Hippos are the most dangerous land mammal! Many people think they are slow and peaceful but not so! Hippos kill over 500 people every year. 

Hippos spend all day in the water to keep cool. They can move very fast in the water, but surprisingly, they cannot swim! They are too heavy. Instead, they walk along the bottom and push off the bottom with their toes. Did you also know that they are fast runners? They can run up to 30 miles / 48 km per hour. That's faster than a human!

Hippos live in groups called herds of 10-30 hippos. The leader is a very big male hippo. 

Hippos are very large and very heavy. They are the heaviest land animals after elephants. They are about 16.5 feet long and 5.2 feet tall. (5 metres long and  1.6 metres tall)

They weigh about 9000 pounds! (4000 kg)

Hippos live for 40-50 years.

Hippos have short legs, but they are able to run very fast.

They have their eyes, ears and noses on the top of their heads so they can see, hear and breathe when they are lying in the water. The spend all day in the water to avoid the sun and heat. They come out at night so they can eat.

Hippos are herbivores. This means they only eat plants. Their favourite food is grass. 

Because the sun is so hot, they spend their days in the water and come out at night to eat. They spend all night eating grass - about 150 pounds of it! (68 kg)

Hippo babies are called 'calves'. Mother hippos, called 'cows' have one baby at a time. 

A baby hippo is very large and weighs 50-110 pounds when born. (23-50 kg)

A calf will stay close to its mum in the water for the first few weeks. It goes under the water to drink its mother's milk. After about 3 weeks, it will go on land and eat grass with the other hippos.