hippopotamus

                            hippopotamus                                                                                                                               

         

                                

        The hippopotamus is a large herbivorous animal found in sub-Saharan Africa. Altogether it is one of the two surviving species of the Barenaceae (the other being the pygmy hippopotamus). The hippopotamus is also known in Arabic as the Barniq and Sayed Qeshta, as they call it in Egypt, in relation to the name that was given to the first    animal that was deposited in the Giza Zoo when it was established.                                                                                                             The hippopotamus is a semi-aquatic animal that is endemic to the lakes and rivers of sub-Saharan Africa. Its habitat previously extended across the Nile Valley to Palestine and Jordan in the north. Hippos live in groups of about 40 heads, and they stay most of the day in the water or mud until they cool off. Mating and childbirth take place in the water, where the territorial males fight with each other to control a small area of ​​the river, and the hippos come out at dusk to graze on the grasses.                                                                                                       Cetaceans such as whales and porpoises and their relatives are the closest animals to hippos, although the latter are similar to porpoises and other artiodactyla ungulates. Scientists estimate that hippos separated from their relatives about 55 million years ago, and that the common ancestor of whales and hippos separated from the rest of the artiodactyla about 60 million years ago. "Kenyan hippopotamus"                                                                                                                 The hippopotamus is known by its cylindrical, hairless body, short legs, and massive size. The hippopotamus is close to the white rhinoceros in size and is only surpassed by elephants in cod, and despite its short legs, this animal is able to easily precede a human in running, as its speed was measured at about 30 miles per hour, and so it can be considered that it is able to precede an Olympic runner in Short distance racing. The hippopotamus is considered one of the most dangerous animals to humans, despite its prevalence in zoos and its appearance as a "gentle giant". Currently, between 125,000 and 150,000 hippos live in the wild south of the Sahara Desert.                                                                                                                                                                          Zambia (40,000 head) and Tanzania (20,000-30,000 head) are the countries with the largest populations of these animals, and hippos are still threatened by poaching for their meat and ivory tusks and from loss of habitat. The hippopotamus is a social animal that lives in herds of up to 40 animals. The male hippopotamus is called a “bull” according to the English expression, the female is called a “cow” and the young one is called a “calf”. This species is also known as the familiar hippopotamus and the indigo hippopotamus, due to its distinction from the dwarf hippopotamus and other extinct species.                                                                                                                                                                The genus Hippos is the main representative of the family Barnice, although the pygmy hippopotamus represents another genus of its own. Five subspecies of hippos have been classified based on morphological differences in their skulls and the geographical area they inhabit.