Angry, Angry Hippos

Hippopotamuses are by nature very aggressive animals. 

 Picture from The Telegraph

Hippos involved in attacks on other animals are often either mature bulls, which tend to be very territorial and ill-tempered, or females, which are protecting their young.  Due to their ill temperament and great size, adult hippopotamus are not usually subject to predation by other animals, only humans.

Animal Facts: Hippo Sweat

How are hippos able to stand out in the hot sun all day and never get a sunburn? Because their sweat is a natural sunblock!

Hippo sweat contains microscopic particles that scatter the light, so it's not concentrated on the hippos' skin. The sweat is also red in color due to orange and yellow pigments, which are able to aborb untraviolet light. While this red sweat helps keep the hippos from burning, it does tend to make it look like their bleeding - not a pretty sight!

This hippo isn't hurt, just really hot!

The Gigantic Gaur

Though not as large as some domesticated cattle, gaur are the largest wild cattle on earth. In fact, the only land animals that regularly grow heavier than gaur are elephants, rhinos and hippos. The largest male gaur can be ten feet long, stand over six feet tall at the shoulders and weigh well over 4,000lbs!

Gaur are mostly dark brown in color with older bulls appearing nearly black. Males can be identified by the large dorsal ridge on their backs which can extend several inches higher than the rump. Both sexes feature horns that can be over two feet long connected on the head by a grey ridge of fur.

Once common throughout most of southern Asia, gaur populations have seriously declined and fragmented over the last fifty years. Overhunting, poaching and destruction of habitat are the main causes of this, leading to these animals currently being classified as vulnerable and nearly endangered. Their current ranges included portions of India, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, China, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.

Gaur are not known to be particularly aggressive animals and rarely fight even amongst themselves. Fully grown males are far too large for any natural predator except for tigers, and have even been known to kill tigers in self defense. However, herds near human populations can be short tempered towards both humans and livestock animals.

Donna the Hippo Turns 60

This past weekend the Mesker Park Zoo & Botanic Garden in Evansville, Indiana celebrated quite a milestone by wishing a happy birthday to Donna the hippopotamus, who turns 60 this year.



Photo: Erin McCracken

 Donna has been at the Evansville Zoo since 1956 and is the oldest living Nile hippo in captivity. The second oldest Nile hippo is Donna’s sister Julie, who lives at the Memphis Zoo and will turn 50 this year.

Although Donna’s actual birthday isn’t until August 7th, the zoo always celebrates her birthday in July. As part of the celebration, patrons could share in a birthday cake, and Donna was given watermelons and fruit popsicles as special treats. Zookeepers attribute Donna’s long life to her easygoing personality.

Story via the Evansville Courier & Press

No Swimming for Hippos!

The hippo spends most of its day in water. With eyes, ears and nostrils on the top of its head, it can hear, see and breathe while being almost completely underwater. They can also hold their breath for five minutes or longer when submerged. However, even though the hippo adapted to life under the sea, it cannot swim. It can’t even float because its body is extremely dense. So, it stays in shallow, slow-moving waters, and either walks along the shore or pushes itself off the bottom of the river or lake it resides in.

Bonus Fact: A hippo can open its mouth wide enough to fit a 4-foot child inside!