Hippo dung is a serious matter for river ecosystems

Hippo dung has such an effect on water chemistry in the animals’ favourite pools that it can alter the entire ecosystem. New research shows that river pools with many hippos tend to support fewer insects and fish, and the impact could be worsened by human activities.

Hippos eat a lot. In fact, a hungry hippo can easily consume 50kg of vegetation in a single sitting. After nightly foraging bouts, hippos return to their river pools and, in the words of the scientists behind a new study, ‘spend most of the day resting and defecating’.