The Common Hippopotamus, or the River Hippopotamus, dominates the African landscape, ruling sub-Saharan Africa's lakes, rivers, and mangrove swamps.
A male hippo can reach 3,260 lb. Despite its massive size, it is surprisingly fast, reaching up to 22 miles per hour on land on short distances.
One of its most distinctive characteristics is the secretion of "blood sweat," which acts as a natural sunscreen and antibacterial agent.
Male hippos reach maturity at 7.5 years old, while cows are 5 to 6 years old. After an eight-month gestation period, a female hippo isolates herself from the group. It gives birth to one calf on land or in shallow water.
Interestingly, calves fold their ears and close their nostrils as they nurse on female hippos underwater. Moreover, this nocturnal herbivore can consume around 80 pounds of grass overnight. Adults have no known natural predators, but lions, hyenas, and crocodiles endanger young hippos.
Despite their formidable size, Common Hippos are not sociable. While they form groups, they do so primarily for protection rather than companionship.
The hippos are a vulnerable species, facing a population decline due to poaching and civil unrest1. Elephant ivory substitutes, such as hippo teeth, heighten demand in illegal markets. Conservation efforts are vital, yielding slight improvements in protected areas.
Here are five subspecies of the common hippo with differences in their skulls and geographic ranges
The Pygmy Hippopotamus is native to the dense forests and marshy swamps of West Africa. Unlike its larger relative, it is only half its height and weighs only a fraction. It measures 69 inches long and stands 39 inches tall at the shoulder.
Moreover, the pygmy hippo lives in the water more than on land. While these animals weigh up to 606 pounds, they move with the grace and agility of a jungle ballerina.
This solitary creature spends the day hidden in cool rivers or wallows, venturing only at night to forage for food. It eats ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, fruits, small insects, and worms.
Pygmy hippos are facing declining numbers due to habitat destruction from commercial plantations2, mining, and shifting agriculture. Intensified bushmeat hunting exacerbates their plight, warranting their endangered status. With fewer than 2,500 mature individuals, a 20% population decrease over two generations is projected.
The Common Hippopotamus, or the River Hippopotamus, dominates the African landscape, ruling sub-Saharan Africa's lakes, rivers, and mangrove swamps.
A male hippo can reach 3,260 lb. Despite its massive size, it is surprisingly fast, reaching up to 22 miles per hour on land on short distances.
One of its most distinctive characteristics is the secretion of "blood sweat," which acts as a natural sunscreen and antibacterial agent.
Male hippos reach maturity at 7.5 years old, while cows are 5 to 6 years old. After an eight-month gestation period, a female hippo isolates herself from the group. It gives birth to one calf on land or in shallow water.
Interestingly, calves fold their ears and close their nostrils as they nurse on female hippos underwater. Moreover, this nocturnal herbivore can consume around 80 pounds of grass overnight. Adults have no known natural predators, but lions, hyenas, and crocodiles endanger young hippos.
Despite their formidable size, Common Hippos are not sociable. While they form groups, they do so primarily for protection rather than companionship.
The hippos are a vulnerable species, facing a population decline due to poaching and civil unrest1. Elephant ivory substitutes, such as hippo teeth, heighten demand in illegal markets. Conservation efforts are vital, yielding slight improvements in protected areas.
Here are five subspecies of the common hippo with differences in their skulls and geographic ranges
The Pygmy Hippopotamus is native to the dense forests and marshy swamps of West Africa. Unlike its larger relative, it is only half its height and weighs only a fraction. It measures 69 inches long and stands 39 inches tall at the shoulder.
Moreover, the pygmy hippo lives in the water more than on land. While these animals weigh up to 606 pounds, they move with the grace and agility of a jungle ballerina.
This solitary creature spends the day hidden in cool rivers or wallows, venturing only at night to forage for food. It eats ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, fruits, small insects, and worms.
Pygmy hippos are facing declining numbers due to habitat destruction from commercial plantations2, mining, and shifting agriculture. Intensified bushmeat hunting exacerbates their plight, warranting their endangered status. With fewer than 2,500 mature individuals, a 20% population decrease over two generations is projected.
The hippopotamus is one of the most dangerous animals in the world. They compete with the rhino for the second largest land animal after the elephant. Male hippos are about 5 feet tall, 16 feet long, and weigh 9,920 pounds.
Hippos have wide mouths that can open to almost 180°. Their lower jaw has two sharp canines that can grow to about 20 inches. The powerful jaws of hippos have 1,800 per square inch of force in a bite. One bite can cut a human body into clean halves.
The hippo runs quite fast for its body weight at speeds of up to 22 miles per hour.
The Convergent Ladybug, or Convergent Lady Beetle, is a native species of North America known for its distinctive markings, two white lines merging on its thorax. These white lines are unique to each individual, while the 12 to 13 black spots on its forewings resemble constellations.
Like many other ladybug species, they are tiny agricultural soldiers. Their primary food source is aphids and other soft-bodied insects; they are nature's pest controllers. The Convergent Ladybug can live in crop fields, forests, and grasslands as long as there is a plentiful supply of aphids.
These predatory species lay their eggs on the underside of leaves, often near aphid colonies, which serve as a food source for their young ones. Lady beetle eggs usually are spindle-shaped and yellow to orange-red.
The Thirteen-Spotted Ladybug lives in wetland habitats across the North Hemisphere. Its red or orange forewings are adorned with thirteen black spots.
Their diet helps maintain the balance of gardens and agricultural landscapes. During winter, the beetle hibernates with others of its kind under leaf litter or in other hidden areas, waiting for spring to resume its work.
In addition to our country, they are more common in Africa. Unable to tolerate the heat of Africa, they live near rivers and lakes. As the eyes, ears and nose are located on the top of the head, they can easily submerge themselves in the river water.
They were once found in sub-Saharan Africa. But with the evolution of time, as human traffic increased, they started to be hunted by hunters and people started living in their areas.
They are nocturnal animals. That is why they go out in search of food at night and collect food. They feed on herbivores at night. They can eat up to 35 kg of food together if they get a favorite herbivore.
Despite being such a large animal, they are very good swimmers and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. When they dive under water, they automatically close their nose and ears. So that water can not enter the nose and ears.
এত বড় প্রানী হওয়া সত্ত্বেও এরা খুব দক্ষ সাঁতারু এবং পানির নিচে এরা পাঁচ মিনিট পর্যন্ত নিঃশ্বাস ধরে রাখতে পারে। পানির নিচে ডুব দিলে এরা এদের নাক এবং কান অটোমেটিক বন্ধ করে হয়ে যায়। যা তে করে পানি নাক এবং কানে না ঢুকতে পারে।
They like to move in groups. Their group members range from 10 to 20 people. The male hippo leads the group. The remaining members of the group are female.
এরা গ্রুপে চলাচল করা পছন্দ করে। এদের গ্রুপের সদস্য সংখ্যা ১০ থেকে ২০ জন পর্যন্ত হয়ে থাকে। পুরুষ জলহস্তী গ্রুপের নেতৃত্ব দেয়। গ্রুপের বাকি সদস্যা স্ত্রী জাতের হয়।
