Common hippopotamus

How it lives

Hippos spend much of the day in water and graze on land at night. Gestation lasts about eight months, and a calf weighs about 50 kg (110 lb) at birth. Females become mature at about 5 to 6 years and males at about 7.5 years. They live about 40 to 50 years in the wild. Hippos are very aggressive and often charge boats.

Where it goes

The hippos of the Bijagos archipelago can reach seawater and use coastal lagoons and mangroves. They come onto land to graze and sometimes to flooded rice fields, which causes conflict with people. I did not find a described seasonal route.

We only draw a journey on the map when scientists have tracked it or clearly documented it. For this animal we have not found one yet.

Populations

The common hippopotamus is listed as Vulnerable by IUCN (2016), with an estimated 115,000 to 130,000 animals as of 2017. In Guinea-Bissau, surveys between 1998 and 2008 counted about 135 to 150 at Orango National Park, about 50 at Cacheu, and about 60 to 65 in the Bissorao and Carantaba areas. Hippos became legally protected in Guinea-Bissau in 1996 and 1997. They are the westernmost group of their species, and one of only two known groups that use coastal waters. At least 29 hippos were killed in conflicts with people between 1975 and 1996.