake or dam. This position

has been hard won, and the territory is ferociously defended. The male in charge of this territory attracts females, and they become his harem. Hippos may also be

found in bachelor herds, as solitary bulls and a mother with her offspring.

Male territory is advertised by dominance displays and

posturing as well as with dung. The dominant male will spray dung on rocks and bushes that define his

domain. Dung spraying occurs when the male vigorously flaps his tail in a side to side movement while defecating. This action spreads the dung over a relatively wide area.

Females and juveniles under his care do not dung-splatter, rather depositing their waste directly

into the water or on its banks. This constitutes an essential deposition of nutrients into the aquatic habitat and is among the principle factors driving detrital and

other food chains within many river systems.

The size of a bull’s territory varies with his chosen habitat and the population density of hippos. Typical territory size averages between 50 and 500 m [165 ft – 1650 ft]. Herd size frequently relates to territory size. These herds range

between 2 and 50 individuals but average at 10 – 15.

Under certain circumstances hippo densities may become extremely large reaching upwards of 200 animals. In these large areas, it is unknown how many

different herds have congregated and how many hold positions of dominance. The female structure within the typical herd has not yet been completely

unravelled, but probably consists of related females. Non-breeding males are also tolerated within the dominant bull’s domain, if they remember their place and

position. If they show any signs of rebellion, they will be quickly and savagely chased out. The large breeding male may be able to retain his territory and position for most his adult life.

Tenures of 20 – 30 years are quite possible. Males are generally able to keep their

section of river for at least 8 years.



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Activity and Feeding On hot sunny days, hippos will spend the majority of their time submerged.

They may bask in the sun for short periods and spend most of their day on river banks during cool overcast weather.

When in water hippos cannot float, but can swim very well or walk along the bottom of the river bed. Studies have shown that hippos can keep submerged for

at least 4 minutes going as high as 6 minutes in mature animals. Due to their sensitive skin, it is not surprising that these very large herbivores are nocturnal

feeders. At dusk, they will leave the

safety of the water to feed. Led by the dominant bull,

hippos use well established paths to and from feeding grounds. The paths are well

worn and when excavated through long grass or reed

beds are unmistakable. This is vitally important to remember should you ever

have to use these paths. As a rule of thumb never use them after sunset until dawn. Getting between a hippo

and water invariably leads to the death of one of you.

Not only will hippos use established paths on land, also in traversing river beds while submerged. In clear and still water these paths on the river beds are distinct and fascinating to see.

When out foraging at night hippos undergo what seems to be a personality

change. They become remarkably tolerant of other individuals. A proximity that in the water would have sparked an aggressive confrontation is largely ignored on land. While out of the water at night it is untrue that the colossal herbivores

spend all their time eating. A good deal of time may be spend resting, lying down and travelling. Hippos do not ruminate

Hippos are grazers and, strangely for their bulk, selective feeders with definite preferences for which species of grass they take. They also have the habit of

cropping grasses very short. It doesn’t take many of them a long time to over-utilise and degrade their immediate grazing areas by close eating, trampling

and causing soil erosion. When food is abundant they generally remain relatively close to their diurnal resting pool or stretch of river.

Hippos they may be prone to wandering, and 8 – 10 km [5 – 6 miles] is not an unusual midnight walk. These forays may take them to preferred food sources,

other waterholes or, more seriously, into agricultural lands. Hippos frequently become major crop raiders and may be very difficult to dissuade or chase away.



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Under extreme conditions, hippos may walk long distances in search of food or an alternative water source. Some

individuals have been recorded as walking 30 Km [18 miles] in a round

trip from water to grazing land and back. One exceptional account that

resulted in a very famous hippo was the ‘great trek’ of Huberta (known as Hubert until her gender was

established). For unknown reasons, this animal walked from St. Lucia in

Kwa-Zulu / Natal to East London in the Cape Province. A journey of 1600 Km over three years!

This incredible trip (1928 – 1931) was closely followed by South Africans until her untimely death at the hands of farmers on the banks of the Kieskamma river.

Funnily enough, a recent dispute has arisen between the two Provinces as to which should have the right to display her remains. Huberta (the lonely wanderer) currently resides in the Kaffarian Museum in King Williams Town, Eastern Cape.



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The spot where Huberta made her first appearance in West Street, Durban.



