Distribution and status

Ugandan tribespeople with hippo slain for food (early 20th century)

Incised hippopotamus ivory tusk (upper canine) with four holes

around top (Naqada Tomb 1419, Egypt; Naqada period)
Hippopotamus amphibius arrived in Europe around 560-460,000 years ago, during the Middle
Pleistocene.[51] The distribution of Hippopotamus amphibius in Europe during the Pleistocene was
largely confined to Southern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula,[52] Italy,[53] and Greece,[54] but
extended into northwestern Europe, including Great Britain (as far north as Northern England), the
Netherlands, and western Germany during the Eemian interglacial (130–115,000 years ago).[55][56]
[57]
The youngest records of the species in Europe are from the Late Pleistocene of Greece, dating to
around 40-30,000 years ago.[54][52]
Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the Levant, dating to less than 3,000 years ago.[58]
[59]
The species was common in Egypt's Nile region during antiquity, but it has since been driven out.
According to Pliny the Elder, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in
the Saite nome;[60] the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch of the Nile after the Arab
Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in Natal Province were made at the end
of the 19th century.[61] Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern Democratic
Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania, and Kenya, north through to Ethiopia, Somalia,
and Sudan, west to The Gambia, and south to South Africa.[1]
Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion
during or after the Pleistocene, attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These
findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are
currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water.[10] Hippos are also subject to unregulated
hunting and poaching. The species is included in Appendix II of the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and
derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.[1][62]
As of 2017, the IUCN Red List drawn up by the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN) lists the species as vulnerable, with a stable population estimated between 115,000
and 130,000 animals.[1] The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo.[63] By 2005, the population in Virunga National Park had dropped to 800 or
900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s.[64] This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by
the Second Congo War.[64] The poachers are believed to be Mai-Mai rebels, underpaid Congolese
soldiers, and local militia groups.[64][65] Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to
society, as well as financial gain.[66] As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have
increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local
fishermen.[67] The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National
Park officers to track.[65][66] Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth
may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.[68]
A population of hippos exists in Colombia, descended from captive individuals that escaped
from Pablo Escobar's estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and
ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an
increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation
and culling.[69]

Behaviour and ecology

Video of hippos in the wild
Hippos are semiaquatic and require enough water to immerse in, while being close to grass.[37] Like
most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their
diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants.
[70]
They prefer relatively still waters with gently sloping shores, though male hippos may also be
found in very small numbers in more rapid waters with rocky slopes.[40]: 264 Hippos mostly live in
freshwater habitat, but can be found in estuaries.[1] Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a
particularly good swimmer, nor can it float. It rarely enters deep water; when it does, the animal
moves by bouncing off the bottom. An adult hippo surfaces every four to six minutes, while young
need to breathe every two to three minutes.[8]: 3–4
Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave
the water to forage on land. Hippos usually trot to move quickly on land and can gallop at 30 km/h
(19 mph) when needed. They are incapable of jumping but can walk up steep banks. A hippo will
travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in
the water.[37] The hippopotamus sleeps with both hemispheres of the brain resting, as in all land
mammals, and usually sleeps on land or in water with the nostrils exposed. Despite this, it may be
capable of sleeping while submerged, intermittently surfacing to breathe without waking. They
appear to transition between different phases of sleep more quickly than other mammals.[71]
Because of their size and their habit of taking the same paths to feed, hippos can have a significant
impact on the land across which they walk, keeping the land clear of vegetation and depressing the
ground. Over prolonged periods, hippos can divert the paths of swamps and channels.[72] By
defecating in the water, the animals also appear to pass on microbes from their gut, affecting
the biogeochemical cycle.[73] On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the
water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation.[74] Hippos'
stomach anatomy lacks adaptions to carnivory and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients
or just an abnormal behaviour.[8]: 82–84
Social life

Hippopotamus pod
It is challenging to study the interaction of bulls and cows because hippos are not sexually
dimorphic, so cows and young bulls are almost indistinguishable in the field.[75] Hippo pods fluctuate
but can contain over 100 hippos. Although they lie close together, adults develop almost no social
bonds. Males establish territories in water but not land, and these may range 250–500 m (270–
550 yd) in lakes and 50–100 m (55–109 yd) in rivers. Territories are abandoned when the water
dries up. The bull has breeding access to all the cows in his territory. Younger bachelors are allowed
to stay as long as they defer to him. A younger male may challenge the old bull for control of the
territory. Within the pods, the hippos tend to segregate by sex and status. Bachelor males lounge
near other bachelors, females with other females, and the territorial male is on his own. When
hippos emerge from the water to graze, they do so individually.[8]: 4–5, 49–50

Male hippos fighting

Hippos engage in "muck-spreading" which involves defecating while spinning their tails to distribute
the faeces over a greater area. Muck-spreading occurs both on land and in water and its function is
not well understood. It is unlikely to serve a territorial function, as the animals only establish
territories in the water. They may be used as trails between the water and grazing areas.[8]: 5, 51–
52
"Yawning" serves as a threat display.[37] When fighting, bulls use their incisors to block each other's
attacks and their large canines as offensive weapons.[40]: 259–260 When hippos become over-populated
or a habitat shrinks, bulls sometimes attempt infanticide, but this behaviour is not common under
normal conditions.[76]
The most common hippo vocalisation is the "wheeze honk", which can travel over long distances in
air.[77] This call starts as a high-pitched squeal followed by a deeper, resonant call.[8]: 5 The animals
can recognise the calls of other individuals. Hippos are more likely to react to the wheeze honks of
strangers than to those they are more familiar with.[77] When threatened or alarmed, they produce
exhalations,[37] and fighting bulls will bellow loudly.[8]: 5 Hippos are recorded to produce clicks
underwater which may have echolocative properties.[78] They have the unique ability to hold their
heads partially above the water and send out a cry that travels through both water and air;
individuals respond both above and below water.[79]