Hippo Pictures and Hippo Facts

Take a look at these great hippo pictures, and read about the hippo facts below. You will also find cartoon drawings of hippos here.

The hippo, or hippopotamus called by it's full name, is such a funny and cute looking animal and at the same time such a dangerous animal.

 

It seems that the hippo kills as many people as the lion does every year. Not because it is hunting them down to eat them, but because it is a very territorial animal, and if anybody happens to threaten it's territory, the danger of being killed is imminent. It runs up to 30 kilometers per hour, faster than men, although you wouldn't think so when you look at it's solid body and small legs.

You mostly see the hippopotamus in the water, with only it's eyes, ears and nostrils above the surface, but the hippo is actually not a very good swimmer. Most of the time it moves around by walking on the river bottom, and then occasionally it sets op to get some air. The hippo can stay under water for about 5 min. before it has to come to the surface to breathe.

I took some very great hippo photos a couple of days ago in the zoo in Copenhagen. In the zoo there is a very good area for the hippos, a huge area inside and also a place outside with water and connection to the rest of the savannah areas.

Right now there are three hippos in the zoo, two grown females and a baby female. Soon there will also be a male hippopotamus, brought in from another zoo, to establish a healthy population.

Hippo Pictures:

 

Cute Hippo baby and mother	Hippopotamus in water
Hungry Hippo	Coming up from water
Common Hippo	Big hippo
Baby hippo and mother	Cute hippo baby and mother

As you can see from the pictures, I was very lucky to be in just the right position and in just the right time.
One of the zookeepers came to feed the hippos. When he came they were actually inside, but he called them by knocking at the windows, and then they came swimming. As you can see on the first pictures.

As I said, I was in the right position, because the zookeeper was standing next to me, throwing the cabbage into the enclosure. When he waved with the cabbage, the big mother hippo opened it's mouth wide open, and I was able to get these wonderful hippo photos where you can see all the hippo teeth and even the cabbage on it's way down.

Male hippo taking a mud bath

Walking hippopotamus

Herd of hippos in water

More Hippo Pictures:

Big common hippo looking at you	Hungry hippo
Hippo teeth and cabbage	Hungry hippo with open mouth
Hippo photo with zebra	Common hippo eating

More Hippo Facts:

The hippos specific gravity is just a little bigger that the specific gravity of water, so it sinks slowly into the water, and when it wants to stay floating, the hippo can fill it's lungs with extra air.

When the hippo dives the nostrils and ears close up to prevent water coming in.

The hippopotamus has a lot DNA in common with the whale, and the hippo itself is adapted to living a lot of it's life in water, with the ears, eyes and nostrils placed high on the head, and with webbed feet.

At night the hippos go on land to eat, mostly grass, and they prefer the grass that has been cut down by earlier grazing, and therefore they make broad paths to their favorite pastures.

Eventually the common hippo will eat a small antelope or a carrion.

The skin of the hippo is actually quite delicate, and at day they cannot stay out of water long without their skin becoming dried out which will lead to the skin cracking. If they have to leave the water for longer periods during the day they have the possibility to "sweat" a red fluid that becomes almost like varnish and protects the skin against drying out.

More Hippo Pictures:

 

Mother and baby hippo eating	Cute baby hippo
Hippo photo	Hippo photo
Beautiful common hippo	Head of common hippo

The size of a hippopotamus amphibius: Approx. 2,7 m, weight 1.5 - 3.2 t.

Habitat: East and South Africa, south of Sahara. On grass areas with water, in the water during the day.

Common hippo in Zoo	Common hippo photo
Hippopotamus with open  mouth

Fighting male hippos

Hippo eating water plants

 

 

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