Hippos in Murchison falls national park
Hippos in Murchison falls national park: Murchison falls national park is the second protected area with the highest number of hippos in Uganda. The national park is located in north western part of the country in Buliisa, Masindi, Nwoya, and Kiryandongo districts. Murchison falls national park is famous for hosting the Murchison falls which are the strongest in the whole world. The national park is also known for harboring over 76 mammals, 13 primates, and over 451 bird species.
Murchison falls national park is where the highest population of hippos are found after queen Elizabeth national park. In queen Elizabeth national park, the hippos are found in the Kazinga channel which is the largest water channel in the whole world. In Murchison falls national park, the hippos are found in River Nile which goes through the park as it comes from Lake Kyoga heading to Lake Albert.
Hippos are interesting social animals that live in groups called schools from 15 up to 100 led by a strong dominant male. The groups comprise female, male and young ones. The hippos of Murchison falls are found everywhere along the River Nile but the best area to meet them is the hippo pool. Tourists who are interested in seeing these hippos in large numbers will have to visit the hippo pool along the River Nile where they will find a huge concentration of hippos.
Hippos are large herbivorous semi-aquatic mammals that tend to concentrate in areas that are shallow and sandy. They are the third largest living mammals after elephants and rhinos but what makes them different is that they can live in the water at the same time on land. Hippos spend up to 16 hours submerged in the waters of River Nile and this is to keep their bodies cool under the hot sun.
While in the water they can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes, they don’t eat anything while in the water they will wait until they get back to land in the night and eat food. They have their nostrils and eyes located high on their heads which allows them to breathe and see while submerged in the waters.
What do hippos in Murchison falls national park eat?
Hippos in Murchison falls national park feed mainly on grass which is around the shore of the river and even inside the park. During the rainy season, they move a few miles away from the river and eat grass but in the dry season, they can even move up to 10km to look for what to eat. A big hippo eats up to 60kgs of grass in a single night. The babies don’t eat grass, they feed on their mother’s milk up to when they are about 8 months and they will begin to chew grass trying to copy their mothers.
Do hippos give birth?
Female hippos reach sexual maturity at the age of 5 or 6 years but they don’t mate until they leave their mothers. They live with their mothers until the age of 7-8 years and that is when they get pregnant. The gestation period of hippos is 8 months and they give birth to live young ones every after 2-3 years. The young ones breastfeed for about 8 months and during this period they feed on grass but only milk.
Threats to hippos
Common predators of hippos are the lions, hyenas, and crocodiles and they mainly kill the young ones or the weak/sick individuals. Another threat to the hippos is the people who not only destroy their habitat but also kill them for meat. Their teeth are wanted for ivory
Best way to see the hippos in Murchison falls national park
The best way to see hippos of Murchison falls national park is by taking a boat cruise to the hippo pool where the biggest number does live or taking a boat cruise to explore the Nile which can be to the bottom of the falls or the Nile delta. A boat cruise to any of these places starts at Paraa and takes you to the Nile delta or bottom of the falls lasting 2-3 hours.
During the boat cruise, tourists will be able to see these hippos everywhere on the river because they stay in the water the whole day trying to cool their bodies. The hippos leave the water during the day to get some sunshine or rest and tourists will be able to see them along the shores sleeping or sunbathing.
Every boat cruise has an armed ranger guide from the Uganda Wildlife Authority who knows a lot of information about the park, aquatic animals, and the river. When you see hippos, the tourists will be able to tell you different information about these aquatic mammals and you will be able to know what they eat, their gestation period, and how they survive in the waters.
Best time to see hippos in Murchison falls national park
Are you wondering about what could be the best time to see hippos in Murchison falls, well tourists who are interested in seeing or filming hippos in Murchison falls national park can visit the park at any time of the year however there are certain periods that are better than the rest. The dry season from June to September and December to February is the best time to see hippos in Murchison falls national park and see on River Nile or parkland. This is because there is little or no rainfall in the park which keeps water levels low with good views of the hippos, the vegetation is short inside the park with good views of the hippos during day or night.
Tourists can still see the hippos of Murchison falls national park in the rainy season of March to May and October to November but due to plenty of rainfall, these mammals are not clearly seen as the waters move at a high speed and there is always too much wind. The hippos will be seen more on the land during the rainy season because they tend to escape the waters.
