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Hippopotamus: Waters
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Hippopotamus amphibius was widespread in North Africa and Europe before the last glaciation event, and it can live in colder climates provided the water does not freeze during winter. The species was common in Egypt's Nile region until historic times but has since been extirpated. Pliny the Elder writes that, in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the Saite nome;[27] the animal could still be found along the Damietta branch after the Arab Conquest in 639. Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of Uganda, Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia, west through Ghana to Gambia, and ... in Southern Africa (Botswana, Republic of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia). A separate population exists in Tanzania and Mozambique.[5]
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The hippopotamus was buried in a tomb with funerary furniture comprising a coffin, statues of the deceased, a large number of vases, and a few toiletry items. It therefore served a function in the inner chamber of the tomb. The painted motifs varied from one hippopotamus to another, with water plants sometimes being combined with butterflies and birds, but the decoration of the hindquarters almost always consisted of a lotus flower in full bloom. Depicted half-submerged, the hippopotamus evokes the primordial waters of chaos, the Nun. According to an Egyptian creation myth, on the first morning after the birth of the world, the sun emerged from a lotus flower: "Every being is born from the Nun." The function of this hippopotamus statuette, placed near the mummy, was therefore to prefigure rebirth in the afterlife through the power of imitation.
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A female hippopotamus gives birth to a single calf, very rarely twins, about 8 months after mating with a male. Hippopotamus calves are born on land or in shallow water, and they generally suckle milk from their mothers while underwater. The calves of the herd play together. In the water, young ones are often seen resting their heads, or standing, on an adult's back, usually their mother's, because the effort to keep afloat tires them too much. Until a calf is strong enough to walk far, the mother leaves it with other females to babysit when she goes to feed.
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The river hippopotamus spends most of the day wallowing, resting, and swimming in or near water. At night, they emerge from the water to graze. Hippos will graze about 3 kilometers / 1.8 miles from water, although some individuals move farther inland. An individual may walk 10 kilometers / 6 miles to seek food on land, spending an average of 5-6 hours on land per night. Despite their bulk, they can run extremely fast. The river hippo's daily consumption is 1-1.5 percent of its body weight, compared to an average of 2.5 percent for most other ungulates.
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The hippopotamus is capable of breeding year round, but it experiences seasonal breeding peaks during February and August. The birth of young coinsides with months of peak rainfall, October and April. The female hippo experiences a three day estrus, during which she is mated by the resident bull. After a gestation of 227-240 days, the cow gives birth to a single calf, weighing 27-50 kg. Calves nurse underwater and are frequently seen riding upon their mothers' backs while the mother is in the water. Males reach sexual maturity in the wild between 6 and 14 years of age, whereas females are capable of breeding at 7-15 years of age.
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The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic, inhabiting rivers and lakes in sub-Saharan Africa in large groups of up to 40 hippos. During the day they remain cool by staying in the water or mud; reproduction and childbirth both occur in water, where territorial bulls preside over a stretch of river. They emerge at dusk to graze on grass. While hippos rest near each other in territories in the water, grazing is a solitary activity and hippos are not territorial on land.
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