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Hippopotamus
(Hippopotamus amphibious)
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Details
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Shoulder Height
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: Males 150 cm
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Average Weight
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: Males 1500 kg
: Females 1300 kg |
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Gestation
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: 7 1/2 Months |
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Number of Young
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: 1 Calve |
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Longevity
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: 40 Years |
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S.C.I. Minimum Score
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: 50 |
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S.C.I. Record Score
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: 88 3/16
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Rowland Ward Minimum Length
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: 29 7/8" |
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Rowland Ward Record Length
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: 64 1/2" |
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General
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The Hippopotamus is a mammal that has adapted to a aquatic
lifestyle. They live in permanent stretches of water, venture
out to feed inland at night, sometimes up to several kilometers
from the water. They form schools of 6 - 15 animals, with
a dominant male. They are generally very placid animals,
but can get very aggressive, indeed in some areas of Africa,
such as the Okavango swamps, they account for more deaths
than the crocodile. They have very large permanent incisor
and canine teeth, and these are pig razor sharp by constant
friction against each other. They are highly selective grazers,
eating up to 130 kilograms of green grass at a time. They
will crop short grass until it looks like a well manicured
lawn. They do not use their teeth to graze however, they
use the hard edges of their lips, and use their back teeth
only to chew the food. |
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