Zoo database

Common Hippo

Hippopotamus amphibius

Natural diet Common Hippo

Grasses
Herbs
Leaves

Common Hippos are herbivorous grazers that consume vegetation near rivers and streams. Grazing is largely done on land but occasionally some aquatic plants and browse is consumed as well. They have a slow digestion rate, allowing them to benefit from nutrient poor diets.

Feeding advice Common Hippo

Feed quantity per day

1,5-2% of body weight

Sample percentage calculation

If an animal weighs 1700 kg and eats 2% of its body weight, it will get

1700 x 0.02 = 34 kg feed in total per day

Feed composition

10% Concentrates
85% Grass, lucerne and other roughages
5% Browse

Proportions (fresh product)

0.1 x 34 kg = 3400 g concentrates
0.85 x 34 kg = 28900 g grass, lucerne and other roughages
0.05 x 34 kg = 1700 g browse

Diet suggestions

In moderation

Lucerne hay
Leafy vegetables

Not recommended

Fruits

Additional advice

Divide the “Feed quantity per day” over at least two feeding moments per day.
Supplement the diet with ad libitum roughages (read more about browsers and grazers).
Feeding fruits might lead to abnormal fermentation in the hindgut because of high sugar levels (read more about nutritional values of (wild) fruits and vegetables).
Common Hippos are nocturnal species meaning that they mainly eat during the night.
Stimulate foraging behaviour by feeding root vegetables in the water, scatter feeding or by hiding the feed (read more about feed enrichment and foraging behaviour).

Common diseases

An unbalanced diet may result in one of these more commonly occurring diseases/conditions:

Obesity
Arthritis
Dental Disease
Musculoskeletal

Feed quantity per day

Sample percentage calculation

Feed composition

Proportions (fresh product)

Boskos Grazer

Grazer pellets

KNZ Leckstein Wild

Michiel Derks

Director Petfood & Zoos