African Behemoth

 Behemoth - a family of artiodactyls, which contains two genera, in which there is only one species: hippopotamus hippo common and pygmy. Members of the family behemoth found only in Africa.
 BEGEMOT ordinary or hippopotamus, at the beginning of last century, lived in the vast territory from the lower reaches of the Nile almost to Cape Town. Now in most areas it is cut off and preserved in large numbers only in Central and East Africa, and even then mostly in national parks. The greatest number of hippos are there on the banks of Semliki - Nile and Lake Edward, in National Parks Kivu (Congo Kinshasa) and Queen Elizabeth (Uganda), where 1 km of the coast has from 50 to 200 animals, and the total number is determined in 25,000 -30,000. Very high population density and the hippos in the National Park Murchison Falls (Uganda).
 In hippo terete, massive body with short thick legs. The legs end in four fingers, wearing a kind of hooves and connected a small membrane. The head is almost no neck, big, heavy, and the nostrils, eyes and small ears somewhat raised and arranged in one plane, so the hippo can breathe, see and hear, staying under water. Mass of large males reaches 3000-3200 kg, body length of 400-420 cm, height at the shoulders up to 165 cm hippopotamus skin devoid of hair (only on the muzzle and the tail has wiry hair) and is rich in glands, which protect it from drying out. The secret of these glands reddish color, and abundantly released during desiccation, or overheating the animal. This is a pretty strange sight: it seems that the body of the animal flows bloody sweat.
Roth hippo wide jaw (especially lower) are armed with huge, often spaced teeth, of which the highest value reached fangs. They have no roots and grow throughout their lives. The largest of the famous hippo canine teeth had a length of 64.5 cm yellowish teeth with hard coating.
 Hippos prefer shallow (about 1.2 m) ponds with sloping beaches and lush wetland vegetation. In these waters, they are shallow and braids, where they spent the day, it is easy to move along the bottom, not letting swimming, and if necessary, can easily hide from danger. Hippos swim and dive perfectly and can stay under water for 4-5 minutes. On the ability of hippos as the swimmers said that they did not just swim to the island of Zanzibar, crossing the 30-mile strait. On land, the hippopotamus seems a bit awkward and clumsy. However, this does not prevent the animals sometimes make long marches. Thus, in the Ngorongoro Crater (Tanzania) in a small lake lives a few behemoths, though coming reservoirs are separated by tens of kilometers. Yes, and cross the steep wooded hill 200 meters high, bordering the crater, is no easy task! B. Grzimek recounts the famous hippopotamus - Wanderer Hubert, who in the early 40's traveled to the South African Union for two and a half years and was about 1600 km.
 Hippos - animal community. Typically, a family of hippos consists of 10 - 20 females with cubs growing up and old male and has a well-defined stretch of coast. Separately, small communities are kept immature animals. Finally, let alone live adult males without harems. Between such males often fight over territory, which, although starting from a certain ritual ends with no respect for "sporting rules". Fighting hippos - terrible spectacle. Animals strike each other fangs deep, heavily bleeding wounds, and the vanquished opponent and chase fleeing fierce bites. Sometimes a fight lasts up to two hours, and often ends in death of one of the fighters. More often, however, is limited to threats, one of the contestants trying to intimidate the other, a highly protruding from the water with wide-open mouth, and then plunges noisily towards the enemy. However, under water, he describes an arc and goes in the opposite direction.
