Quote:
Originally Posted by zamler
Hippos eat meat.
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Courtesy of ChatGPT:
Hippos are primarily herbivores and feed mainly on grasses. However, they have been observed on rare occasions eating small amounts of meat, such as carrion or small fish. This behavior is thought to be related to obtaining specific minerals or nutrients that are not present in sufficient quantities in their normal diet. Overall, meat consumption is not a significant part of a hippo's diet and they should still be considered primarily herbivorous animals.
And from Wikipedia:
Hippos spend most the day in water to stay cool and hydrated. Just before night begins, they leave the water to foraging on land. Like most herbivores, hippos will consume a variety of plants if presented with them in captivity, but their diet in nature consists almost entirely of grass, with only minimal consumption of aquatic plants. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. On occasion, hippos have been filmed eating carrion, usually near the water. There are other reports of meat-eating and even cannibalism and predation. The stomach anatomy of lacks adaptions to carnivory, and meat-eating is likely caused by lack of nutrients or just an abnormal behaviour.
So even though they are known to eat meat on occasion, they aren't really
supposed to. They are also really aggressive bastards, so 'eating' meat can also be a byproduct of 'attacking the hell out of whichever idiot decides to go stand beside it for a selfie'.