After elephants and white rhinos, the hippopotamus is the third largest living mammal on land and their hides alone can weigh up to half a ton.
In ancient Egypt, hippos were considered a female deity of pregnancy and they were regarded as sacred animals, but in recent times they were wiped out in this region due to conflicts with humans and their interference with agricultural activities. However, hippos continue to thrive in other parts of Africa.
Hippos are amphibious creatures, evenly agile in water and on land. Their feet have four webbed toes which are splayed out evenly for even weight distribution and therefore adequately support their movement on land and in water. They are quite fast runners on land and although they have short, strong, and stubby legs, they can reach 40kmph, much faster than humans.
They have grey, thick skins with virtually no hair on their bodies. They also don’t have any sweat or sebaceous glands and therefore have to rely on water and mud to keep their cool. They do, however, secrete a viscous red fluid that acts as natural sun protection and may possibly also be a healing agent. Hippos use their flat, paddle-like tails to spread their excrement, which marks their territories and indicates the social status in the herd.
