Watch large hippo and juvenile feed on grass, reeds and aquatic plants at a wetland in South Africa

Описание: Juvenile stays close to mum, as she depends on her protection against predators like lions, crocodiles that target the young
I shot this 4k video at Pilanesberg, South Africa
This juvenile like human children, like to play and experiment while mum is focussed on feeding.
Hippos are primarily herbivores and are classified as grazers. The vast majority of their diet (around 50-60%) consists of short, creeping grasses found on land, not in the water.
You can see several birds active in this wetland hunting for food. It includes darters, cormorant, spoonbills.
Hippos cause an estimated 500 human deaths per year in Africa, making them one of the world's deadliest large land mammals.
Hippos live a semi-aquatic life in rivers and lakes across sub-Saharan Africa, spending their days in the water to protect their sensitive skin and coming out at night to graze on large amounts of grass.
They are social animals living in groups and can live for 35–50 years in the wild, with individuals in captivity often reaching older ages.
Hippos do not swim but walk or run along the bottom of waterways, using a reflex to surface and breathe without waking up.
They do not float in water because of their high bone density.
Their eyes, ears, and nostrils are on top of their heads, allowing them to see, hear, and breathe while most of their body is submerged. They can hold their breath for up to five minutes
A dominant bull hippo presides over a stretch of river and the females within it. He marks his territory by flinging his dung with his tail.
Hippos are highly aggressive and territorial. Males often fight, sometimes to the death, and they are known to react violently to intruders in their territory, including humans in boats.
Hippos are important to the aquatic ecosystems they live in. They can help maintain river channels, moving soil and modifying the underwater landscape, helping to create complex habitats that support numerous other species.