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Hippopotamus amphibius
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus.) After the elephant, the hippotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe. The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers, lakes and West African mangrove swamps [3] where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land. Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about 55 million years ago.[4] The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago.[5] The earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, date to around 16 million years ago. The hippopotamus is recognizable by its barrel-shaped torso, enormous mouth and teeth, nearly hairless body, stubby legs and tremendous size. It is the third largest land mammal by weight (between 1½ and 3 tonnes), behind the white rhinoceros (1½ to 3½ tonnes) and the three species of elephant (3 to 9 tonnes). The hippopotamus is one of the largest quadrupeds (four legged mammals).Despite its stocky shape and short legs, it can easily outrun a human. Hippos have been clocked at 30 km/h (19 mph) over short distances. The hippopotamus is one of the most aggressive creatures in the world and is often regarded as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. There are an estimated 125,000 to 150,000 hippos throughout Sub-Saharan Africa; Zambia (40,000) and Tanzania (20,000–30,000) possess the largest populations. They are still threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory canine teeth.
13 Comments
Hi there. Since you know the identity of your organism, please go ahead and fill in the scientific name field. This allows the spotting to fully enter the database and become complete, letting groups and individuals use the data and find your spotting. It also takes the spotting off the "unidentified" list. Thank you!
Here's a great Project Noah blog entry that explains the spotting process:
http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/2870249...
Great spot!!!
added few more photographs
Wow..
I will do, thanks!
thx friends :)
@EdMarshal u can get this effect in Lightroom try that software u'll love it
regards
Outstanding photo!
I love the way the faded black border frames this shot. Did you get that effect through something like photoshop? I've tried but can't seem to get it quite right
thx :)
What a picture!
thx friends i have more will upload soon :)
super! wide open mouth. wish u have more photos
Great shot!