The Truth About Fat Hippos: They Eat Very Little, Walk Like Ballet, And Make Sunscreen

Hippos are the terror of Africa. Weighing up to tons and with tusks half a meter long, they are not afraid to fight any creature.

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is a large herbivorous mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is known to be the most ferocious.

Thanks to their extremely powerful jaws, hippos can crush a 3m long crocodile with ease. They also do not hesitate to attack humans. According to statistics in Africa, hippos cause the death of about 2900 African residents each year, more than any other carnivorous animal.

But if you put aside that scary part, the hippo reveals an unexpected grace.

Eat surprisingly little, "only" 15 - 40kg of grass is enough

Although they forage on land, hippos are aquatic animals and cannot survive without water. They need a steady water source, such as a river or lake with a minimum depth of 1.5m.

During the day, they like to wallow in water or mud, and at night they climb ashore to graze.

Among terrestrial mammals, the hippopotamus (1.5-3 tons) ranks third in size, after the white rhinoceros (1.5-3.5 tons) and the elephant (3-9 tons).

Despite its round appearance, hippos are actually small eaters.

Typically, large herbivores need to consume about 5% of their body weight in food. This is because plants are not rich in nutrients, so animals need to "make up for quality with quantity". Accordingly, a 9-ton elephant will consume 450kg of leaves every day.

But hippos only need 1.5% of their body weight in food, which is about 15-40kg of grass. If we were to use the general ratio, they would have to eat 75-150kg of grass every night.

The reason hippos eat so little is because of their energy-saving habits . All day long, these large animals do nothing but float in the water. Thanks to their large bodies, they float easily, without having to swim.

Move in water like ballet

A hippo can hold its breath for up to 6 minutes at a time. While diving, they close both their nostrils and ears, preventing water from entering.

Interestingly, in contrast to their heavy walking on land, hippos in the water are like graceful, supple ballerinas. Instead of swimming with their legs and arms, these massive animals leisurely hop. They bounce their legs, pushing their bodies out of the water in a forward motion, looking extremely comfortable and light.

Thanks to their large size and their habit of moving along fixed routes underwater, hippos maintain their direction with the current. However, despite their light appearance, they still weigh a ton. As a result, the bottom of rivers and lakes is still compacted, and aquatic plants cannot grow. Once they change their path, the direction of the current changes as well.

Underwater, hippos move at a fairly slow speed, only about 8km/h. After about 3-5 minutes submerged, they have to surface once to catch their breath. Baby hippos are more urgent, only after 2-3 minutes.

Secrete "blood sweat" to make skin cream

Despite being mammals, hippos have very little hair. In return, they equip themselves with skin up to 6cm thick.

It is very difficult for wild predators to bite through this super thick skin and eat hippo meat. But the thick epidermis without protection will only burn the sun. Compared to other mammals, hippos sweat 7 times faster. That is why they spend all day soaking in water.

This red skin appears when the hippo covers itself with "sunscreen".

When just soaking isn't enough, hippos will automatically secrete a red liquid to "protect themselves from the sun. " People often call this liquid "blood sweat ," but it's actually not blood or sweat, but a highly acidic fluid. It acts as a mucus layer that inhibits the growth of disease-causing bacteria and absorbs ultraviolet rays.

Hippo's Blood Sweat.

At first, this fluid is not red but clear. Only after a few minutes on the skin does it start to turn red or orange, and finally brown. It coats the body like a layer of sunscreen, preventing the hippo's skin from cracking.

Love you more than anything

Hippos are polygamous. Each male tries to build a large harem of his own. If powerful enough, a hippo king can have up to 200 " concubines ". But usually they only have a herd of 7-15 (including both females and calves).

Male hippos do not like each other, even between "father and son".

There is no harmony between two male hippos. Even between a father and a baby hippo. The father is constantly looking for opportunities to. abuse his child with his 30-50cm long fangs. On the contrary, the mother hippo will do anything for her child. They will become extremely scary when they need to protect their child.

There is a very paradoxical thing about hippos: they give birth in water, although newborn hippos do not know how to swim right after birth. So as soon as they give birth, the mother hippo must quickly dive down and push the baby hippo up to breathe.

The "mother - child" hippos are inseparable.

After being rescued by its mother, the baby hippo immediately learned to swim. The mother hippo also breastfed its baby in the water, not on land. If it did not learn to swim soon, it would either drown or starve to death. But don't worry too much! Adaptation is the special talent of all wild creatures. Within a few minutes, the baby hippo was swimming "well" . From then on, it was the mother hippo's treasure, always by her side, cared for and loved wholeheartedly.