the family of the river-horses includes two today living types with one type each.
Shape The cylindrical torso falls to the outer appearance, that breitschnäuzige, box-shaped head and the short, stocky legs on. The skin is smooth, shiny and rich at phlegm-glands. The bare body-surface is ear-edges only at muzzle, eyelashes, and occupies at the tail with bristle-good hair. The short tail is flattened on its end and widens.
They collide, rounded off body-forms don't go back to especially sumptuously developed sub-skin-fat-tissue like with whales or some house-pigs. Anyway, the protein-share (muscle-meat) is higher than with other mammals opposite the fat-share.
The nose-holes can be locked by a particular muscle when diving. 4 toes each, that are together interconnected through small swimming-skins, are at front and hind legs. If they stand or run, river-horses put on all 4 toes and the sole-cushion of a foot, situated behind it.
The denture consists of constantly growing back edge and cuspids. The cheek-teeth are round-hump-y (bunodont) and wear away in the age to a shamrock-shaped Kaufläche.
Spread The present-day spread-area restricts itself to the African continent. Until the ice age-age, river-horses occurred also in southeast-Asia and in Southern Europe. The "Behemot" of the Bible is not anything else than the river-horse living at that time still in the valley of the Jordan. A small type lived on Madagascar, another on the Mediterranean-islands.
Zwergflußpferd (Choeropsis liberiensis)) This type remains behind considerably in the size behind the other. The total-length amounts to at most 1,7 m, the shoulder-height of 0,83 m. it gains a weight of 180-260 kg. In the comparison to the big river-horse, the Zwergflußpferd appears high-more legged, with high-curved backs and rather small head, with little exalted nose-holes and sockets. With the males, the tail-top is beborstet bushy. The ears possess three Hautwülste, that are compressed when diving, in order to lock the ear-opening. The skin isolates a phlegm, that changes in the arousal into a white foam.
Spread The occurrence of the Zwergflußpferdes is limited in two separate areas in west-Africa: on the one hand on the surroundings of the Niger-estuary, on the other hand in the areas Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ivory Coast.
Habitat Swampy valleys and the thickets at the shore of brooks, rivers or seas are the residences of the Zwergflußpferde. they force their way also into the forests. In dense plant-growth, its changes form tunnel-good paths.
Way of life Because of its hidden way of life, Zwergflußpferde only late were discovered and were described only 1844 scientifically. Realizations about its way of life investigated only most recent time.
Zwergflußpferde are loners. Only during the combination-time, the partners meet at short notice. The Zwergflußpferde find shelter under overhanging, washed out shores, where they widen its camp independently for itself. With danger, they flee into the water. Zwergflußpferde are however fewer at the water tied as its big relatives. its activity-phase is mainly in the night. they wander through an extended Wohnareal. On the occasion of becomes Zwergflußpferde the loot of leopards.
Reproduction After a Tragzeit of approximately 200 days, heavy, individual boy was born the 5-6 kg at country. It can swim only in the age of one week. To suckling, the dam lies down on the side and offers its two teats, that are between the hind legs. The young turns two daily - suckled until three times. It picks up one large milk-quantity each on that occasion. The birth-weight doubles within 2-3 weeks. The Säugezeit amounts to 9-12 months. With 4-5 years, Zwergflußpferde become sexually mature. Outside the combination-time, the two sexes are aggressive against each other. The Drohgebärde is a wide ripping open the mouth. After captivity-observations, Zwergflußpferde mark its precinct by spraying excrement and urine tail-dusters through fast at objects.
Nutrition In its residential-area, Zwergflußpferde feed herb-y plants, foliage, grass, water-plants, fruits, tubers and roots.
Endangering Through increasing destruction of its habitat, the Zwergflußpferd is threatened by the extermination today. It therefore is subject to the protection through the Washingtoner Artenschutzübereinkommen.
River-horse, hippopotamus, Hippopotamus amphibius) With a maximum-weight of over 3000 kg, it is one of the biggest country-mammals. The total-length amounts to 4,5 m, the height 1,65 m. The skin color is gloomily bay with flesh-colored zones at throat, eyes and ear-area and at the stomach-side. The legs sometimes have a brightly flesh-colored stain.
