Hippopotamus amphibius

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Vernacular names
English : Common Hippopotamus
French : Hippopotame amphibie

Classification
Class : Mammalia
Order : Cetartiodactyla
Family : Hippopotamidae
Notes : 3 subspecies known.

Identification
Body length of 505 cm, shoulder height of 165 cm, weight of 4500 kg. Unmistakable, huge barrel-shaped body with wide and flat head, large mouth with tusk-like front teeth. Skin almost naked, dark grey with pink areas on flanks.

Range and habitat
Scattered populations found from Subsaharan Africa (Senegal to Ethiopia) to Angola, south to Zambia and northern South Africa. Lives in grasslands and woodlands, always close to marshes, lakes and rivers.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : VULNERABLE
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species has suffered dramatic declines because of water pollution and destruction of wetlands combined with overhunting and poaching.
Ex-Situ Programs : SSP in America, ESB in Europe

Observation

 

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