Module 8 - Living in Water: The hippos at Rondevlei

Living in Water: The Hippos at Rondevlei *Hippopotamus, Seekoei, Imvubu (Hippopotamus amphibius)*
Rondevlei Nature Reserve is the only place in Cape Town where you can see a live hippopotamus or hippo. They are the biggest wild animal living in any of the City’s nature reserves. On average hippos weigh about 1 500 kg, but a big male can weigh 2 000 kg! Hippos originally lived in wetlands in Cape Town but the early European settlers killed them mainly to supply ships visiting the Cape with meat. By the early 1700s, hippos were extinct in the Western Cape. The name Zeekoevlei reminds us that hippos used to live here.

Hippos were reintroduced to Rondevlei in 1981 to control invasive grasses and bulrushes, and have been very effective. Soon after arriving at Rondevlei, the hippos actually unearthed some hippo bones in the vlei, proving that hippos used to live there. You can see these bones in the Museum at Rondevlei.
Hippos are well adapted to living in water: their eyes, ears and nostrils are positioned on top of the head so that they remain above the surface of the water as the hippo swims. Hippos can hold their breath for up to six minutes at a time. They have a thick layer of fat under the skin that keeps them warm, and have no hair on their skin.
Hippos need to stay in the water during the day because their skin is sensitive to the sun. They come out of the water at night to feed on grass.

Click the buttons to find out more about how some of the plants and animals of Cape Town’s lowlands are adapted to live in this environment.

	Surviving drought
	Surviving fire
	Growing in poor soils
	Living in Water Indigenous water plants Fish and estuaries Frogs and seasonal wetlands Wetland Birds The hippos of Rondevlei