The hippopotamus

📖 In short

The hippopotamus is a huge animal that lives in the rivers and lakes of Africa. It's the third-biggest land animal after the elephant and the rhino. Its name means “river horse”, but it isn't like a horse at all: it's closer to whales and pigs!

🤩 Did you know?

A hippo can weigh more than 2500 kilograms.
A hippo can hold its breath underwater for about 5 minutes.
A baby hippo is sometimes born underwater, then swims up to breathe.
The pygmy hippo is a much smaller kind that lives in the forests of West Africa.

🔎 Find out more

🌟 Spending the day in water

A hippo stays in the water most of the day to protect its skin from the burning sun. Its eyes, ears and nostrils are on top of its head, so it can see, hear and breathe with its whole body underwater.

🔍 Natural sunscreen

A hippo's skin makes a red liquid that protects it from the sun's heat and from germs, so it looks as if it's sweating blood!

💡 Eating at night

At night the hippo leaves the water and walks a long way to eat grass, then goes back into the water before sunrise.

🎯 A huge mouth

A hippo can open its mouth very wide, and has long tusks. It's dangerous if anyone gets close, so people must be careful around it.

📸 More pictures

🧩 Test yourself

1 Why does a hippo stay in the water during the day?

2 Where does the hippo live?

3 A hippo can weigh more than ?? kilograms.

4 Which picture shows “The hippopotamus”?

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📷 Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons

Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0
Diego Delso · CC BY-SA 4.0