📷 Wikimedia Commons · Free License
📷 Azim Khan Ronnie
📷 User Paul Maritz on fi.wikipedia
IUCN: Vulnerable
Common Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
KingdomAnimalia›PhylumChordata›ClassMammalia›OrderArtiodactyla›FamilyHippopotamidae›GenusHippopotamus
About
The hippopotamus, often shortened to hippo, further qualified as the common hippopotamus, Nile hippopotamus and river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the pygmy hippopotamus.
Its name comes from the Ancient Greek for "river horse" (ἱπποπόταμος).
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Rivers, lakes, and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa
🍃Diet Herbivore — grasses; up to 40 kg per night
📏Size & Weight Body 3.5–5 m; weight 1,500–3,000 kg
⏳Lifespan 40–50 years wild
🗺Range Sub-Saharan Africa — rivers and lakes
MammalMegafauna
Key Facts
⛰Habitat Rivers, lakes, and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa
🍃Diet Herbivore — grasses; up to 40 kg per night
📏Size & Weight Body 3.5–5 m; weight 1,500–3,000 kg
⏳Lifespan 40–50 years wild
🗺Range Sub-Saharan Africa — rivers and lakes
Photo Credits
#1Wikimedia Commons · Free License
#2Azim Khan Ronnie · CC BY-SA 4.0
#3User Paul Maritz on fi.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
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