 Food hippos is wading and terrestrial vegetation. In Uganda, the menu includes 27 species of herbaceous plants. Usually hippos graze on the land, grass, biting his lips a little horny at the very root. The daily food requirement amounts to 1.1-1.3% of its own weight, ie about 40 kg of grass. The digestive tract is very long behemoth - it reaches 60 m, and the three-chambered stomach. All this allows us to effectively digest cellulose with a much greater degree of completeness than is observed, for example, elephants. Life is subject to strict hippos daily rhythm. The bright hours of the day they spend in the water where they sleep on the shoals and spits, and shortly after sunset to feed and go back into the water before dawn. Each of the adult male has his own path from water to shore, and individual plot of land for grazing. This site is jealously guarded by other males, and marked the boundaries of dung piles. The same label, and hippos are left along the track. They have a conical shape and achieve a very impressive size - up to 1 m in height and 2 m in diameter. Tags refurnish every day, and the animal becomes her ass and sprays manure short flattened tail like a propeller. This same technique is used for adult males and a meeting with each other or with a female. Young people and females are not observed. It is interesting to note that the hippo dung plays a significant role in African waters: it is based on developing a rich phytoplankton, increasing biological productivity. In particular, the fantastic catches of freshwater fish tilapia in Lake George (Uganda), which serves as the basis of power of the local population, is entirely dependent on the number of hippos. The remarkable spectacle of begemotnye trails leading from the water to places of feeding. Many generations of animals knocked out in the solid earth and stone, even in deep (up to half a meter) gauge, the width between which corresponds to the distance between the legs. On steep climbs gauge go into the steps. In soft ground track is just like a ditch five-foot depth. The frightened animal races on such a chute to the water at a speed of a locomotive, and the fall in his way at this time is not recommended.
 Female hippos reach sexual maturity at the age of 9 years, males - 7. Mating occurs twice a year, in February and August, ie at the end of the dry period. Of course the pairing is in shallow water, the same female and produces a single calf after 240 days of pregnancy. Newborn Hippo has a lot of 45 - 50 kg with a body length of about 120, and ate in a day may be accompanied by their own mother. The female at this time his body protects the baby from the tribesmen, especially older males, which can easily crush trample baby. However, despite the careful tutelage, the young hippopotamus often fall victim to lions, leopards, Cape hunting dogs and hyenas. There have been cases of successful attacks against the lions and adult animals. Crocodiles are the same, contrary to popular belief, the hippos are not attacked. The mortality of young animals is extremely high and reaches the first year of life 20%. But in the next 30-40 years, it does not exceed 6%. Among the behemoths over this age mortality increases again to 40%. Hippos live in captivity up to 50 years.
 As already mentioned, in some national parks of Africa's population density of hippos are extremely increased. Effective protection turned into an unexpected side: hippos, destroying vegetation and causing irreversible depression pasture and destroy their own habitat. As in the case of elephants, the acute problem of national parks - reducing the number of hippos. In past times, when hippos inhabited all water bodies in Africa such overcrowding did not occur. Most small lakes and rivers of Africa is entirely dependent on climatic conditions and particularly dry years, is completely dry. Unlike other ungulates hippos are not capable of long-range migration and the mass die. In particularly dry 30s. English zoologist E. Huxley in North Kenya watched thousands of hippos lying in thick mud: they are so weak that were unable to rise. After these plagues upon the occurrence of favorable conditions began a gradual dispersal of animals surviving in deeper waters, in the liberated territory, and the balance was restored. In addition, Africans, armed only with harpoons and bows, do not undermine the main herd, and only ever reduced the number of hippos. Now the picture is different: either to protect the hippos fully protected area, or to quickly destroy the outside. Animals will soon begin to understand where the border buffer zone, and not voluntarily leave the safe place, resulting in an overpopulation. At present, began a planned shooting hippos in the national parks to prevent overpopulation. Africans have long been used in the hippo meat for food. The taste is reminiscent of veal, it can be salted, smoked, and jerk. In contrast to the meat of livestock meat is lean hippos, which greatly increases its value as a source of protein. One hippo get 520 kg of pure meat and 30 kg internal fat, 27 kg has a mass on his liver, 8 kg - the heart, 5 kg - Language, 9 kg - light, 280 kg - 248 kg, and bone - the skin. Edible parts make up 70.9% of live weight, whereas these same parameters in European cattle make up only 55%. The skin of the hippo - as valuable raw materials. In order for it properly vydubit need 6 years. Then it acquires the hardness of stone and is indispensable for polishing discs. On these discs grind even diamonds. To this must be added the cost of the canines. Prior to the sale of tusks dipped in acid to dissolve the yellow plaque. After this operation, they lose up to one third of the weight, but did not concede the beauty of ivory, and even surpass in value because they do not turn yellow over time. In the old days before the invention of the plastic behemoth fangs produced the best dentures. There is no doubt that the correct operation of the economic behemoths is very promising.