Hippopotamus or river horses, which can be translated from ancient Greek, are native to the sub-Saharan region of Africa.The hippo is known for being an herbivore, but that belief has been changed in recent times due to some shocking events which were observed by many wildlife researchers. These African creatures are aggressive towards humans and most other animals, are also seen practicing infanticide, hence, it has been hard to research them, but there have been many breakthroughs in recent years.Generally, hippos appear to be huge beasts who like to laze around in the water all day but these animals can be quite ferocious too. The hippopotamus is the third-largest mammal on the planet after elephants and rhinoceros. They are semiaquatic animals; they have to live both on land and water for survival, and difficulty to access any one of them could lead to their death. They spend most of their day inside shallow waters as they cannot swim, but these animals need to stay in the water in order to protect their hide from extreme sunlight. During the night, they leave their water abode to eat grass late into the morning. They have flat, sharp teeth which help them pluck and chew the grass. Wild hippos are known to stay in groups or herds which are named schools or pods. These animals even mate and feed their babies inside the water, as they can hold their breath underwater for almost five minutes. Several studies have revealed that hippos prey on buffalo and wildebeests.After reading more about the feeding habits of a hippo, do read hornet vs yellow jacket and are hippos omnivores?Are hippos ever cannibals?Hippos were known to be purely herbivorous animals as they fed only on grass that surrounded the water bodies they lived in. Wildlife researchers categorized them as being herbivores in nature that do not eat meat, hence, these wild hippos being carnivores was out of the question and their practicing cannibalism was far from anything they had guessed.However, many researchers in the last few years have proved their beliefs around the hippo’s habits wrong. Although cannibalism and carnivorous behavior are very rare to find in hippo pods or groups, it is not non-existent. Yes, it is true that hippos eat meat. There is so much recorded evidence of hippos killing and eating meat from other hippos that it is hard to deny that cannibalism does not exist in hippo groups. Scientists theorize that this behavior may come from power dynamics in a particular group where the male leader dominates the weaker ones. There are also theories that hippos may exhibit cannibalism if they are lacking food resources and the situation has become so dire that they cannot find anything else for eating, so they resort to turning into carnivores and eating the meat of their fellow species.What is a hippos’ favorite food?Hippos were known for being herbivores. Although they have exhibited carnivorous traits in the past research, these occurrences have been very rare. Hence, continuing on the theory that hippos are primarily herbivores, it is found that grass and plants form the basics of their diet. However, no one can deny that hippos eat meat.Hippos, because of their huge size, are known to be heavy eaters. An average adult male hippo can weigh up to 3307 lb (1500 kg). On average, they are found to have at least 77 lb (35 kg) of grass every night! That’s close to a fourth of a football field in one night. Hippos are also found to enjoy having alfalfas and several sweet fruits in their diet which they can find during their nightly scavenging. They even eat watermelons!How do baby hippos feed?A female hippo has a gestation period of about eight months. Hippos are known for spending most of their time in shallow waters and even mate in them. All male and female hippos tend to live together in groups, hence the brood keeps growing constantly.Just like mating in the water, female hippos can also give birth safely inside water, without any harm to the baby hippo. Scientists have found that baby hippos can feed on their mothers underwater. Baby hippos feed on their mother hippos for eight months, although they can start grazing for grass and plants from the third month itself. The baby hippo does not leave its mother hippo’s side until after a few months until it can defend itself from outside harm and learn to graze food alone.Why do hippos eat meat?Hippos are primarily and mostly herbivores, hence, they live on plants and grass, but there are several accounts in which wildlife scientists claim that wild hippos have exhibited carnivorous behavior. There are several incidents where a pod of hippos has attacked a crocodile and ate its meat for survival. Hippos are aggressive towards humans, but they do not eat a human after hunting or killing them.One scientific research claimed that some wildlife researchers had witnessed a couple of hippos feeding on a dead carcass of another animal. Scientists theorize that this behavior is extremely rare, but it could happen because a pod may feel threatened by the lack of food or resources, and it could be their survival instincts acting up. Hippos are also known for killing and tearing apart animals like lions and tigers, but there’s no evidence of these African hippos eating the meat of lions.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for are hippos carnivores? Then why not take a look at do wasps hibernate? or pygmy hippopotamus facts?
Hippopotamus or river horses, which can be translated from ancient Greek, are native to the sub-Saharan region of Africa.
