Search results
Learn more about hippopotamus, including how much they weight, how fast they can run on land and where to see in the wild – and stay safe from an attack.
- Zebra Guide
Here is our expert guide to zebras, looking at key species...
- Giraffe Guide
Learn all about these impressively tall mammals, including...
- Elephant Guide
Learn more about the world's largest land mammals, including...
- Zebra Guide
Hippos can store large quantities of food within their stomachs, which helps sustain them during periods when food is scarce. This storage capacity allows them to go without eating for several days or even weeks, depending on the availability of food resources.
- Hippos are the third largest mammals on Earth. Native to Africa, hippos are the third largest land mammals. Elephants and White Rhinos are the two largest land mammals.
- There are two species of hippopotamids. The most widely-known species of hippopotamus is the common hippopotamus, or Hippopotamus amphibius. These hippos can measure 6 to 16 feet long.
- Hippos are strong swimmers. Hippos can hold their breath for an average of 5 minutes. That’s long enough to take walks along lakebed and riverbed floors.
- Hippos are a threatened animal. According to the IUCN Red List, hippos are classified as “threatened” due to human activity impacting their environment.
- Size
- Habitat and Behavior
- Hungry, Hungry Hippos
- Baby Hippos
- Attacks on Humans
- Conservation Status
- Invasive Hippos
- Additional Resources and Readings
- Bibliography
Common hippos, also known as river hippos, are very rotund animals and are the third largest living land mammals, after elephants and white rhinos, according to the African Wildlife Foundation. They grow to between 10.8 and 16.5 feet (3.3 and 5 meters) long and up to 5.2 feet (1.6 m) tall at the shoulder. The average female weighs around 3,000 lbs....
Common hippos live in sub-Saharan Africa. They live in areas with abundant water, as they spend most of their time submerged to keep their skin cool and moist. Considered amphibious animals, hippos spend up to 16 hours per day in the water, according to National Geographic. Hippos are social beasts, hanging out in groups called schools, bloats, pod...
Hippos have a healthy and mostly herbivorous appetite. Adults eat about 80 lbs. (35 kg) of grass each night, traveling up to 6 miles (10 km) in a night to get their fill. They also eat fruit that they find during their nightly scavenging, according to National Geographic. If food is scarce, hippos can store food in their stomachs and go up to three...
Female hippos have a gestation period of eight months and have only one baby at a time, according to the San Diego Zoo. At birth, the calf weighs between 50 and 110 lbs. (23 and 50 kg). For its first eight months, the calf nurses while its mother is on land, or it swims underwater to suckle. When it dives, the calf closes its nose and ears to block...
The hippopotamus is considered the world's deadliest large land mammal. These semiaquatic giants kill an estimated 500 people per year in Africa, according to the BBC. Hippos are highly aggressive and are well-equipped to deliver considerable damage to anything that wanders into their territory. For example, in 2014, a hippo attacked a small, unsus...
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), the common hippo isn't endangered, but it is vulnerable to extinction. The IUCN estimates that between 115,000 and 130,000 common hippos remain in the wild. Poaching and habitat loss reduced the hippo's global numbers during the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the population has...
Notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar famously kept hippos, giraffes, elephants and other exotic animals on his estate in northwestern Colombia. When Escobar was killed in 1993, the Colombian government seized all of his assets, including his menagerie. Most of his animals were transferred to zoos and aquariums, but his four hippos were left to fend fo...
Did you know hippos are covered in mucus? Learn more with SciShow Kids.Learn about the "The 'Beauty' Regime of Hippos" with BBC Earth.Check out the book Saving Fiona: The Story of the World's Most Famous Baby Hippo.AFP. (2014, November 19). Thirteen people, including 12 children, killed in Hippopotamus attack. ABC News. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-20/hippopotamus-attack-kills-13-in-boat-in-niger/5904646 African Wildlife Foundation. (n.d.). Hippopotamus. African Wildlife Foundation. Retrieved February 4, 2022, from http...
Just before night begins, they leave the water to forage on land. A hippo will travel 3–5 km (1.9–3.1 mi) per night, eating around 40 kg (88 lb) of grass. By dawn, they are back in the water. [36] Despite being semiaquatic, an adult hippo is not a particularly good swimmer, nor can it float.
Although hippos are large, they only eat around 1-1.5% of their body weight every day, and they have four chambers in their stomach to help breakdown the grass, shoots and flowers that they eat. They have incredibly powerful jaws that are capable of opening up to 150 degrees wide.
How long do they live? Approximately 55 years in the wild and in zoos. What do they eat? Hippos are herbivores (plant-eaters) and mainly eat grass. They leave the water at night to graze for 4-5 hours in grassy areas near the water. While they prefer to eat near the water, they will travel several kilometres to find food if they need to.
