Caught on cam

A Baby Hippo is Born

By greenexpander ⋅ November 23, 2007 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The female hippo reaches sexual maturity at 5 to 6 years of age, carrying the baby for 8 months. When the time comes for the baby to come out, the female hippo isolates herself from the herd, for anywhere from 10 to 44 days. The magic happens underwater and the baby is born alive. The mother hippopotamus takes care of her calf, nursing it underwater and occasionally giving it a ride on her back.

Baby hippos swim the moment they are born because they are born underwater. And female hippos are great nannies too, they will actually baby-sit a group of other female’s babies. Conservation status for the hippopotamus is worrying: these fascinating animals can be bought for around $50, and hippo canine teeth often end up as part of the illegal ivory trade. Even if so tempting for poachers, the hippo is not without defense: even wounded, the animals can be dangerous and is capable of biting a man in two with its massive mouth and huge teeth.

The Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a place where these animals used to roam free, is now experiencing a drop of 95% in members of these species in the last 30 years. WWF warns that unless trade is closely controlled and poaching is stopped, hippos will be threatened with extinction very soon. For now, here are some amazing shots of a baby hippo meeting the world.

The video features another baby hippo, Imani, born on May 11th 2007 at Antwerp Zoo (Belgium).

Tags: baby, conservation, environment, extinction, hippo, hippopotamus, wildlife, WWF