management | nutrition 101
The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus
amphibius capensis)
The average weight of a mature bull is 1 546kg
and the cows weigh 1 385kg on average, while
bulls weighing 2 000kg and cows weighing up
to 1 600kg have been recorded.
The hippopotamus is almost exclusively
a nocturnal grazer, but may at times eat
the floating plants in their water habitat.
Herbaceous plants form approximately
1% of their total diet with grass making up
the rest. These large herbivores can utilise
short grasses and can graze at ground level.
Short grass is preferred. The animal grips it
with its wide lips and tears the grass off with
a sideways swing of the head.
Grazing normally occurs within a 2 to 5km
distance from the water’s edge at night. In
times of drought hippos will cover as much
as 15km in search of suitable grazing.
Figure 1: What the pseudo rumen looks like and indicates the correct
names for the different parts thereof.
Illustration by Ronelle OosthuizenFOREGUT FERMENTER
Common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius).
Photo © JMx Images