Hippos belong to the ground walking or swimming in the water

Hippos can either walk on the ground or swim in water.

The hippopotamus is an amphibian that likes to live in groups, is afraid of cold, and prefers warm climates. Their ** will dry out and crack after being out of water for a long time, and their life of foraging, mating, giving birth, and breastfeeding are also carried out in the water. Hippos are herbivores, but their sparse tusks are ten centimeters long, and the female hippopotamus is very aggressive to protect the baby hippos.

Hippos move in pairs or small groups, and older males often move alone.

Hippos sleep or rest in or near rivers almost all of the day, and come out to eat at night, sometimes swimming more than 30 kilometers down the river to feed. Hippos feed mainly on aquatic plants; Occasional food on land crops, mainly grass, sometimes go to the fields to eat crops, and also eat meat when food is scarce.

Belonging to mammals is also amphibians.

Hippos that soak in the water every day can't actually swim? Netizen: I laughed out loud when I knew the truth.

<> hippos can swim in the water, but it is more accurate to say that the hippopotamus in the water is a swimming method similar to walking, where the water is shallow, the hippopotamus will walk directly, and in the deeper water, the hippopotamus will tread water in a posture exactly the same as the way of walking, and this posture is swimming or walking, there is no clear definition, if it is walking, but there is no solid support for this process, if it is swimming, but the posture is the same as walking, so it is difficult to draw conclusions.

How the hippopotamus walks in the water: When the river is shallow, the hippopotamus will rely on the thigh muscles to walk directly, fluttering and moving; When the river is deep, the hippopotamus will step on the river and touch the bottom, float himself in the way of horse leaping, and stride forward. Although hippos are large and cannot swim, they are excellent swimmers and diving experts, and can walk freely in the water.

Hippos can move in the water because of their unique physiology. First of all, the hippopotamus is very thick, and the subcutaneous fat allows the hippopotamus to float easily out of the water. And it also has a special skill:

When it dives into the water, its ears and nostrils close like valves, and it only takes 3 to 5 minutes for its head to be exposed to the water for a breath.

Hippos mate in water, there is no fixed breeding season, the gestation period of females is 210-255 days, giving birth in water, and each litter is born. Newborn pups weigh 40-50 kg and are able to walk and dive within 5 minutes of birth. After the birth of the calf, the female takes care of the baby beast, lactates them in the water, only allows them to move within the visible range, and patiently teaches them to dive and roll to protect them from harm.

In the months that follow, the female often takes her cubs away from the group, because the cubs may be killed by the male or attacked by crocodiles. After 4-6 months, the pups are ready to graze, and the lactation period is about 1 year, and the rearing period of the offspring that the female usually bears alone can be extended to 18 months. Females mature at 7-9 years of age, males between 9-11 years of age, and live for about 30-40 years.

Although hippos spend most of their time in the water, they are excellent swimmers and diving experts. The current can easily flow through their smooth **, and the webbed toes can be used as paddles. When underwater, both the ears and nose are closed to prevent the ingress of water.

Hippos can usually stay underwater for 5 minutes, sometimes longer. In deeper water, they sometimes walk on the bottom of rivers or lakes.