Do Hippos Like Chocolate? Myth Bust

Chocolate is surely an un-resistable option for us, and almost every person in his or her childhood loves to eat it. It is due to its delicious sweet taste and extraordinary nutritional value. As humans, we can eat chocolate, but what about hippo’s taste. “do hippos like chocolate?”.

It is a very interesting question, and due to it, I researched this topic and wrote all the things below.

Hippos can eat chocolate in captivity as we normally do, but eating chocolate is not suitable for them in many ways. 

Further, hippos need a large amount of food to ensure their survival. So, they can never rely on chocolates.

Further, some of us think that the hippo’s main diet comes from meat, but it is not true. The favorite diet of hippos is grasses. 

Do hippos eat chocolate?

In our world, most people feed their pets according to their regular diet, but they do not feed them chocolate. 

Hippos can like chocolate due to its taste but they avoid it because this diet can lead them to different unhealthy conditions.

According to researches, large amounts of chocolate can cause poisoning. Many animals can easily cause chocolate poisoning because animals’ metabolism is not similar to humans.

The main victims of chocolate poisoning are small animals like cats and dogs.

But hippos are very large animals. The average weight is about 3000 lbs. The male weight can be 9000 lbs. So, if they consume large amounts of chocolate, they will survive.

But, the research said that if the hippos eat a large amount of chocolate without getting their natural diet. Then, it will have some consequences on their health. 

Why Hippo Must Not Like Chocolate? Reasons

Diet Routine

As herbivores, they are not adaptable to eat such sugary dishes. Eating it will lead them to different unhealthy conditions, including health problems with the gut. Further, this also can make changes in their eating behavior.

Digestive Issues

Further, chocolate is a processed food that can cause deformities in their digestive system. Their digestive system does not contain such enzymes that can break down chocolate, which is enough to lead hippos to diarrhoea-like diseases.

So, this proves another reason that disallow you to share your chocolate with hippo.

Dental Issues

Hippos do not brush regularly that means if they eat chocolate, they can invite bacterias for a feast. This will lead them to different dental issues such as cavities.

Nutritional Requirement:

Hippos’ nutritional requirements are high and cannot be fulfilled with chocolate.

So, they mainly eat plant material to fulfill their nutritional value but in some cases they are seen as playing a carnivorus role. I mean to say hippos also can eat meat in shortage of food. This reveals hippos as dangerous creatures for other small animals around their habitat.

What is Hippos’ Favorite Food?

Many people think that they usually eat meat, but the amazing fact is that their favorite food is grasses.

Normally, a hippo’s diet consists of grass because it helps its digestive system to work well. Eating grass also helps them maintain their whole body’s nutritional value.

An adult hippo eats almost 36 kg of grass in a day to meet its nutritional requirements. Further, they also live near the grass-rich habitats to increase the possibility to consume food. 

What types of food can hippos eat?

Hippos are herbivorous animals, so they normally eat grass and plants, which we already tell you. 

Now, we will discuss what other food hippos can eat.

According to some research, hippos also eat meat. The main shocking news is that some species of hippos show cannibalistic behavior. 

Cannibalism means that animals started to eat their kind. Yes, hippos eat their kind, but it happens when no food source is found.

But, their main source of food is grasses and plants. Their large diet comes through water, and they can spend 16 hours underwater daily to continue grazing it.

According to the research, they submerged in the water to keep their skin moist and cool. Hippos can eat 80 lbs of grass at night, and they can survive for three weeks without eating with a full stomach.

Hippos also eat different vegetables. Sometimes, on television, you can see hippos eating watermelons. They can also eat pumpkins and other vegetables.

What are Chocolate Nutrition Values:

Chocolate is very tasty, and everyone wants to try it. But, doctors always say, “don’t eat chocolate in a large quatity.” Eating a lot of chocolate leads us to obesity or can damage our teeth badly. 

Also, never feed chocolate to your pets. Below, we describe a table of chocolate nutrition per 50kg.

	Milk Chocolate	Dark Chocolate	White Chocolate
Calories	268	252	270
Carbohydrates	29.7g	29.8g	29.62g
Sugar	25.75g	25.74g	29.54g
Total Fat	14.83g	17.1g	16.04g
Protien	3.82	1.95g	2.94g

Conclusion:

The result is that hippos dislike chocolate because they do not live in a land where chocolate exists. Because they are omnivores, so their main diet is grass and plants. 

If you offer them chocolate, they may eat it for curiosity, but they do not like it. So, I think all your suspense cleared with the given information. In the end, I want to say that I like this animal when they eat vegetables like watermelons. 

FAQs:

What are the favorite foods of hippos?

The top favorite food of hippos is short grass and plants. However, they also eat vegetables. 

What animals eat chocolate?

According to research, rats and mice can eat chocolate because their metabolism is like humans.

Can Hippos Eat Chocolate?

Maybe Yes, or maybe not. Normally, they do not eat it, but if some offer, they can eat the chocolate.