Thursday, May 24, 2012

Hippos

The African Hippo, It causes the most deaths of all other large animals to humans. But, it is geared with survival adaptations that come in handy a lot.

Hippos cannot survive out of water. When in the sun they get this pink looking substance on their body. You might think they are sunburns, but actually, they are a kind of sunscreen that the hippo makes itself. It travels at night to feed. They travel at least 5 miles to find grass through the forests into fields. And just when the sun peeps out. They Stampede in an enormous herd knocking down everything in their path. This is the time when villager wake up. When they see the hippos, it's too late.

Hippo males are dominant animals. All they care about is, who controls what. In a large herd of hippos, all are female but 1. This is the dominant male. He will fight till death to be dominant. The reason, is because he has mating rights. To say he is dominant, he wriggles his tale, which splashes some water and spreading their feces. Males can get into gruesome fights. When males fight, their wounds should be infected, but they don't. The same fluid that gives in for their sunscreen gives in as an anti-biotic

It is believed that hippos are related to whales. They have a bone that connects both hind legs that is unique to other animals and this family includes whales. They evolved from a four legged animal millions of years ago. Soon it stretched and evolved into what we see now.

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