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The word “hippopotamus” means “river horse” in Greek, which makes sense given the amount of time — about 16 hours a day — these massive creatures spend in the water. But as it turns out, hippos can’t actually swim or even float. Their dense bones and heavy bodies cause them to sink, and their short legs and broad structure aren’t built for moving through water as easily as other aquatic mammals.
What they can do, thanks to that density, is stand sturdily on a waterbed’s floor and walk or bounce along the ground. With their eyes and nostrils located high on their heads, they can still see and breathe while almost completely submerged.
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Although they prefer the shallower parts of lakes, rivers, and swamps — typically around 6 feet deep — they’ve been observed in waters as deep as 40 feet, which they can propel themselves above by leaping like porpoises off the bottom. Even when they sleep, they can hold their breath for only about five minutes before an automatic reflex ensures they rise to the surface for air so they can rest without drowning.
The water isn’t just a playground for these creatures — it’s vital to their survival. Staying submerged helps keep their sensitive skin cool and hydrated under the hot African sun. It isn’t until dusk that they emerge and spend the next eight hours or so on land, grazing on grasses, before returning to their aquatic refuge when the sun reappears.
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The hippo’s closest living relative is the ______.
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The hippo’s closest living relative is the whale.
The kid who sang “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas” actually got one.
In 1953, 10-year-old Oklahoma child Gayla Peevey recorded the quirky holiday tune “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas.” After the song became a hit, an Oklahoma City zoo and a local newspaper launched a statewide funding drive, encouraging people to chip in so they could give Peevey the very thing she sang about.
Donations poured in, and by Christmas, a baby hippopotamus named Mathilda was sent to Oklahoma City. Peevey gave the hippo to Oklahoma’s Lincoln Park Zoo, making Mathilda the zoo’s first hippo, and appeared alongside zookeepers and the media to help welcome Mathilda to her new home.
Nicole is a writer, thrift store lover, and group-chat meme spammer based in Ontario, Canada.
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