POLAR BEAR VS.
HIPPO If these two creatures had a head-to-head
battle, who would win?
We will determine it as we analyze various strengths and weaknesses.
ROUND 1: HABITAT - Where do these creatures live?
First, Hippos are primarily found in the Sub-Saharan African areas.
They are grouped into 5 categories.
Among these categories are; Nile Hippos in Tanzania and Mozambique.
There are East African hippos in Somalia and Kenya.
South African hippos move along Zambia and, of course, South Africa.
Chad and Western Africa house the Western Hippos.
Finally, the Angola hippo is located in the waters of Congo, Namibia, and Angola.
The hot sun in Sub-Saharan Africa means that the hippos spend all their time underwater.
These hippos are the pride of every safari ride in these regions on the African continent.
In comparison, Polar Bears are the opposite of Hippos.
They are water-friendly, but they cannot survive the African heat.
The arctic bears live in the coldest parts of the planet.
They could be found in Svalbard, Greenland, Russia, Alaska, and Northern Canada.
Moreover, due to their nomadic nature, they follow wherever the quality of ice is excellent
or their prey, primarily seals, are found.
The Polar Bear calls home many places that have been destroyed due to global warming
and oil drilling.
- What is their population The estimated population of Hippotamus is
115,000 130,000 across Africa.
The Polar Bear is approximately 22,000 31,000 across the arctic.
- Are creatures endangered?
The world is going extinct, and all the animals are going along.
The hippos have a 95% decrease in population in the last century.
Hippos are losing their natural habitat to farming and urbanization.
Governments try to cover up by building conservatory parks, but that does not guarantee their safety
enough, especially in Africa, where citizens feel threatened by all wild animals.
Hunters kill Hippos for meat while the teeth are shipped and sold for exorbitant prices.
Polar Bears are no safer.
In fact, they are on a more devastating wavelength than Hippos.
The changing seasons of the arctic have never been a problem for the Polar Bear.
However, in recent times, the ice around the world has been decreasing daily.
That affects the entire habitat of the Polar Bear.
Their nomadic status is not helping either because the change is happening everywhere.
This affects their prey too.
They are doing more to find their target now due to their own endangered stories.
Hence, Polar Bears are starving more and losing their lives.
- How many are killed in a year?
African villages where they destroy farmlands hunt hippos.
The accurate number of deaths is unknown but that is because it has reduced in recent years.
Somehow, there are about 10 deaths a year.
Approximately 991 Polar Bears were killed each year between 1963 and 2016.
- Who wins this round?
For this round, the Hippo has a more stable habitat and a population that is threatened
but not as much as the Polar Bears.
So they are considered the winner.
ROUND 2: DIET - What do these two creatures eat?
Hippos eat grass only.
The one true herbivore in the wild.
the sun is down, and the farmers are far from their farms.
In contrast, Polar Bears are entirely carnivores.
They only eat other animals.
For instance, the number one prey for Polar Bears are seals, and they eat seals of all
kinds.
Walruses are another excellent choice for Polar Bears.
They keep to the young and weak ones because Walruses could be strong and heavy in a fight.
They sometimes eat bird eggs as snacks and the carcasses of whales.
- How much do the creatures need to eat?
The diets of these two are entirely different.
Their habitat dictates the food that they are comfortable eating.
Hippos are large eaters.
They need the food to maintain their massive frames.
They eat roughly 88 pounds of food each day to maintain their weight.
Anything less, and they might look sickly.
Despite their choice for submerging in water all day, Hippos enjoy eating grass.
Their diet is wholly made of grass.
Since Hippos are some of the most sociable groups in the Sub Sahara, they move in large
groups of 100 and more.
To illustrate, that could be over 8,800 pounds of grass consumed in a day.
Polar Bears need to eat an average of 2kg of fat per day.
When they eat one seal, it can provide eight days of energy.
- How easy is it for them to find food?
Hippos find food easier because they have to eat grass.
They prefer to eat in the evening.
Polar bears have to chase seals and walruses and fight them for hours to eat.
Sometimes they have to migrate for long distances because the food hides.
In terms of diet, it is easier for the Hippo to find food than the Polar Bear.
Although the Polar Bear shows more bravery in its fights to conquer.
Therefore, the Polar Bear wins on courage alone.
ROUND 3: LIFESPAN - How long do they live?
A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years.
They can go up to 60 years in captivity.
Polar Bears can have a short lifespan in comparison.
They live between 20 and 25 years.
- Who wins this round?
A hippo wins in the case of lifespan.
They live roughly twice as long.
ROUND 4: BIGGER THREAT TO HUMANS - How many humans do they attack?
For human danger, Hippos kill an estimated 500 people annually.
