Hippopetamus The River Horse

This mammoth of an animal is both gentle and fearful to behold. There's a lot to uncover behind that hard exterior. Here's more about the hippo

Those trips to the Ranibaug Zoo in Byculla, Bombay, still bring back memories of the two hippos who were as placid as the lake enclosure they inhabited. However, just watching them put you at ease, filled you with a sense of calm and awe. Awe at just how large these creatures are and yet how unassuming they appear.

The hippopotamus has always been used to connect one with fatness, roundness, someone reserved and tranquil. Beyond all this, there’s a being that is intelligent, possesses cognitive abilities that make it easy to train them. They are quick to learn new ways, recognise the familiar and adapt to their environment. They are creatures of habit and expect their food on time and by their preference. Grass makes up their diet and they could spend five to six hours at night, when they go to graze in a grassland, albeit eat very little. Belying their huge frame, they require less chow – 35 kgs per night – as their energy requirements are low. Water babies that they are, they are buoyed in the water throughout the day. They avoid the rays of the sun and prefer the cool climes of the rivers they inhabit. It is fascinating to note their digestive process which is opposed to the cow who chews the cud and regurgitates it. The hippo, on the other hand, retains its food for a long time in its stomach where proteins are converted into energy via fermentation.