6,000 pounds of Hippopotamus
October 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Fat — but Fast!
Hippos are the second-largest land animal — second only to elephants. Male hippos can weigh more than 6,000 pounds. Females are more “delicate,” topping out around 3,000 pounds. Despite their massive bulk, hippos can run faster than humans — up to 30 miles per hour!
Hungry, Hungry Hippos
Hippos spend most of their days in or near the water in groups called pods. In the evenings, pods break up and the hippos leave the water, either singly or as females with their calves. They wander as much as three miles from the water in search of food.
Hippos spend most of the night eating grass. They use their wide mouth like a lawnmower, grazing the grass down to a few inches from the ground over a large area. A hippo can eat up to 90 pounds of grass in one night!
Click here to keep reading about the Hippo on the Saint Louis Zoo website.
Despite the stereotypical perspective of the Hippo as Africa’s most frequent killer, more often than not, life in the bush presents a series of contradictions. Watch below and see just one of many moment when nature proves our ideas and assumptions wrong.
Range: Sub-Saharan Africa
Habitat: Rivers and lakes with surrounding grasslands
Conservation Status: Threatened
Scientific Name: Hippopotamus amphibious
Spotting an animal
October 6, 2007 | Leave a Comment
How challenging is it to spot leopards like this high up in the trees?For someone who is not used to spotting animals on a daily basis, this might come as quite a challenge on your own in the bush. Most animals blend into their surroundings much more than we would ever expect. Do you ever wonder why it is so important to wear natural colored clothing on safari? Are you curious as to how animals see human beings in the bush?
Is it seeing shapes, sizes and light that makes game spotting easier? Or is it something you can only pick up by spending years in the bush on a daily basis, eventually knowing what to look for?
Dave Rushworth, a local ornithology and geology expert, examines the idea of “animal spotting” in detail.
Enviro Perspectives with Dave Rushworth: Animal Spotting
Most people have no difficulty seeing objects in their home environment where they are assisted by familiar movements, position, colour, sounds, gait, style etc. We get used to seeing things in certain places at certain times. In a different environment – such as game reserves – an inability to ’spot’ things can result from the unfamiliar surroundings or a misunderstanding of dynamics of light and vision. READ MORE…