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Rounded bodies, large heads and small legs make hippos look like submarines. They spend most of their time relaxing in lakes and rivers. At night, they come out on land to eat grass and reeds. They create entire trails, making their way through the vegetation to their favorite places. Hippos even mate and give birth while in the water.

Surprisingly, these semi-aquatic animals cannot swim. They have dense bones that cause them to sink in deep water, but they are excellent at walking, galloping or jumping in shallow rivers and lakes. Their bones weigh enough to achieve optimal buoyancy; in fact, the river becomes an ideal microgravity environment for them. Hippos can be fast both in water and on land, where they can run up to 40 kilometers per hour.

The Kenya Wildlife Service says there has been an increase in hippo attacks in the Lake Victoria area in recent months.

In the African country of Sudan, hippos are considered creatures of evil, and therefore the locals are afraid of them and bypass them.

The Latin name for the hippo is Hippopótamus, which means river horse.

The skin of hippos secretes a reddish oily fluid. This fact gave rise to the myth of the bloody sweat of these animals. In fact, this is the secret that protects the sensitive skin of hippos from sunlight, moisturizes it and protects it from parasites.

An adult hippo needs to surface every 3 to 5 minutes to keep breathing. The process of surfacing and breathing in a hippopotamus is instinctive, therefore, even in a dream, it will emerge to take in air without even waking up.

Hippos are only territorial in water. Conception and childbirth also take place in water. The weight of a newborn hippopotamus is approximately 45 kg. The female produces offspring once every two years.