Hippopotamus

[Lisbeth]

For such a big animal the baby is really small. I never thought that a hippo could be cute Fantastic sighting

[Lisbeth]

Abstract
While the importance of grasslands in terrestrial silicon (Si) cycling and fluxes to rivers is established, the influence of large grazers has not been considered. Here, we show that hippopotamuses are key actors in the savannah biogeochemical Si cycle. Through a detailed analysis of Si concentrations and stable isotope compositions in multiple ecosystem compartments of a savannah-river continuum, we constrain the processes influencing the Si flux. Hippos transport 0.4 metric tons of Si day−1 by foraging grass on land and directly egesting in the water. As such, they bypass complex retention processes in secondary soil Si pools. By balancing internal processes of dissolution and precipitation in the river sediment, we calculate that hippos affect up to 76% of the total Si flux. This can have a large impact on downstream lake ecosystems, where Si availability directly affects primary production in the diatom-dominated phytoplankton communities.

https://advances.sciencemag.org/content ... 3cf4ca8e69

[Sprocky]

Interesting...

[Richprins]

Hippos Kill Baby Hippo – Mom Tries to Protect It

https://latestsightings.com/single-post ... it?twitter

[Lisbeth]

[Richprins]

https://youtu.be/K7Y_jde6hi8

https://latestsightings.com/single-post ... ce=twitter

[Lisbeth]

while the rest of the pod could only watch on.

It did not look like that to me. The mother was trying to interfere and also another one. Anyway, they are not among the most intelligent animals