Editing Hippopotamus (section)

==Distribution and status==
[[File:Hippovictora.png|thumb|right|Ugandan tribespeople with hippo slain for food (early 20th century)]]
[[File:Incised hippopotamus ivory tusk, upper canine. Four holes around top. From Naqada Tomb 1419, Egypt. Naqada period. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|thumb|Incised hippopotamus ivory tusk (upper canine) with four holes around top (Naqada Tomb 1419, Egypt; Naqada period)]]
''Hippopotamus amphibius'' arrived in Europe around 560–460,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Mecozzi |first1=Beniamino |last2=Iannucci |first2=Alessio |last3=Mancini |first3=Marco |last4=Tentori |first4=Daniel |last5=Cavasinni |first5=Chiara |last6=Conti |first6=Jacopo |last7=Messina |first7=Mattia Yuri |last8=Sarra |first8=Alex |last9=Sardella |first9=Raffaele |date=2023-11-22 |editor-last=Carnevale |editor-first=Giorgio |title=Reinforcing the idea of an early dispersal of Hippopotamus amphibius in Europe: Restoration and multidisciplinary study of the skull from the Middle Pleistocene of Cava Montanari (Rome, central Italy) |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=18 |issue=11 |pages=e0293405 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0293405 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=10664965 |pmid=37992018 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2023PLoSO..1893405M }}</ref> The distribution of ''Hippopotamus amphibius'' in Europe during the Pleistocene was largely confined to Southern Europe, including the Iberian Peninsula,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Fidalgo |first1=Darío |last2=Madurell-Malapeira |first2=Joan |last3=Martino |first3=Roberta |last4=Pandolfi |first4=Luca |last5=Rosas |first5=Antonio |date=2024-01-10 |title=An Updated Review of The Quaternary Hippopotamus Fossil Records from the Iberian Peninsula |journal=Quaternary |language=en |volume=7 |issue=1 |pages=4 |doi=10.3390/quat7010004 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2024Quat....7....4F |issn=2571-550X|hdl=10261/345195 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Italy,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Briatico |first1=Giuseppe |last2=Gioia |first2=Patrizia |last3=Bocherens |first3=Hervé |date=10 December 2023 |title=Diet and habitat of the late Middle Pleistocene mammals from the Casal de' Pazzi site (Rome, Italy) using stable carbon and oxygen isotope ratios |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1040618223003336 |journal=[[Quaternary International]] |language=en |volume=676 |pages=53–62 |doi=10.1016/j.quaint.2023.11.002 |bibcode=2023QuInt.676...53B |access-date=27 April 2024 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref><ref name=":02">{{Cite journal |last1=Martino |first1=R. |last2=Pandolfi |first2=L. |date=2022-07-03 |title=The Quaternary Hippopotamus records from Italy |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.1965138 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=34 |issue=7 |pages=1146–1156 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2021.1965138 |bibcode=2022HBio...34.1146M |issn=0891-2963 |s2cid=239713930}}</ref> and Greece,<ref name=":1">{{Citation |last=Athanassiou |first=Athanassios |title=The Fossil Record of Continental Hippopotamids (Mammalia: Artiodactyla: Hippopotamidae) in Greece |date=2022 |work=Fossil Vertebrates of Greece Vol. 2 |pages=281–299 |editor-last=Vlachos |editor-first=Evangelos |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_9 |access-date=2024-01-26 |place=Cham |publisher=Springer International Publishing |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-68442-6_9 |isbn=978-3-030-68441-9|s2cid=239839913 }}</ref> but extended into northwestern Europe, including Great Britain (as far north as [[North Yorkshire]]), the Netherlands, and western Germany during [[interglacial]] periods, such as the [[Last Interglacial]] (130–115,000 years ago).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Pushkina |first=Diana |date=July 2007 |title=The Pleistocene easternmost distribution in Eurasia of the species associated with the Eemian Palaeoloxodon antiquus assemblage |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2007.00109.x |journal=Mammal Review |language=en |volume=37 |issue=3 |pages=224–245 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2907.2007.00109.x |bibcode=2007MamRv..37..224P |issn=0305-1838 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Kolfschoten |first=Th. |date=August 2000 |title=The Eemian mammal fauna of central Europe |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0016774600021752/type/journal_article |journal=Netherlands Journal of Geosciences |language=en |volume=79 |issue=2–3 |pages=269–281 |doi=10.1017/S0016774600021752 |bibcode=2000NJGeo..79..269V |issn=0016-7746}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Schreve |first=Danielle C. |date=January 2009 |title=A new record of Pleistocene hippopotamus from River Severn terrace deposits, Gloucester, UK—palaeoenvironmental setting and stratigraphical significance |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0016787809000054 |journal=Proceedings of the Geologists' Association |language=en |volume=120 |issue=1 |pages=58–64 |bibcode=2009PrGA..120...58S |doi=10.1016/j.pgeola.2009.03.003}}</ref> The youngest records of the species in Europe are from the Late Pleistocene of Greece, dating to around 40–30,000 years ago.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":0" />

