Hippopotamus Lunch

nobody@flickr.com (Omri Suissa) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 10:36:33 -0800

The hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) or hippo is a large, mostly plant-eating mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae (the other is the Pygmy Hippopotamus). The hippopotamus is the heaviest extant artiodactyl, despite being considerably shorter than the giraffe.
This compound word is the wrong way round for Greek and correctly would mean "horse-river". The more common Ancient Greek term was ἱππος ποταμου "horse of river",
The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river and groups of 5 to 30 females and young. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippopotamuses rest near each other in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land.
Despite their physical resemblance to pigs and other terrestrial even-toed ungulates, their closest living relatives are cetaceans (whales, porpoises, etc.) from which they diverged about 55 million years ago. The common ancestor of whales and hippos split from other even-toed ungulates around 60 million years ago. The earliest known hippopotamus fossils, belonging to the genus Kenyapotamus in Africa, date to around 16 million years ago.
For more information about the Hippopotamus Amphibius click here.

This photo was taken in The Zoological Center in Tel Aviv

Uploads from Omri Suissa, tagged inhabitingriversandlakeswhereterritorialbullspresideoverastretchofriverandgroupsof5to30femalesandyoungduringthedaytheyremaincoolbystayinginthewaterormudreproductionandchildbirthbothoccurinwatertheyemergeatdu, with geodata

Hippopotamus Lunch