Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo vs lignum vitae

Hippopotamus amphibius compared with Guaiacum officinale

Key Differences

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo is Vulnerable while lignum vitae is Critically Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo	lignum vitae
Kingdom	Animalia (Animals)	Plantae (Plants)
Phylum	Chordata (Chordates)	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)
Class	Mammalia (Mammals)	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)
Order	Artiodactyla (Even-toed Ungulates)	Zygophyllales (Zygophyllales)
Family	Hippopotamidae (Hippos)	Zygophyllaceae
Genus	Hippopotamus (Hippos)	Guaiacum
Species	Hippopotamus amphibius	Guaiacum officinale

Conservation Status

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

VU — Vulnerable

Population: ~130.0K

Trend: Decreasing ↓

lignum vitae

CR — Critically Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo	lignum vitae
Diet	Herbivore	—
Average Lifespan	40 years	—
Average Length	3.5 m	—
Average Weight	1.5 t	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, and flooded grasslands and savannas, among 5 distinct biome types within the Afrotropic biogeographic realm. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Distributed across Colombia and Kenya. Currently classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

lignum vitae

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests, among 5 distinct biome types within the Neotropic biogeographic realm.

Range

Distributed across Colombia, Cuba, India, and United States. Currently classified as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

Common Hippopotamus, Hippopotamus, Large Hippo

Africa's most dangerous large mammal, common hippos can reach 3,200 kg and inhabit rivers, lakes, and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa. Semi-aquatic, spending up to 16 hours daily submerged to keep cool, they graze on land at night. Despite appearing docile, hippos are extremely aggressive and territorial, responsible for hundreds of human fatalities annually. Vulnerable, with populations threatened by habitat loss and illegal hunting for ivory tusks.