Artiodactyla in Tanzania

Part 3

Hartebeest

Swahili Name: Kongoni
Species: Alcelaphus buselaphus
Lifespan: 12-15 years
Weight: 160-350 lbs (70-160 kg)

Hartebeests are another interesting looking antelope. They have long, slender faces, and short, elegant horns. They graze the grasses, and are tolerant of poor-quality food.

Oddly, they are one of the fastest antelopes, but yet are also the most sedentary. They have been easily hunted for that reason, and that they also compete with cattle for the same food explains their large reduction in numbers from the territories they once roamed.

Usually, herds of females roam through territories of different males. Males will usually stay put in the territory they stake out and will defend it, leaving the females free to wander.

Hippopotamus

Swahili Name: Kiboko
Species: Hippopotamus amphibius
Lifespan: up to 50 years
Weight: up to 7000 lbs (3.5 metric tons)

Serengeti

Mostly amphibious creatures, hippos spend most of the day in water to keep themselves cool and take the load off their feet. They are very good swimmers, and eat vegetation growing in the water.

At dusk, they will come out on land to eat, and are very dangerous to humans, as the amazingly agile creature can easily outrun them by a factor of three. They can kill humans by trampling them and biting them in half.

In the water, the occasionally tip over fishermen's boats, leaving the hapless fishermen to the crocodiles.

Hippos hang out in large groups, usually dominated by one male. Other males will be challenged in a series of grunts and bellows- a sight we witnessed fairly often.

Ngorongoro
	This shot was taken in Ngorongoro Crater, at a place cleverly named the Hippo Pool. There were a couple of dozen hippos in the water, and frequently they would agitate, blow water and snort and then settle back down again rather lazily.

This fellow seemed to be a dominant one- he fussed an awful lot, open his mouth wide, bellowing and grunting. He seemed to be looking right at me, but who knows- I believe they have poor eyesight.

Except for the short bristles around the mouth, hippos are hairless. They excrete a reddish dye that protects them from the sun's ultraviolet light.

The ears, eyes and nostrils of the hippo are well-place on the top of their heads, which allows them to spend their days almost submerged to stay cool.

They frequently dive below the water as well, and can hold their breath for up to 6 minutes during a dive.

Impalas

Swahili Name: Swala Pala
Species: Aepyceros melampus
Lifespan: 12 years
Weight: 100-140 lbs (45-65 kg)

Serengeti
Impalas are graceful animals, with lyre-shaped antlers and black markings on their hind quarters. Impalas also have a brown-to-tan-to-white color on their sides, and the tail markings do not extend above the tail. The markings are how to spot the differences between Grant's Gazelle, Thomson's Gazelle, and Impalas.

A single male will mark off a territory and will defend it against any other males that attempt to mate with the females in his area. We saw a couple of short-lived duels- usually a few butts of the head and one of them- usually the challenger, go scurrying.