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Animal profile

Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius

MammaliaRivers, lakes and swamps with adjacent grassland for night-time grazingVulnerable

Field profile

The hippopotamus spends its days submerged in water and its nights grazing on land, often several kilometres from the river. Adults can exceed one and a half tonnes. Despite the bulk it is a fast mover on land, and its closest living relatives are not pigs but whales and dolphins.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2024-10-08

Hippopotamus

Hippos secrete their own red sunscreen

The reddish fluid on a hippo's skin is not blood and not sweat. It is a secretion containing two unstable pigments that absorb ultraviolet light and inhibit bacterial growth, produced by glands in the animal's hairless hide.

Read with evidence →

Hippopotamus | Daily Animal Facts