Hippos are horrible at chewing, and their giant tusks and front teeth are to blame.
These intimidating dental features are used by hippos, in part, to protect themselves and their territory. But some of the gnarly teeth interlock or hinder jaw movements, preventing hippos from efficiently chewing with the side-to-side grinding technique that other herbivores use, researchers report October 4 in PLOS ONE.
Plant-eating mammals typically use the broad teeth near the sides of their mouths to grind and shred fibrous vegetation before swallowing it. Since their digestion process barely reduces food particle size, you can gauge chewing efficiency by looking at their feces.
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