Hippo

[Mars]

I saw a dead hippo at Siloweni dam in Kruger about 2 weeks ago, The hippo was floating on top of the water and looked fully grown,

What do they normally die off ? He was full of blood over his whole body, was this a fight with another bull or did the crocs start having lunch after he died ?

I guess you can't remove a smelly hippo from a dam ?

[Wild@Heart]

Hi Mars123,

Chances are that he probably died then from wounds after a fight. Hippos are very territorial and fights are very intense which can often lead to death.

As for leaving the carcass. This was a natural way to die and hence the hippo carcass will be a great food source for crocs and such.

[wildtuinman]

Interesting about hippos is that if it died in the water it will sink underwater and resurface around 30mins later as it starts to bloat because of the fermenting on the grass in the stomach. As it is floating on top of the surface crocs and fish will start to feed on the carcass.

W@H rightfully said that it could have died in a fight with another bull. The blood you see is most probably either from the wounds of the skirmish or from the feeding activity on these initial wounds.

Another thing to take into consideration is that hippos are also very sensitive to sun... the skin turns pink and sores could develop if the animal stayed exposed to the harmfull rays.

[Mars]

For some reason I always battle with the uploading of photo's on this computer, so If they don't show I will add the link to the photo's

Large

[wildtuinman]

Wow Mars123, this animal has definitely been thru quite an ordeal... plenty of scrapes and lacerations on its body. Whether from injuries or feeding, I can't tell. The scrapes are interesting...

[Nkulu]

Just north of Mopani camp a dead Hippo lay close to the road during Easter. A square patch of skin appeared to have been stripped of it's side leading to the theory that this was man made? Although there were plentiful vultures, no other scavengers appeared for the two days we were in the area If anyone can throw some light on the matter it would be appreciated (and might settle some disputes as the theories were many )

[BushBabe]

We were also in the Park for easter and saw the hippo too. Listened in as the Catering manager commented that the *** had been around the hippo for at least two days and kept on nudging it, as if to help it up, did not seem to have hurt it. We saw and recognised a sign at Satara that this *** is "Ore" (he only has one ear, the left, which is also damaged) and was relocated to the Mopane section of the Park to assist with raising numbers there. The story develops!
We believe that the presence of the *** kept predators and scavengers at bay, but would love to know what happened- we saw it last on Sunday 8 April - did it eventually attract some excitement?
Karen

[Wild about cats]

Hi guys!

Had a very clear view of the rotting carcass on Monday. There was no *** when we were there, just vultures. We Asked two different rangers about it.

The first who was at Mopani said he was killed by a *** in a fight two days ago. We immidiatly assumed it to be a black ***.

The second who was at Mooiplaas said that he was killed by a white ***. He said the predators were waiting for the meat to rot and the vultures had not eaten it because in respect, they wait for the Lappet-faced to come and start the meal.

[Wild@Heart]

Reason they wait for the Lappet-Faced is because these vultures are the only vulture who are able to break the thick skin of an animal. If an animal died because of natural causes and no puncture wounds the other vultures can only get to the soft spots like the eyes. That is until the "respectable" lappet shows up and breaks the skin .. allowing other vultures then to start enjoying in the feast.

[Dave]

We had a clear view of the carcass on Friday 13th, no *** around, and carcass was totally covered with vultures, with many more in the surrounding trees and at the nearby waterhole. I have some video footage and will see whether I can download it. (Unfortunately my camera is not digital). Also no incision was visible on the carcass. We passed the carcass again on Sunday 15th, and all that was left over where the skin and bones.

Also interested to know why the *** acted in this strange way, and what caused the hippo's death.

[Bennievis]

Taken near Skukuza, on an early morning drive on the H4-1.

Large

[Nico]

In this little video you can see how a territoriol Bull is chasing a young Bull away out of his territory.I filmed this from the Low water bridge near Lower Sabie.