Chapter 144: Sweaty Hippopotamus
In dry, arid areas, such as the deserts of the Northeast, they will feed on small invertebrates such as insects, grubs, spiders, and scorpions. Occasionally eats birds and small vertebrates. Usually drink water at noon.
Chu Ye knew that baboons would not eat meat under normal circumstances. But now this group of baboons eat buffalo meat secretly. This shows that they must be very hungry.
Baboons mainly live by eating fruits, which is similar to monkeys. But baboons will also eat some meat during the dry season when food is scarce.
This was the case today. When this group of baboons discovered the piece of buffalo meat on the big tree where Chu Ye had hidden their food, they immediately began to eat it secretly.
Of course, these baboons also knew that this must be meat hidden in the big trees by other carnivores. Even if they wanted to eat it secretly, they would have to move the food to other places.
However, when these baboons had just moved the piece of buffalo meat from the previous big tree to another big tree, Chu Ye, the owner of the food, came to this place.
When Chu Ye saw that this group of baboons had stolen his food, he became very angry.
'Good guys, it was you thieves who stole my food. I think you are getting impatient. '
Chu Ye didn't pay attention to this group of baboons at all. He just wanted to climb to the big tree, teach these baboons a lesson, and then get his food back.
But Chu Ye thought again, baboons are the only primates on the Serengeti prairie. Generally speaking, the relationship between baboons and humans is relatively close.
Thinking of this, Chu Ye was no longer angry. He knew that this group of baboons must be very hungry, so they would steal some meat. Otherwise, baboons would generally not eat meat.
However, Chu Ye also thought that this group of baboons had stolen his own food, and he would also teach them a lesson. Otherwise, I would still be a little angry inside.
'Okay, I don't want this food anymore, but I also have to go up and teach you a lesson, otherwise, you will have to steal my food all the time! '
When Chu Ye thought of this, he suddenly climbed up to the big tree, and then let out some angry roars towards several baboons.
These baboons were fighting for buffalo meat. They never thought that at this time, a male lion would climb up the big tree.
Several baboons were fighting for buffalo meat when they suddenly heard a roar of a lion. When they saw a male lion right in front of them, they were frightened out of their wits and hurriedly ran to the top of the tree canopy.
After the other baboons saw Chu Ye, they were frightened and quickly climbed onto the big tree next to them along some branches.
This piece of buffalo meat has not yet been eaten by the group of baboons, and there is still some left. But as soon as these baboons saw Chu Ye, they quickly bought the piece of buffalo meat and ran away.
It is said that Chu Ye can get his own food now, because these baboons do not dare to compete with Chu Ye for food.
But Chu Ye didn't eat his own food. He just scared the group of baboons away and then came down from the big tree again.
The baboons were also very puzzled by Chu Ye's behavior. I don’t understand why Chu Ye doesn’t eat the food they left.
But no matter what, after Chu Ye left, these baboons began to come back to steal Chu Ye's food.
Chu Ye was no longer willing to compete with these baboons for food. After all, he felt that he could look for some food elsewhere, and there was no need to compete with this group of baboons for some of the food he had left yesterday.
'Forget it, do I, Chu Ye, still want to eat leftovers? I can eat fresh food every day. 'Chu Ye suddenly felt that he should not hide some food and then eat several meals like before.
So Chu Ye began to look for food elsewhere.
The food in this place is relatively easy to find. Because at this time, many animals on the short grass plains in the southern Serengeti are concentrated on the south bank of the Grumedi River in the north.
Therefore, the food in the place where Chu Ye lives is relatively abundant. Although there are no wildebeests and zebras, the two most abundant animals on the savannah, some other herbivores are still relatively abundant.
Chu Ye doesn't have to worry about not being able to find food. In this place, as long as he stays by the river, he will definitely be able to encounter a lot of prey for him to hunt.
After Chu Ye left the group of baboons, he walked towards the river. He knew that as long as he stayed by the river, there would be prey coming to the river to drink water, and he could hunt some fresh prey.