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The delightfully dotty adventures of Huberta the Hippo (Source:

www.mahlatini.com)

There are certain animals that over time have become famous for various reasons; whether they are fictional dogs from movies or books or real life animals that have

performed mean feats. In the age of YouTube, we have become accustomed to animals having their 3 minutes of fame. It isn’t often, however, that a hippo

becomes famous. Long before the internet was even conceived, a hippo became a legend in South Africa. In November 1928 Hurberta the wandering hippo decided to embark on a trek that would take her a distance of 1 600km over 3

years, something never before recorded! Her journey would capture the imagination of people from around the world and she would take her place as a

truly deserving national heroine.

Huberta is likely to have been born near St. Lucia Estuary in Zululand. We will never know just what strange impulse made Huberta the Hippo suddenly leave her

muddy lagoon and begin her great trek southwards but it became the start of one of the most delightfully dotty animal adventures of all time.

Many have speculated on why Huberta set off on this extremely long journey. Some have said that she wanted to visit ancestral haunts of hippos that had previously lived further to the south. Others said she was looking for a lost

friend and yet others believed that she had witnessed her mother being killed and she had wanted to flee as far as possible from the place of this tragedy. The real

motive we will never know and perhaps it is nicer to think that she just felt that she needed some adventure in her life!

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/huberta-prints.jpg

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/huberta-at-sugar-cane-farm.jpg



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As she crossed roads and railways and visited towns and cities it became obvious that this was no shy animal. She ate her way through parks, gardens and farms and tramped over golf courses. That said, however, she became a master in

avoiding people. She travelled mainly at night and in spite of being constantly pursued by journalists and other enthusiasts, she succeeded in escaping in the

dense bushes and swamps and nobody saw anything more from her than her footprints. That’s why many details on her journey aren’t available, just sketchy

information from various places she visited. One photo does exist, taken on a sugar cane farm, early on in her journey. It appeared in the Natal Mercury newspaper, igniting the initial interest. She soon became famous across South

Africa and even became known across the globe with international publications picking up on the story. The press initially thought that she was a male hippo and

nicknamed her Hubert. Later, when her true identity was discovered, she was renamed Huberta.

She broke up her journey for a while and settled herself in the lagoon at the mouth

of the Mhlanga River (some 200km from her home). She seemed to enjoy her new home and her status as a minor celebrity. She attracted crowds who would

throw fruit, sugar cane and other tidbits to her. At this point, there was a failed attempt by hunters to capture her and put her into Johannesburg Zoo.

As she became more famous she was declared by the Natal Provincial Council as

royal game and it became illegal to hunt or catch her. She was awarded mythical status by the Zulu and Xhosa peoples who came to believe that she possessed the

spirit of a great chief.

Following this stop she headed south to Durban where she was seen by tourists walking along one of the beaches and swimming in the sea. One night she was

even seen ambling down the main street of the town! She trampled all over the elite Beachwood Golf Course and arrived uninvited to a party at Durban Country

Club, sauntering along the veranda in front of the partygoers.

Finally, Huberta reached East London in March 1931 after having crossed 122 rivers and having had a number of rest stops along the way. She was reported

sighted one evening by a freight train driver who noticed an obstruction on the rails. The obstruction was Huberta lying across the track! After much commotion,

she finally woke up and slowly and lazily walked away.



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The Hollywood version of the story would have Huberta spending the rest of her days wallowing in a river, exhausted after her epic journey. Unfortunately, there was no Hollywood ending for poor Huberta. In April 1931 three hunters shot and

killed her whilst she was basking in the Keiskamma River. Her body was later found floating downstream. After a national outcry the killers were fined £25

each for hunting royal game. They pleaded ignorance about her identity.

The news of her death sent shock waves around the country and the

world. Foreign newspapers such as Punch and The Chicago Tribune wrote tributes and the event was even discussed in the South African parliament. People from around the country sent sympathy cards, donations and wreaths.

Huberta’s body was sent to a taxidermist in London and after her return to South Africa in 1932, more than 20 000 people flocked to see the mounted animal as she

stood in her glory at the Durban Museum. Today the preserved, stuffed body can be seen at the Amathole Museum in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape.

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/huberta-on-railway-line.jpg

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/male-hippo.jpg



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Very recently another hippo, a male, departed on a similar journey to that of Huberta but unfortunately didn’t make it even as far as Durban. He came too

close to densely inhabited areas and there were worries that he would harm someone and the authorities decided to kill him. Luckily modern photographers

were lucky enough to capture him frolicking in the sea.

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/huberta-hunted.jpg

http://www.mahlatini.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/male-hippo-at-waters-edge.jpg



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Fighting and Hierarchy Fights between male hippos happen for the most typical of reasons, these being

territory and females. When two bulls meet, the encounter has every chance of being very amicable so long as the subordinate male knows his status. After they

have stared each other down for a moment or two they will each turn around and with rapid flicks of their tails, shower dung onto one another. If there is no territorial or female dispute they will simply walk away.

