Wild hippo social structure is more complex than often assumed, with pod dynamics influencing individual welfare through competition for water, territorial disputes, and maternal behavior.
Wild hippo welfare is substantially determined by pod dynamics and water availability. Territorial fights between bulls involve powerful biting attacks that cause severe wounds and can be fatal. Infanticide by incoming dominant males is a welfare crisis for individual calves. Climate change-driven drought increases hippo concentration and interindividual conflict, creating population-level welfare deterioration in drought years. Conservation of adequate water and habitat reduces the density-dependent welfare problems.