1/7/2024 0 Comments Hipo potamus![]() Hippo males especially use their canines for fighting. Their canine and incisor teeth grow continuously, with canines reaching 20 inches (51 centimeters) in length. Sometimes young hippos get caught in the middle of violent clashes between adults and can be bitten or crushed-occasionally by their own parent.ĭespite the hippos' cute appearance, they are among the most dangerous and aggressive of all mammals. When you live in a group that may contain as many as 100 individuals, disagreements are bound to happen. Crocodiles, lions, hyenas, and leopards are all potential threats while growing up-but the most dangerous thing to a young hippo is another hippo. Lions have been known to take down hippos, but it depends upon how many lions, the age of the hippo, and how far it is from the water.īut simply reaching adulthood is a challenge. A full-grown adult doesn’t have much in the way of natural predators. In the unpredictable African wilderness, hippos face many perils, such as disease and drought. ![]() It is thought that this mucous may also prevent infections even large wounds don't seem to get infected despite the filthy water hippos sometimes live in in their native habitat. But not to worry! The blood sweat creates a layer of mucous that protects hippo skin from sunburn and keeps it moist. They don’t have true sweat glands instead, hippos secrete a thick, red substance from their pores known as "blood sweat," as it looks like they are sweating blood. Staying out of the water for too long can lead to dehydration, so hippos try to remain in water during the day. Hippos have unique skin that needs to be kept wet for a good part of the day. The name “hippopotamus” comes from a Greek word meaning “water horse” or “river horse.” But hippos are not related to horses at all-in fact, their closest living relatives may be pigs or whales and dolphins! There are two species of hippopotamus: the river, or common, hippo and the much smaller pygmy hippo. It is the most rotund land mammal and spends its daytime hours in lakes, pools, mudholes, or in the preferred moving waters of rivers. ![]() What's in a name? Watch a hippo, on land or in the water, and you’ll soon discover that this roly-poly is one of the world’s great characters.
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