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Quiz about What Can You Do With A Hippopotamus
Quiz about What Can You Do With A Hippopotamus

What Can You Do With A Hippopotamus? Quiz


Hippopotamuses are very big animals. Can you answer the following ten questions, and learn something about these interesting animals along the way?

A multiple-choice quiz by Jennifer5. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
Jennifer5
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
355,935
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
1767
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: rooby2s (9/10), spaismunky (8/10), GausarTheVile (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. First of all we need to find our hippopotamus, or hippo for short. Which continent is he native to?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The name 'hippopotamus' is derived from an ancient language. Which one is it?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. What are the terms used to refer to male and female hippopotamuses?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The hippopotamus, however you look at it, is a huge animal. The male is generally bigger than the female.


Question 5 of 10
5. Where would you be most likely to see a hippopotamus during the daytime?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Female hippopotamuses give birth approximately every two years. What term is used to refer to a baby hippopotamus?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which word best describes the eating habits of the hippopotamus?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. How do hippopotamuses live, socially speaking?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. What is the typical lifespan of a hippopotamus in the wild?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. In the wild, the hippopotamus's temperament towards humans is typically calm, patient and gentle. They are easily approachable and friendly to all.



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 28 2024 : rooby2s: 9/10
Oct 17 2024 : spaismunky: 8/10
Oct 05 2024 : GausarTheVile: 10/10
Oct 02 2024 : lindawhat: 8/10
Sep 24 2024 : dmaxst: 10/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. First of all we need to find our hippopotamus, or hippo for short. Which continent is he native to?

Answer: Africa

The hippopotamus can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, which is the area of Africa south of the Saharan Desert, a huge desert which covers much of North Africa. The Sahara is the hottest desert in the world; its searing temperatures and dry conditions with minimal rainfall would not be a suitable environment for the hippopotamus to live.
2. The name 'hippopotamus' is derived from an ancient language. Which one is it?

Answer: Greek

Many of our English words have their roots in ancient languages from different areas, and many are of Latin and Greek origin. In this instance, 'hippopotamus' has its origin in the Greek language. Its meaning is 'river horse'. The plural of hippopotamus is generally hippopotamuses, but hippopotami is also correct. They are also commonly referred to by the shorter name of hippo/s.

The Etruscan language was a language spoken in Etruria, which was an ancient civilisation in northern Italy. It was completely taken over by Latin, the language of ancient Rome. Sumerian was an ancient Mesopotamian language.
3. What are the terms used to refer to male and female hippopotamuses?

Answer: bull and cow

Male and female hippopotamuses are called bull and cow respectively. Many other animals are also known as a bull and a cow. The most obvious example is cattle, but other male and female animals called bull and cow are many and varied including the gazelle, elephant, camel and dolphin (to which the hippo is distantly related). The male and female terms boar and sow relate to pigs, ram and ewe to sheep, and sire and dam refers to dogs and horses.
4. The hippopotamus, however you look at it, is a huge animal. The male is generally bigger than the female.

Answer: True

An adult male hippo can measure up to 16-17 feet long. This does however include their tail, which is pretty long at around 22 inches. Male hippos, which, unlike the female, grow throughout their lives, can weigh as much as three to four tons. Males are generally quite a bit bigger than females. The hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal after the elephant and the white rhinoceros. (Whales are larger, the blue whale being the largest mammal of all, but whales are sea-dwelling, so therefore not land mammals.)
5. Where would you be most likely to see a hippopotamus during the daytime?

Answer: submerged in water or mud

The hippopotamus is a semi-aquatic animal and spends most of its day submerged in water or mud to keep cool during the extreme heat of the day, emerging at night to feed. They have the ability to close their nostrils when they are underwater, and come to the surface to breathe, even when they are asleep.

They live in and around freshwater lakes and rivers, not in the sea. Although hippos' bodies are too heavy to float and they cannot swim, they are successful water-dwellers; they live in shallow waters and either walk or push off from the bottom with their feet in order to move from place to place, a movement which despite their bulk is surprisingly graceful.
6. Female hippopotamuses give birth approximately every two years. What term is used to refer to a baby hippopotamus?

Answer: calf

A baby hippopotamus is called a calf. It is conceived and born underwater following an eight-month gestation period. Guided by its mother, the newborn calf instinctively swims to the surface of the water to breathe. Hippopotamuses normally have just one calf at a time, although occasionally twins are born. Baby hippos are typically about 50 inches long - that's a big baby!
7. Which word best describes the eating habits of the hippopotamus?

Answer: herbivorous

The hippopotamus is a herbivore, which means that it only eats plant material. Its main diet is grasses, which come from the grasslands which surround the rivers and lakes they inhabit. Each evening, once the temperature is cooler, the hippos emerge from the water and lumber off individually in search of food.

They can spend most of the night doing this, walking several miles in the process. Surprisingly, despite their bulk, they eat less than you might think, as they are not very active animals so do not need to consume a vast amount to give them the energy they need.
8. How do hippopotamuses live, socially speaking?

Answer: in family groups of males, females and babies

Hippos are very sociable animals and live in family groups of males, females and calves. There is one 'dominant' bull hippo, who mates with the females, although he will sometimes allow other males to do so. Typical communities consist of between 10-30 adults plus their offspring, but larger communities of up to a hundred are not unheard of. A family group of hippos is called either a herd, a pod or, most appropriately given their size, a bloat. The conservation status of the hippopotamus is listed as vulnerable. The chief concerns are poaching and loss of habitat.
9. What is the typical lifespan of a hippopotamus in the wild?

Answer: forty to fifty years

A hippopotamus lives for around 40-50 years in the wild; in captivity they can live longer. A female hippo named Donna, who died in 2012, lived to the age of 60 in an Indiana zoo, and another female called Tanga lived in Munich Zoo, reaching the grand old age of 61, the oldest recorded age for a hippo.
10. In the wild, the hippopotamus's temperament towards humans is typically calm, patient and gentle. They are easily approachable and friendly to all.

Answer: False

No, no, a thousand times no! The hippo can be unpredictable and very aggressive if it feels threatened. Despite its short, stubby legs and huge bulk it can easily outrun a person over a short distance, reaching speeds of up to 19 miles per hour when in pursuit.

Despite its calm, even cute appearance, it is one of the most dangerous animals in Africa and is quite capable of killing a person, defending its territory to the utmost and attacking ferociously if provoked. Definitely an animal to approach with caution, if at all!
Source: Author Jennifer5

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor NatalieW before going online.
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