African Elephants

AFRICAN HIPPOS

The hippo is the world's third largest land mammal. Hippo's live in central, southern, and western Africa. The word hippopotamus comes from two Greek words meaning river horse. In Malawi, hippo's are called mvuu. They can stay under water for as long as six minutes. In some places in Malawi, hippo's come at night and eat people's gardens. Therefore, most Malawian farmers dislike the hippo. We found a story about hippo's if you would like to read it.

Here, farmers along the Shire River show a park ranger evidence of hippo damage to their gardens.

It is illegal for Malawians to kill wild animals. If a wild animal is causing damage to crops, a farmer may contact the Office of Parks and Wildlife to investigate. Problem animals are killed by park rangers.
Hippos, a very territorial and agressive animal, are responsible for more human deaths than any other animal in Africa. By day, you are likely to see hippos mostly submerged in the water of local rivers, ponds and lakes. At night, hippos come out of the water to graze on vegetation.


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