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Being semi-aquatic, hippos are built for life in the water. Their ears, eyes, and nostrils are located on top of their heads, allowing them to see, hear, and breathe while remaining mostly underwater.
While hippos rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos typically do not display territorial behaviour on land. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in the world due to their aggressive and unpredictable nature. They are threatened by habitat loss and poaching for their meat and ivory (canine teeth).
At birth, pygmy hippos weigh 4.5–6.2 kg (9.9–13.7 lb) with males weighing about 0.25 kg (0.55 lb) more than females. Pygmy hippos are fully weaned between six and eight months of age; before weaning they do not accompany their mother when she leaves the water to forage, but instead hide in the water by themselves. The mother returns to the ...
The outer epidermis is relatively thin, so hippos dehydrate rapidly in dry environments. [1] Both the incisors and canines are large and tusk-like, although the canine tusks are by far the larger. The tusks grow throughout life. The postcanine teeth are large and complex, suited for chewing the plant matter that comprises their diets.
Hippos are born with sterile intestines, and require bacteria obtained from their mothers' feces to digest vegetation. [56] Hippos have (rarely) been filmed eating carrion, usually close to the water. There are other reports of meat-eating, and even cannibalism and predation. [57]
Ever see a baby so cute you want to nibble on them? There's a reason for that strange impulse!
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Filial cannibalism occurs when an adult individual of a species consumes all or part of the young of its own species or immediate offspring.Filial cannibalism occurs in many species ranging from mammals to insects, and is especially prevalent in various types of fish species with males that engage in egg guardianship. [1]