Osteoarticular Lesions of the Shoulder Girdle by Hippopotamus Bite: Highly Septic Lesion

Hippopotamus bites are rare in medical consultations, despite several studies exposing their aggressive character. A case of a hippopotamus bite on the shoulder of a fisherman has been reported. In addition to the osteoarticular aspect representing a therapeutic problem, the infectious aspect was marked by sepsis, with a death in less than 48 hours. Based on this observation, a protocol for the initial management of large animal bites was submitted.

Reconciling Landscape Fragmentation and Hippopotamuses Population Decrease in Virunga National Park Wetland

Wetlands have been noted to be beneficial worldwide. Despite wetlands being a natural asset that is of great significance to the human community, they are threatened by human and natural events. In Virunga National Park (VNP) wetlands are the habitat of Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) which are among the animal species threatened by extinction in VNP since the past few decades. As shown by the last studies the number of Hippos population declined for 96% for the period of less than 40 years. This study evaluated landscape fragmentation status and its implication on the decline of the hippos population in VNP wetland for the period from 1990 to 2018. This study’s land cover data was obtained using remote sensing techniques with the help of software package ERDAS IMAGINE v16.6 and ArcGIS v10.3. It was mapped and classified using the maximum likelihood supervised classification technique. The landscape was classified into seven classes, which included Cropland, Forest, grassland, wetland, scrubland, bare area, and water. Satellite data (Landsat) was used to evaluate NDVI and NDWI and finally the landscape patterns in the study were analyzed using Fragstats 4.2, which was also used to calculate landscape indices for the respective periods. The results obtained from the LULC, NDVI, NDWI and the landscape metrics showed that during the period of our study the VNP wetland was fragmented. A strong negative correlation between the number of hippos and the wetland’s LFI (Landscape Fragmentation Index) values showed that wetland fragmentation was one of the reasons of the decline of Hippos in the park.

Behavioural responses of ex-situ captive hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) in lactation season: Maternal investment and plasticity of infant self-independence

In order to promote hippopotamus manage-ment in the captive and ex-situ environment,especially the control of behavioural and physiological status during breeding and lactation seasons,we conducted a prelimin-ary study on behavioural responses of a pair of hippos including both mother and infant in Hangzhou Wildlife Park,China.The study of the captive hippos for about 1-month in the lactation season was carried out during August and September,2009.The behavioural patterns were identified by all occurrence sampling and instanta-neous scanning sampling methods with 5–10 min inter-vals.As a result,mother-offspring conflicts and interactions did occur throughout the whole study period.Early maternal investment showed a positive trend in activity rhythms(slope=0.0014,Z=0.3027,P<0.001)and a negative trend(slope=–0.0066,Z=0.8807,P<0.001)in territorial occupation of water,all of which supported our hypotheses that the mother hippo might exert less care for the infant and cut down on her own obligations in nursing.For infant self-independence,during the whole lactation season,the primary trends of activities and territorial occupation dynamics of the infant hippo were slightly different from before,judging from linear models(slope=–0.0017,Z=0.3309,P<0.001).However,the frequencies of activities were not stable,especially at around 12 days of age.The trends of territorial occupation(slope=–0.0071,Z=0.904,P<0.001)also showed negative dynamics in water body occupation by the time the infant hippo grew up.The general trend(slope=–0.005,Z=0.06,P<0.001)of suckling dynamics was demonstrably negative,with an upwardsfluctuation at period 3(10–15th day).This also illustrated that as the infant developed,the dependency on the mother was reduced at the end of the lactation season.In addition,a sharp decline between P3 and P4 also supported the mother-offspring conflict theory.In general,time budgets of hippos in active behaviour were(31.8�2.1)%for the mother and(32.1�2.6)%for the infant.Spatial distribu-tions in water within temporal limitations were(80.1�2.7)%for the mother and(81.8�2.7)%for the infant.Behavioural dynamics showed strong synchronous relations between maternal investment and infant inde-pendence.Our current short-term investigation proves to be a key in management and conservation of hippopotami during the lactation season.

Does the Luangwa Hippo Population Size and Density Distribution Vary between Upper and Lower Study Blocks? What Are the Management Implications of Such Distribution Pattern?

The pattern of population distribution of the common hippopotamus was examined along the 165 km stretch of the Luangwa River in eastern Zambia. The study area was divided between the upper (A-D) and lower (E-H) study blocks. Population data are collected between 1976-2008 and this study 2009-2012 showed a significant difference in the pattern of density distribution between upper and lower study blocks. Upper blocks had higher density of 41/km than lower blocks 29/km. Length of study blocks was discounted as density was used to determine distribution pattern. Results obtained suggest that primary production in each study block as influenced by river geomorphologic features such as river bends and confluences characterized higher hippopotamus density in the upper blocks. Further research is required to investigate other factors that may have interplayed with food (above ground grass biomass) and river meander features to separate upper and lower blocks.

Variations in Patch Use by Ruminant and Non-ruminant Herbivores in a Tropical Wildlife Reserve, Ghana

Food processing and consumption by herbivores are affected differently by the availability of forage quality and quantity per unit of time. This demonstrates the “Allometric response concept”, and it is considered a significant determinant in habitat use for foraging by grazers. The relevance of this approach has comprehensively been applied to herbivores of different body sizes, but little is known about its demonstration to explain patch use in herbivores with different digestive physiology and body size. We explain the use of patches by grazing herbivores of different digestive physiology and body sizes, Hippopotamus amphibius(hippopotamus, mega non-ruminant) and cattle(ruminant), by integrating foraging relationship herbivores. We analysed the significant relationships between species dropping densities and environmental variables across forty-eight 100 m×100 m plots in Bui National Park,Ghana, during the wet and dry seasons. We found that both species utilised areas closer to the river in the wet season, but the H. amphibius foraged further away from the river during the dry season. Sward height also determined patch use by both species, with the H. amphibius utilising shorter swards than the cattle. Considering the quality of food resources, the study revealed that patch selection of ruminants(cattle) was significantly influenced by nitrogen content. In contrast, acidic detergent fibre content was positively related to non-ruminant species(H.amphibius). The high seasonal effect of sward height and food quality on patch use is primarily due to the species digestive physiology and body size of hippopotamus and cattle at the Bui National Park.