Just like that, Chu Ye walked towards the river again. But after walking for a while, he saw an impala.
This impala is walking towards a small waterhole. Obviously, this impala wants to drink water from this small water hole.
As soon as Chu Ye saw the impala, he quickly hid in a nearby bush. He wanted to prey on this impala.
But Chu Ye couldn't figure out why this impala came to drink water from this small puddle. You know, this small puddle is a stagnant puddle, and there is not much water left in it under the baking of the sun.
The remaining water not only has no refreshing feeling, but is also very dirty. But it was this kind of water that actually attracted this impala to come over and drink.
'What's going on? You don't drink the clean river water, but you have to drink this dirty water. '
Chu Ye looked at the behavior of this impala and felt a little puzzled.
However, this impala still walked towards this dirty little puddle. It just didn't want to drink the clear river water, but wanted to drink this dirty water.
Chu Ye couldn't understand it at first, but after staring at the impala for a while, he seemed to understand what was going on.
'Fuck, this impala must be the one that had a lucky escape when the crocodile attacked while drinking water by the river yesterday. It must have frightened that crocodile. Even if it was very thirsty today, it would not dare to go to the river to drink water. '
Chu Ye just stared at the impala for a while, and then he knew why it came to this small puddle to drink water.
'Okay, since you don't want to go to the river to drink water, then I will let you drink water only this time today. 'Chu Ye decided to hunt this impala.
But just when Chu Ye was about to hunt this impala, a huge beast suddenly ran past the river.
This behemoth was no other animal, it was actually a huge hippopotamus.
Hippos are mammals, cetaceans, artiodactyls, and hippopotamuses, and are omnivorous freshwater species. It is huge, with a body length of 2-5 meters, including a tail about 35 centimeters long;
The shoulder height is 1.5 meters; the weight is 1,300-3,200 kilograms. The body is thick and round, the limbs are short, the feet have 4 toes, the head is huge, the eyes and ears are small, the mouth is particularly large, the tail is small, the lower canine teeth are huge, 50-60 cm long, 2.5 kg in weight, the skin is thick, about 40- 50 mm, except for sparse hair on the snout, tail, and ears, the skin on the whole body is naked and purple-brown;
Living in areas with rich aquatic plants in tropical Africa, they often form groups of more than 10 animals, and sometimes they can form large groups of hundreds. Individual hippos are mostly adult males who have been expelled from the group; they are almost entirely in the water during the day, eating. The daily food intake of aquatic plants is more than 100 kilograms. When there is a shortage of aquatic plants, they will go ashore at night to forage for plants or crops.
Despite their large size, hippos can float lightly in the water and can stay in the water for more than 5 minutes. Even the sixth largest animal on land can run at a speed of 40 kilometers per hour over short distances. After being exposed to the sun for a long time, its skin will secrete pink oil to prevent excessive ultraviolet rays.
Living in areas with rich aquatic plants in tropical Africa, they often form groups of more than 10 animals, and sometimes they can form large groups of hundreds. Individual hippos are mostly adult males who have been expelled from the group; they are almost entirely in the water during the day, eating. The daily food intake of aquatic plants is more than 100 kilograms. When there is a shortage of aquatic plants, they will go ashore at night to forage for plants or crops;
Hippos are creatures that have been on Earth for a long time. They walked the earth 55 million years ago. The hippopotamus' closest relatives are whales and dolphins. In Africa, there are fossils dating back to about 16 million years ago.
They have been analyzed on many levels to provide humans with an understanding of hippopotamus evolution. But it wasn't until 1985 that there was evidence that hippos were not related to pigs. What once caused this impression was the shape of the molars. However, now that DNA testing has been conducted, there is no evidence of any relationship between pigs and hippos.
The latest theory is that the semi-aquatic common ancestor of hippopotamus and cetaceans first diverged from other artiodactyls 60 million years ago, while hippopotamus and cetaceans formed two independent clades 54 million years ago.
One branch that may have evolved into cetaceans probably began about 52 million years ago, with Protocetus and other early cetacean ancestors collectively known as Archocetaceans, which eventually adapted aquatic life to become fully aquatic cetaceans.