However, in the case of a dispute, the two will put on displays and posture by wide

yawning to show off their formidable teeth and may scoop up and splash water onto each other. If neither shows submission by lowering his head or sniffing the others nether, regions an impressive battle may commence. During these fights

the two may stand side-on head to tail or face to face, and with great slashing movements attempt to gore the other in their necks or flanks.

Although hippo epidermis is very thin, hippo dermis (layer directly under the skin) is thick with hides measuring up to 6 cm [2 ½ in.]. Even with the protective layer

injuries may be substantial to the point of fatal. Hippo hides are a much sought after commodity and are primarily used to make Sjamboks (thick whips) used by rural herd boys.



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Reproduction

Although male hippos reach sexual

maturity at 7 years, they are only able to challenge for, and win a harem of females at

10 – 15 years old, once they have grown in size and experience. Females over the age of 4 are regularly ‘checked’ by the resident

bull for their reproductive status.

Once he has established that a cow has entered oestrus, she is herded into water where a brief mating takes place.

Although accounts of elephants mating in water have been occasionally described, the

hippo is the only mammal other than the real aquatic mammals (whales and dolphins) to mate in water.

After a gestation period varying between 225 – 257 days, the expectant mother

wanders away from the herd to give birth in shallow water. Calves are born underwater and need to surface to take their first breath of air. The mother hippo will remain away from the herd for 10 days to two weeks to establish a bond

with its calf. Calves are born weighing 50 Kg [110 lbs.] and like the adults can’t float, but can swim and walk around within minutes. The calf suckles underwater

and is fully weaned at a year.

At 7 – 8 years adolescent males are driven away while females usually remain with their maternal herd.



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Anti – Predator Behaviour Hippos spend the majority of their time in water and are unusually large, and thus

have few natural enemies. Calves are somewhat prone to predation by crocodiles, but they are no match for adult hippos who will defend their calves to

the end. On land calves and juveniles might be taken by lion or spotted hyena, but even

on land adult hippos are a force to be reckoned with. There have been accounts of lions deliberately hunting hippo, but these are rare. Hyenas have frequently been

credited with the most powerful bite of African mammals. A large hippo can easily bite a 3 meter [10 foot] crocodile in two with one giant snap. They will also attack boats if feeling threatened or just annoyed.

Many hippo still live outside of formal conservation areas, and encounters with

local rural populations occur all too often. Amazingly hippos, are still responsible for more human deaths on the African continent than any other vertebrate including, lions, crocodiles and poisonous snakes.

The animal credited with the most deaths is unequivocally the Anopheles, malarial

mosquito. Malaria (spread by the female of the species) still kills more than 3 million people annually. Read more about this insect in Module # 2.

A hippo’s main enemy is drought and to some extent floods. During drought periods hippos will crowd together in the shrinking pools and fights become

frequent and aggressive. Losers are either killed or driven out. They will also stay in an ever diminishing pool until it literally dries up completely.

Hippos have been documented walking incredible distances in search of new pools and have an uncanny ability to find them. How this occurs is unknown.

It may seem odd that floods are also a danger to the animals; hippo victims of flooding usually drown as they are washed away in torrents.



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Strange behaviour When authors compile large volumes of information, such as the WildlifeCampus

courses, they use many different reference sources. Often enough they suffer from an overdose of information, but more exasperating is not having enough

on one specific point. This is especially true of the unusual topic of the strange behaviour of hippos.

Hippopotamus amphibius is mostly a creature of habit and easy to explain. However, several well documented scenarios make the animal really come alive

and give it personality that probably won’t be evident unless it is actually seen in its natural habitat.

Hippos have regularly been seen to stamp out campfires.

Although completely vegetarian (or supposed to be) they have nibbled on

carcasses and played with them.

Most incredible are the several cases of hippos coming to the rescue of other species. These accounts have them attempting to assist a drowning kudu, chasing off spotted hyena from wildebeest and rescuing an impala from a

crocodile. Why they do this is unknown and can only be speculated about. Perhaps it’s a

kinship with another animal that shares a common predator. Perhaps it’s an automatic response to another animal in distress. Irrespective of the underlying

reasons, it’s very gratifying to learn that we still have much to learn.



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Status

Hippo are a numerous and un-threatened species. Population numbers can

only be estimated, but there are at least 2,500 – 3,000 in the Kruger National Park alone.

Documents

Hippopotamus - · PDF fileThe odd name of hippopotamus is derived from the ... distributed or reproduced in any format whatsoever without the express written ... unusual midnight