COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS
Hippopotamus amphibius
Cuvier, 1825
PHOTOZOO.ORG
CLASSIFICATION
VULNERABLE
Class: Mammalia
Order: Cetartiodactyla
Family: Hippopotamidae
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.
4 subspecies recognized
Range: Scattered populations found from Subsaharan Africa (Senegal to Ethiopia) to
Angola, south to Zambia and northern South Africa.
Habitat : Grasslands and woodlands, always close to marshes, lakes and rivers.
APPENDIX II
Behavior: Spends most of the day submerged in water, going on land at night to
forage for food. Lives in herds. Feeds on aquatic vegetation, grass, leaves.
Status in the wild: The species has suffered dramatic declines because of water
pollution and destruction of wetlands combined with overhunting and poaching.
COMMON
In captivity: The species’ captive populations are monitored. Very common in zoos
around the world and bred in many collections. Subspecies are unidentified in today’s
captive stock. First bred in Europe in 1865 (maybe a world’s first) at Amsterdam Zoo.