Another branch became the Carboniferans, a large family of four-legged beasts whose earliest ancestors began in the Eocene and resembled skinny hippopotamuses with small, narrow heads. All branches of the Carboniferans, except those that evolved into the Hippopotamus family, became extinct during the Pliocene, leaving no descendants.
The Hippopotamus family is thought to have evolved in Africa. The oldest known hippopotamus is the Kenyan hippopotamus, which lived in Africa between 160,000 and 8 million years ago. Although hippopotamus species are found throughout Asia and Europe, hippopotamuses have never been found in the Americas during the early Oligocene, despite the colonization of various genera of carboniferans into North America. From 75,000 to 1.8 million years ago, the Archaic hippopotamus, the ancestor of modern hippos, lived in Africa and the Middle East.
Although hippopotamuses are physically similar to pigs and other land-dwelling artiodactyls, their closest relatives are cetaceans, such as whales, dolphins, and the like. The common ancestor of whales and hippopotamuses, the carboniferous mammals, were derived from other branches of the order Artiodactyla that originated 60 million years ago. The earliest hippopotamus fossils are from Africa and date from about 16 million years ago.
Hippopotamus is an amphibian that likes to live in groups, is afraid of cold, and likes warm climates. Their skin will dry out and crack if they are out of water for a long time, and their life of foraging, mating, giving birth, and breastfeeding are also carried out in the water.
Hippos are herbivores, but their tusks are sparse and ten centimeters long. Female hippos are extremely territorial and aggressive in order to protect their calves.
Hippos move in pairs or small groups, and older males often move alone. Nocturnal: They sleep or rest in or near rivers almost throughout the day. They come out to eat at night and sometimes swim more than 30 kilometers along the river to find food.
They mainly feed on aquatic plants; they occasionally eat land crops, mainly grasses, and sometimes go to the fields to eat crops. When food is scarce, they also eat meat. Hippopotamus have huge bodies but can walk easily in the water.
Under the hot sun, the mud and water on the body can protect it from the scorching sun. The sweat glands on the hippopotamus' skin can secrete a red liquid that acts as a natural sunscreen to moisturize the skin. It is often mistaken for discharged blood and is called "blood sweat."
Because its skin is very sensitive and will dry out if left in the water for a long time, it spends most of the day lazily in the water, relying on the help of water to regulate its body temperature and prevent skin from drying out, and sleeps on the shore at night.
Its eyesight is very poor and it cannot see clearly even above the water, but this does not affect its life, because the water is often very turbid and it is impossible to see far away. Hippos like to live in groups and are led by females. There are 20-30 animals in each group, sometimes up to more than a hundred, especially in places with dense aquatic plants, with an average of one every 5.5 square meters.
It has a special set of muscles that are flexible like valves. It can close its ears and nostrils when diving. Each dive can last about 5-10 minutes, but it is not as physiologically correct as aquatic mammals. It has the ability to adapt to water, lives on land for a long time, and can run at a speed of 20 kilometers per hour, so it can only be regarded as a semi-aquatic animal.
Hippos usually submerge their whole bodies in the water, with only their ears, eyes and nostrils exposed. This way they can not only breathe normally, but also detect danger in time without being noticed by the enemy. In addition to being safe and cool, the water also helps support its large and heavy body, allowing it to move freely through the water.
Although hippos always stay in the water, they cannot swim and can only dive. When frightened, they generally avoid water. They spend most of their time in the water every day. When lurking underwater, they usually raise their heads above the water to breathe every 3 to 5 minutes, but they can lurk for about half an hour without coming out of the water to breathe.
Hippos are usually quiet, but once they lose their temper, they often fight. Each hippo uses its sharp teeth to stab the other's thick skin. Sometimes when it gets angry in the river, it dares to overturn the boat and bite it into two pieces.
Now there is a hippopotamus walking towards this small puddle from the river. It seems to be here to take a sewage bath. Hippos, like wild boars, sometimes like to get themselves covered in mud.