The skin is always held moist and slippery through glandular-secretions. River-horses can glide through it without considerable friction through the water. The perspiration is reddish, slimy and very salty with this type of animal, when drying up, it forms dünnhäutige crusts.
The cuspids constantly grow back and become sharper through mutual rubbed off to pointed-angular structures. A lower jaw-cuspid can become up to 60 cm long.
Way of life River-horses form herds from 10-20 animals, who consist predominantly of adult cows and young. Adult bulls live isolated on the herd. Also river-horse-mothers with its infants last temporarily away from. Brünstige females visit the precincts of the bulls.
Each herd occupies one piece of shore-terrain and is in the water during the day preferably. At night, the animals leave the water and ascend the embankments. River-horses can climb amazingly well. The territory of a herd corresponding the shore-route can pull in into the country kilometer-far, according to situation and productivity of the pasture. River-horse-bulls mark its country-territory by spraying dusters with the tail excrement and urine at certain places through vehement. So, manure-piles of 1 m of height and 2 m of diameter are created at the marking-places. The paths of the river-horses turn into gorges, that are rinsed by downpours and can widen in the course of the erosion to valley-kettles. So, river-horses are able to influence the landscape persistently.
At the coast, they live in estuaries and even swim as far as to offshore islands on the sea out.
Strong currents are avoided by the river-horses. Swimming is above all a gliding and drift in the water with these animals, however they can develop also remarkable speed and mobility. The river-horses either lie in the sun during the day, or they retreat into the water. They often dive on that occasion so far that the most important Sinnesorgane, eyes, ears and nose, only protrude from the water. These organs tower as rises above the head-upper side. The diving-duration amounts to at most 6 minutes with river-horses.
At confrontations, the river-horses show its Drohgebärde: they rip open the mouth far and present the huge cuspids. At fights, mutually deep wounds with the cuspids can inflict river-horses. Almost each adult animal carries scars of such skirmishes. At country, river-horses try to overwhelm its opponents.
Lions, hyenas and hyena-dogs are in consideration as an enemy of the young river-horses. Healthy, adult animals have to hardly fear a carnivore.
The voice of the river-horses is a far reverberating one, neighing grunt.
River-horses live in first lines of grass, that they graze mainly at night. Water-plants, herbs and culture-plants play a more inferior role as food. The presence of river-horses in an area is shown by infallible tracks. A Spülsaum of manure belongs to it at the edge of its residential-waters.
There is an odd symbiosis with a fish, that Fransenlipper Labeo velifer. This fish has an under-continuous mouth, with whose help it "cleans" the skin of the river-horses.
Spread River-horses are widespread in Africa south from the Sahara, with exception of the west - and central-African rain-forest, southwest-Africa and the cape-country. In biblical time, the type lived also in the Jordan-valley.
Habitat River-horses are tied at the water. they live in the shore-region of rivers and seas. They are missing in pure forest-areas. The topmost-situated occurrence is in the Tana-See in Ethiopia in almost 2000 m of height.
Reproduction The young was born in the water after 240 days of Tragzeit. The newborn is taken on the wide muzzle by the mother and is lifted at the water-surface, so that it can get air. Often, this support happens in so vehement manner, that the young repeats into the air is hurled. The newborn weighs 40-50 kg. To the suction, the young must dive. The diving-duration amounts to less as one minute on that occasion. The young later is suckled also at country. The dam lies down on the side to it.
Bejagung River-horses are a popular loot of the native. The hunt happened to lances, pitfalls and case-harpoons over the changes, originally. In the water of a bullet of met river-horses sinks under. Only after several hours, the bloated body drives at the water-surface.
The meat has a high protein-content and therefore is a valuable food. From the skin cut in roving, sticks are manufactured after longer tanning. These "Kibokos" are a feared hit-weapon. The Kisuaheli-Wort Kiboko means river-horse. The cuspids deliver a valuable, pure-white ivory.
Endangering In wide sharing of its spread-area, the river-horse is out wiped or become very rare. Merely, river-horses still are frequent in the protectorates here and there.
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