In spite of their cuddly appearance, hippos – the African ‘river horse’ - are the most feared animals in southern Africa, killing more people each year than all the other animals put together. They live in family groups led by a dominant male, who will fight – if necessary to the death – to protect his mating territory. They threaten invaders by what looks like yawning, revealing incredibly sharp canines. If the invader doesn’t retreat, the hippo will charge – and can easily topple over a small boat and then inflict mortal injuries.
Hippos virtually no hair and have a built-in sun block in the form of a pink, sticky liquid that gave rise to the legend that hippos sweat blood. The third heaviest land animal in the world, a hippo can weigh up to two tonnes and be four metres long. In spite of its massive bulk, it is remarkably agile in water – and surprisingly fast on land!
Hippos can stay underwater for over five minutes and spend most of their day submerged to keep cool. Their noses, ears, and eyes are on the top of theirs head, and protrude from the water while the rest of the animal is beneath the surface, and automatically close when the hippo submerges completely.
They are vegetarians, feeding exclusively on grass. At dusk, hippos head onto the land, walking as far as eight kilometres to graze until dawn on short grass and eating up to 68kg a night before returning to the water before sunrise.