{"id":1379,"date":"2021-09-29T07:48:28","date_gmt":"2021-09-29T07:48:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/?p=1379"},"modified":"2023-09-23T18:33:09","modified_gmt":"2023-09-23T18:33:09","slug":"where-do-hippos-live","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/where-do-hippos-live\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Do Hippos Live? ????"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hippos live across most of sub-Saharan Africa in rivers, lakes, swamps and even the ocean. Found in sparse patches only, both species of hippo are endangered.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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In Africa: Where Do Hippos Live?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the hippopotamus family’s prehistoric range was literally across the globe (hippo ancestors were once living in America) – hippos now only live in parts of Africa that have large rivers and high rainfall. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there are only two remaining species: the Common Hippo<\/strong> (Hippopotamus amphibius<\/em>) is huge – and is the traditional hippo you think of first – and their smaller cousin is the aptly-named Pygmy Hippo<\/strong> (Choeropsis liberiensis<\/em>) – around a quarter of the size.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Both species used to be very widespread across Africa – found from Western Africa across to the Nile Delt<\/strong>a and down both coasts to South Africa. Now, however, due to habitat loss and poaching, they are only found today in a handful of small pockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remnant populations of Common Hippos are in less than half the continent’s countries; whereas Pygmy Hippos are believed to be living in only 4 countries now (as a subspecies in Nigeria was lost quite recently). The two hippos do overlap in a few places but won’t interbreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which Habitats Do Hippos Like Best?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pygmy hippos absolutely love to live in places that are well forested.<\/strong> With many adaptations to living in a heavily wooded area (less webbing on toes, smaller body, shorter front legs) and spending less time in deep water (smaller head with lower eyes and nostrils) – the Pygmy Hippo lives quite a different lifestyle to the Common Hippo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Found living a mainly solitary life – this smaller cousin also eats anything off the forest floor, including fallen fruits – not the strict grass-based diet of the larger hippos. They do however both share the night-time feeding habit and the 16+ hours a day submerged in the cool African waters of streams, rivers, and lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Common Hippos on the other hand love the open landscape and all those grasses.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Living in large groups (called a bloat of hippos) in slow-moving rivers and huge lakes – these giants spend most of their time totally submerged underwater to stay cool – even sleeping beneath the waves. They don’t care for dense vegetation as they need dry habitats for the best grass foraging. They eat around 50kg+ (110lb+) of food a night – and bearing in mind they often live in groups of 30-100 individuals – they need to live in places with A LOT of grass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Do Hippos Eat Meat?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Both species of hippo are herbivores by nature. The Common Hippo is really almost 100% grass in preference, but the Pygmy has a much wider palate (mainly because there is less vegetation to choose from in a forest than there is out in the open).<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

However, there are stories of hippos eating meat from carcasses when they are hungry<\/strong> – even though they can’t really digest it properly as they don’t have the bacteria in the gut to do this. Although it won’t harm them in small amounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also stories of adult male hippos actually choosing to kill and eat other animals – although this is all anecdotal rather than reported extensively in biological literature.<\/strong> But there are many instances of herbivores (in general) eating meat when minerals in their diet are lacking – so it is possible. Added to that fact that hippos are totally grumpy enough to kill other animals – why wouldn’t they sometimes take advantage of that surplus energy?<\/p>\n\n

Do Hippos Live in Groups (And what are they called)?<\/h2>

Yes, hippos do live in groups known as bloats. Similar to jellyfish group behavior and collective names<\/a>, bloats consist of several hippos led by a dominant male. These groups provide social interaction, protection, and resources for hippos, just like how jellyfish form aggregations and have distinctive collective names.<\/p>

What Are the Similarities and Differences in the Habitats of Skunks and Hippos?<\/h2>

Skunks and hippos have distinct differences and similarities in their habitats. Hippos dwell in Africa, specifically in sub-Saharan rivers and lakes. They are semi-aquatic animals, spending most of their time submerged in water to escape heat and predation. On the other hand, where do skunks make their homes<\/a>? Skunks prefer various habitats, including woodlands, grasslands, and suburban areas, seeking shelter in dens or burrows. Despite their divergent habitats, both species adapt to their surroundings to ensure survival.<\/p>

Can Hippos Live in the Marian Trench?<\/h2>

The Marian Trench, with its extreme depths and harsh conditions, is not a suitable environment for hippos or any other terrestrial animals in marian trench<\/a>. This trench, located in the Pacific Ocean, reaches 36,070 feet deep. It is an aquatic abyss where only unique deep-sea creatures can withstand the pressure and darkness.<\/p>

Can You Have A Pet Hippo?<\/h2>\n\n

Not really.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not only are both endangered species so it would be extremely unlikely you could even get your hands on one if you were a certified zoo – they need more than the average enclosure – and strict criteria to meet. You might get away with a large back-yard enclosure for a Pygmy Hippo (if it were legal of course) but the space needed to house a group of 17ft (5m) adult Common Hippos is out of range of even most national zoos and wildlife parks (so not likely for an individual hippo lover.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weighing in at over 3000lbs (1400kg) a piece – adult hippos need to eat about a trailer-full of grass<\/strong> (or other suitable vegetation) every day – something that would soon set you out of pocket – as well as setting up that slow-moving waterway for them to sleep in all day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They also can’t be toilet trained – and have the terrible habit of spreading their poop around everywhere with their tail. Not ideal around the house.<\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hippos live across most of sub-Saharan Africa in rivers, lakes, swamps and even the ocean. Found in sparse patches only, both species of hippo are endangered. In Africa: Where Do Hippos Live? Although the hippopotamus family’s prehistoric range was literally across the globe (hippo ancestors were once living in America) – hippos now only live […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,14],"tags":[50,88],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1379"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7996,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1379\/revisions\/7996"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1379"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1379"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wildlifefaq.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1379"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}