Archaeological evidence exists of its presence in the [[Levant]], dating to less than 3,000 years ago.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Horwitz|first=Liora Kolska|author2= Tchernov, Eitan|title=Cultural and Environmental Implications of Hippopotamus Bone Remains in Archaeological Contexts in the Levant|journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|year=1990|volume=280|issue=280|pages=67–76|doi=10.2307/1357310|jstor=1357310|s2cid=163871070}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Haas|first=Georg|title=On the Occurrence of Hippopotamus in the Iron Age of the Coastal Area of Israel|journal=Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research|year=1953|volume=132|issue=132|pages=30–34|doi=10.2307/1355798|jstor=1355798|s2cid=163758714}}</ref> The species was common in [[Egypt]]'s [[Nile]] region during [[Classical antiquity|antiquity]], but it has since been driven out. According to [[Pliny the Elder]], in his time, the best location in Egypt for capturing this animal was in the [[Sais, Egypt|Saite nome]];<ref name="Pliny">{{Cite book|title = Naturalis Historia|author = Pliny the Elder|author-link = Pliny the Elder|chapter = Chapter 15, Book VIII|language=en |isbn = 978-3-519-01652-6|title-link = Naturalis Historia|date = 1 January 1987| publisher=Vieweg+Teubner Verlag }} ([http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny8.html English translation]; [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/L/Roman/Texts/Pliny_the_Elder/8*.html Latin original])</ref> the animal could still be found along the [[Damietta]] branch of the Nile after the Arab Conquest in 639. Reports of the slaughter of the last hippo in [[Natal Province]] were made at the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14137838|title=The Hippopotamus Going - Extinction of the huge species at hand|date=7 October 1898|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=14 July 2017}}</ref> Hippos are still found in the rivers and lakes of the northern [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Uganda]], [[Tanzania]], and [[Kenya]], north through to [[Ethiopia]], [[Somalia]], and [[Sudan]], west to [[The Gambia]], and south to [[South Africa]].<ref name="iucn" />

Genetic evidence suggests common hippos in Africa experienced a marked population expansion during or after the [[Pleistocene]], attributed to an increase in water bodies at the end of the era. These findings have important conservation implications, as hippo populations across the continent are currently threatened by loss of access to fresh water.<ref name="Okello"/> Hippos are also subject to unregulated hunting and [[poaching]]. The species is included in Appendix II of the [[Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species]] (CITES) meaning international export/import (including in parts and derivatives) requires CITES documentation to be obtained and presented to border authorities.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="Appendices {{!}} CITES">{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/index.php|access-date=2022-11-13|website=cites.org}}</ref>

As of 2017, the [[IUCN Red List]] drawn up by the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] (IUCN) lists the species as [[vulnerable species|vulnerable]], with a stable population estimated between 115,000 and 130,000 animals.<ref name=iucn/> The hippo population has declined most dramatically in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.<ref name="HippoHaven">{{cite news |url = http://www.smithsonianmagazine.com/issues/2006/january/hippos.php |title = Hippo Haven |work = [[Smithsonian Magazine]] |date = 1 January 2006 |access-date = 23 January 2007}}</ref> By 2005, the population in [[Virunga National Park]] had dropped to 800 or 900 from around 29,000 in the mid-1970s.<ref name="BBC"/> This decline is attributed to the disruptions caused by the [[Second Congo War]].<ref name="BBC">{{Cite news| title = DR Congo's hippos face extinction.|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4240420.stm|date = 13 September 2005|access-date = 14 November 2005|work = [[BBC]]}}</ref> The poachers are believed to be [[Mai-Mai]] rebels, underpaid Congolese soldiers, and local militia groups.<ref name="BBC"/><ref name=natgeo>{{cite web|author=Owen, James|date=24 October 2006|title=Hippos Butchered by the Hundreds in Congo Wildlife Park|publisher=National Geographic News|access-date=11 September 2013|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061024-hippo-congo.html|url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140220005151/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/10/061024-hippo-congo.html|archive-date=20 February 2014}}</ref> Reasons for poaching include the belief hippos are harmful to society, as well as financial gain.<ref name="Star"/> As of 2016, the Virunga hippo population appears to have increased again, possibly due to better protection from park rangers, who have worked with local fishermen.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Delaney, J. |author2=Sautner, S. |title=After a Long Demise Due to Poaching, Virunga's Hippos Climbing Back|publisher=Wildlife Conservation Society|access-date=25 November 2016|date=3 November 2016|url=https://newsroom.wcs.org/News-Releases/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/9373/After-a-Long-Demise-Due-to-Poaching,-Virunga%E2%80%99s-Hippos-Climbing-Back.aspx}}</ref> The sale of hippo meat is illegal, but black-market sales are difficult for Virunga National Park officers to track.<ref name=natgeo/><ref name="Star">{{Cite news |last=Sundaram |first=Anjan |title = Congo's Hippos Fast Disappearing |newspaper=[[Toronto Star]] |date=12 September 2005}}</ref> Hippo meat is highly valued in some areas of central Africa and the teeth may be used as a replacement for elephant ivory.<ref name="newscientist2003">{{cite journal | first= Fred | last = Pearce | title = Poaching causes hippo population crash | journal = New Scientist | year = 2003 | url = https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn4109-poaching-causes-hippo-population-crash.html#.U1vYUPldWz4 | access-date = 26 April 2014}}</ref>

A population of hippos [[Hippopotamuses in Colombia|exists in Colombia]], descended from captive individuals that escaped from [[Pablo Escobar]]'s estate after his death in 1993. Their numbers grew to 100 by the 2020s and ecologists believe the population should be eradicated, as they are breeding rapidly and are an increasing menace to humans and the environment. Attempts to control them include sterilisation and [[culling]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Charles |first1=Matthew |title=Colombia's rapidly breeding 'cocaine hippos' must be stopped, scientists say |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/colombias-rapidly-breeding-cocaine-hippos-153839192.html |access-date=January 18, 2021 |work=news.yahoo.com |publisher=The Telegraph |date=January 17, 2021}}</ref>