They are the world s deadliest mammals besides humans and kill twice as much as lions.
Between 1870 and 2014, 73 polar bear attacks were recorded.
Out of this number, 20 fatalities were recorded.
- How do they attack?
A hippo pursues, knocking off its opponents.
Then, it grasps its head between its jaws and clamps down a thousand pounds in a minute.
Polar Bears do not seek out confrontations unless they feel threatened and then they
attack and even kill and eat humans.
Polar Bears bite the neck, grab, and pull onto land before dragging around until the
prey has no energy left.
- Specific Examples In 2018, a woman in Pretoria was attacked
and thrown around like a ragdoll in a hippo s mouth.
The 39-year-old woman from Alberton at Tony and Shirley Joubert, a famous hippo establishment.
The hippo rose from the river on the premises and started biting her legs and throwing her
around as a ragdoll.
It had both her legs in its mouth and started biting harder.
She attempted to stick her nails into his left eye but it only bit her harder.
When it stopped attacking her, the hippo turned and attack her cousin in a similar fashion.
A polar bear killed a man in Norway s Arctic Svalbard islands.
A 38-year-old Dutch citizen was in his tent when the polar bear attacked him and he died
minutes later.
The polar bear was going into populated places as the icebergs were starting to melt in August
2020.
For this round, we will say that the Hippo is worse than the Polar Bear.
They are the cause of at least 500 deaths each year.
So they win this round.
ROUND 5: WHAT ARE THE CREATURES HUNTED BY?
- What hunts the creatures?
Hippos are the biggest predators in their yards.
They have little competition and probably do not hunt any animals.
Nonetheless, Nile crocodiles, lions, and hyenas might be their worst nightmare.
These predators come from the weaker Hippos, who are not in the position to fight for themselves.
In the beginning, we mentioned that Hippos move in groups.
They are bound to avoid weaker and smaller ones becoming the casualty of a stronger predator
s test.
The Polar Bear may well be the largest predator in the arctic.
It hunts the walruses and seals.
They can also feed on extremely weak whales or their carcasses.
The polar bear is only afraid of other polar bears.
Some nasty fights between territorial groups lead to unwanted killings among the pack.
Other animals like wolves in the arctic can eat Polar Bears.
Shockingly, there are times when mothers eat their cubs.
If the mother Polar Bear is malnourished, it might have its cub for lunch.
To emphasize, these are rare occasions.
- Who wins this round?
So the Hippo wins on the ticket of not having natural predators and mobilizing in groups
to avoid leaving the young ones behind.
ROUND 6: SPEED - How fast can the creatures go?
The Hippo runs at 30 miles per hour.
Although it is larger, it does not limit its speed.
The Polar Bear is equally fast.
The arctic delight has speed even on ice.
It can run as fast as 25 miles per hour and without a break.
They also have paw pads that prevent them from slipping on ice.
In a race, the Hippo might win, but the Polar Bear is not a weaker contender.
Inside water, the Polar Bear has a better advantage over the Hippo.
They are both water animals, but the Polar Bear is built to live in water, whereas the
Hippo is there to float on the surface.
Polar Bears can swim for days without feeling tired.
They can swim at 6 miles per hour.
Hippos are not swimmers.
They jump into the water and stay on the surface by their floating technique.
Due to their weight, it will be challenging for them to swim.
So they walk in the water if it is shallow or glide on the surface of it.
In fact, they have enough fat in them to help them float as long as they wish.
Do you feel like your entire childhood watching the Nature Channel has been a lie?
That is why we are here to ensure that the correct information is out there.
- Who wins this round You might call this a tie, but we think the
Polar Bear has this one.
They are not that bad on land and can swim better than the Hippo and are a win in our
eyes.
ROUND 7: SPECIAL SKILLS AND ADAPTABILITY - What are the little-known skills and adaptability
of these creatures?
With special skills, the Hippo is highly adapted to aquatic life.
They can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes underwater.
Underwater, their ears and nostrils fold shut to keep water out.
Bears, on the other hand, have the vision and hearing ability of humans.
They see in color and hear sounds higher than humans hear.
They run twice as fast as an Olympic sprinter and have excellent jumping skills.
We are speaking of a gymnast here.
- Who wins this round?
For this round, Hippos are more dangerous but Polar Bears have more skills up their
furry sleeves.
We can call it a tie.
VERDICT: To conclude, these animals are on opposite
sides of the globe and have unique characteristics that fit the habitats.
Shockingly, the Polar Bear has an advantage on this list.
What do you think of these two animals?
And do you have a different reason for rating one over the other?
Could you share with us in the comments below?
Which animal would you like to see in the wild?