Even though zebras’ habitats are different, they are often found with hippos. When zebras go for water in a lake where hippos live, these two animals meet. Since hippos are more aggressive, the question that first comes to mind is, do hippos eat zebras?
The answer is no. Even though hippos fight against zebras in a lake and sometimes kill them, they don’t eat zebras. However, when drought or any natural disaster comes, They can hardly survive eating only grasses. That’s when they look for the flesh to fill their stomach. And in situations like this, you can find them eating zebras.
Let’s see a few more interesting facts based on observations made in recent years.
Do Hippos Eat Zebras
Although Hippos are herbivorous, They may eat zebras when there’s a food shortage. But it’s not that they hunt zebras. They only eat their meat if they find anyone dead in a disaster. And it’s not the usual case. Only when there’s a shortage of food, you can see it.
Being one of the largest creatures on the earth, hippos need to survive by eating ample grasses and fruits. But when a disaster comes, They run under shortage of food. That time, if they get any dead bodies of zebras, they eat them. Usually, they don’t hunt for them.
Also, in rare cases, when zebras cross the water inhabited by hippos, it can cause them to become a meal of hippos.
What Animals Do Hippos Eat
Since hippos eat animals often, it can be stated that they are arguably omnivorous. Here are a few animals that hippopotamus might get caught devouring occasionally:
Zebras: As explained earlier, hippos eat zebras when natural disasters come. But in regular times, they don’t even get involved in a fight. Even in the land where zebras eat grass and hippopotamuses sunburn quietly, these two animals keep the peace.
Wildebeests: Wildebeests are easy prey for the gigantic hippos. It’s a rare scenario that wildebeests are attacked by hippopotami and become a good source of meals.
Kudus: This lightly built, antelope-like creature is an easy meal option for the hippopotamus. River horses often catch them in a lake.
Other hippos: Cannibalism has been observed among a few ferocious hippos. They eat themselves while fighting for territory, leadership, or females.
Regular Food of Hippos
Hippopotamuses are mainly herbivores. They are usually known as plants-eating creatures. Their staple food is grass and plants. The adults among the hippos consume roughly 80 pounds (35 kilograms) of grass.
They eat grass when they are out of the water, wandering around, or lying for sunburn. It is often noticed that hippopotami eat grass with other herbivore animals.
Final Words
Our observation of the hippo’s dietary habits resulted in fascinating findings. They were referred to as herbivores. But recent documentations of hippos reveal a different truth as they have been seen eating the meat of zebras and similar animals.
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