Sfiso and Meike enjoyed a Cape Town To Victoria Falls Grand Explorer German 21 day departure (CVag21), here is an awesome blog on the hippopotamus writen by Meike with some of her photos.
On our Tours we come across many different animals. One is the Hippopotamus which on a Tour from Cape Town to Victoria Falls we will find in the Okavango Delta and the Chobe National Park in Botswana. Here the Hippos find enough water throughout the year which these semiaquatic mammals need most as well as enough grass for them to feed on.
A Hippo can weigh up to 1.5 to 2 tons and live up to 50 years in the Wild. They are earmarked as one of the most dangerous animals in Africa. That is mostly because the territorial males as well as females with babies will defend their pool or their child from any intruders. So best is to not mass with a Hippo and admire these beautiful creatures from a safe distance.
While staying in the Okavango Delta we not only get to see Hippos during the day, but we also hear them almost every night. They are making distinctive noises that remind of grunts, snorts or even roaring. At night the Hippo leaves the water to feed on the short grass. In order to find a good feeding ground it can walk up to 15km each night. Then it will feed for about 4-5 hours and take in up to 130kg of grass. They are proper Vegetarians.
During the day the Hippos spend most of their time inside the water. But guess what; they can not even swim. They will always stand, kneel or lie in the water. Every 5-7 minutes a Hippo needs to take a deep breath. Their eyes, ears and nostrils are situated on top of their heads so that it is enough for them to raise their heads a little bit to breath while the rest of the body stays submerged. Hard to believe they are actually related to dolphins and whales.
Even though the Hippos skin is up to 6cm thick it is very sensitive when exposed to the sun. The Hippo actually produces a natural sunscreen to protect its skin. This substance is called „blood-sweat“, because of its redish colour, and absorbes ultra-violet light, plus it kills diseas-causing bacteria.
