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Small boats can easily be capsized by hippos and passengers can be injured or killed by the animals, or drown in the water. In one 2014 case in Niger, a boat was capsized by a hippo and 13 people were killed. [103] Hippos will often raid farm crops if the opportunity arises, and humans may come into conflict with them on these occasions.
Hippos can be found in both savannah and forest areas. Proper habitat requires enough water to submerge in and grass nearby. Larger densities of the animals inhabit quiet waters with mostly firm, smooth sloping beaches. Males may be found in very small number in rapid waters in rocky gorges.
The behavior of the pygmy hippo differs from the common hippo in many ways. Much of its behavior is more similar to that of a tapir , though this is an effect of convergent evolution . [ 9 ] While the common hippopotamus is gregarious, pygmy hippos live either alone or in small groups, typically a mated pair or a mother and calf.
There are two living species of hippopotamid in two genera; the pygmy hippo, Choeropsis liberiensis of the forests of west Africa, and the common hippo, Hippopotamus amphibius. The term hippopotamus can also be applied to hippopotamids in general, although it is most frequently used for the common hippo and its respective genus .
Hippopotamus gorgops is an extinct species of the genus Hippopotamus known from remains found in Northern Africa, Eastern Africa, and the Levant. One of the largest hippopotamus species, it first appeared during the late Pliocene - Early Pleistocene , and became extinct during the early Middle Pleistocene .
Hippos, a related group with similar adaptations, are aggressive herbivores which can open their jaws up to 150 degrees and display enlarged canines in order to intimidate rivals. Male hippos engage in head-to-head "yawning" and jaw-wrestling contests, while females attack by approaching from the side and slamming their head into the opponent's ...
The breeding programs at Zoo Basel have had many highlights since the zoo's opening in 1874. These include the worldwide first zoo births of an Indian rhinoceros and greater flamingo hatch, [1] as well as the first European gorilla birth. [2]
Ancodonta is an infraorder of artiodactyl ungulates including modern hippopotamus and all mammals closer to hippos than to cetaceans ().Ancodonts first appeared in the Middle Eocene, with some of the earliest representatives found in fossil deposits in Southeast Asia.