a hippopotamus eats the fruit of a sausage tree with flowers and blossoms on the ground around it during the dry season in Zambia

Hippo, Oxpeckers and Sausage Fruit

Zambia, Africa

The sausage tree grows in open woodlands, along riverbanks and streams, and in floodplains in Africa. The trees take advantage of the alluvial soil in areas that flood periodically. Other trees do not do as well in these areas. It produces large and dark red flowers that are pollinated by bats, sunbirds, and insects. They produce a large amount of nectar and are eaten by antelopes, baboons and others.

Sausage trees produce long, pendulous fruit with a thick skin that can be up to 3 feet in length and weigh up to 30 pounds. Some wildlife can eat the ripe fruit, but unripe fruit is poisonous to humans. During the dry season, hippos travel long distances in search of the fruit, creating a network of paths between sausage trees.
The fruit is fibrous and provides sustenance for the hippos but can be hard to get down.

Photo © copyright by Dr. Edward Mikol.

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