Hippopotamus is the world’s third largest land animal and one of the most dangerous mammals.
Hippos are known to be highly unpredictable at times and are responsible for more human deaths in Africa than any other animal. Their reputation does little to dissuade poaching for their ivory canines, which along with habitat loss, is a major contributing factor towards population decline.
The placement of the hippo’s eyes and nostrils, located on the top of its head, allows them to stay mostly submerged under water for nearly 16 hours a day. This helps them remain cool in the hot African sun. Despite spending most of their lives in water, hippos cannot swim well and use their webbed feet for wading and supporting their body weight while on land.
Hippos can weigh up to 2,000 kilograms and during cool nights, they consume up to 40 kilograms of grass. It’s quite rare to see them on the land during the day grazing.
After years of waiting to see a Hippo up close during the daytime, I was lucky to shoot this young lady grazing in the afternoon.
