HAPPY HIPO SKIN

Hippos are renowned for their bulky size, with only elephants and rhinos ranking ahead of them as the largest land mammals. This nifty protection mechanism, which turns red and then brown once exposed to the air, not only blocks ultraviolet rays but also prevents the growth of potentially harmful bacteria. This is also why they love frolicking in mud, as the slimy substance helps keep them cool! But the hippo even goes one step further to protect itself from the sun’s rays, secreting an acidic substance that acts as natural sunscreen.

HAPPY HIPO SKIN

One of the main reasons hippos spend so much time submerged underwater is to prevent their skin from drying out and cracking under the hot sun. In fact, in much the same way that breathing and blinking are automatic for us humans, hippos know when to surface for oxygen subconsciously, so they come up regularly for breaths even while staying fast asleep! Although these mammals spend a considerable amount of time underwater, you may be surprised to learn that they can’t really swim! Instead, they simply walk or run along the riverbed, pushing themselves up through the water for air. They can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes, which means they’re even able to give birth and sleep underwater. It’s certainly an apt name, as these creatures spend most of their lives in water, only leaving at dusk to feed on grasses. The word hippopotamus loosely translates as “river horse” from Ancient Greek. She lives at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and weighs 1600 pounds on her fourth birthday. World Hippo Day reminds us to celebrate and value these mud-loving mammals, in the hope that they’ll be around for many more years to come.īorn prematurely at only 29-pounds, less than half the normal weight of a typical newborn, Fiona is the smallest hippopotamus to survive. Drought has led to habitat loss, and the hunting and poaching of hippos, both for their meat and ivory teeth, is also a major threat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed them as a vulnerable species in 2006 after establishing that the hippo population had declined by as much as 20% within the previous two decades. In Africa, on the other hand, hippo numbers are sadly declining. Their numbers have increased dramatically since, perhaps to as many as 100! While the hippo has become a symbol of the area, their inability to be managed continues to cause significant issues for the local authorities. However, the bill didn’t quite make it through Congress, and so hippos remained in their native Africa until the 1980s, when the infamous drug cartel leader Pablo Escobar (illegally) imported four hippos and took them to his estate in Columbia. The “American Hippo Bill”, raised in 1910, proposed introducing hippo ranching in Louisiana, not only to help control a particular plant that was taking over the bayous but also to address the American meat crisis. In the 20 th century, attempts were made to introduce hippos into the US. Hippos are now most common in countries such as Zambia and Tanzania. While they bear a resemblance to horses and pigs, these semi-aquatic mammals are in fact most closely related to whales, dolphins and porpoises – no wonder they’re so good at holding their breath underwater! These days there are only two types, the bog-standard hippopotamus and the smaller pygmy hippopotamus, but a few other now extinct species could be found across Europe and in Madagascar as little as 1,000 years ago.

Experts believe that the modern-day hippo evolved in Africa around 8 million years ago.

Happy hipo