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 The
hippo is the heaviest land mammal after the elephant.
The name “hippopotamus” comes from a Greek word meaning “river horse.” But
hippos are not related to horses at all. In fact, their closest relatives may be pigs or
whales and dolphins! Hippos spend most of their days
in the water or wallowing in the mud. They come up on land at night
to eat.
Hippos are found in slow-moving rivers and lakes in Africa. Even though they spend a
lot of time in the water, they cannot swim! They can’t even float! Their bodies are too
heavy to float. So they move around by simply walking along the riverbed, lightly touching the bottom with their toes like aquatic ballerinas!
Hippos try to stay in the water during the day. This is because
staying out of the water for too long can make their skin dry. Hippos
secrete a thick, red substance from their pores. It looks like they
are sweating blood! But don’t
worry. The red substance protects their skin from
sunburn and keeps it moist.
 Adult hippos are usually 4~5 meters long and
weigh between 1,800 to 3,600
kilograms. Despite their heavy weight,
hippos eat only about 40 kilograms of food a night. This amount is about 1 to 1.5
percent of their body weight. They like to eat short grasses of the
African plains. Sometimes they travel several
kilometers to find food. Hippos can store two days’ worth of grass in their stomachs and can go up to
three weeks without eating.
The hippo gestation period is 8 months.
The mother stays in the water with her newborn for several days without eating.
The mother hippo waits until her baby is strong
enough to go out at night to eat grasses.
Mothers take care of their babies
for about eight months. Hippos live about 40 years in the wild. |
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