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Hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amp hi bi us) amphibious African mammal of the family Hippopotan’iidae (order Artiodactyla). Hippopotamuses are the largest nonruminating, even-toed, hoofed mammals. Formerly found in lakes and rivers throughout Africa, they are now more restricted, ranging from the Upper Nile to South Africa.
Hippopotamuses have barrel-shaped bodies and short limbs. They may reach a length of 4.6 metres (15 feet), a height of 1.5 metres (5 feet) at the shoulder, and a weight of 3—4.5 metric tons (3.3—5 tons). The skin is thick, nearly hairless, and grayish-black above, lighter and pinkish below. The eyes and nostrils protrude and may be kept above water when the animals are submerged. The mouth is enormous and the upper lip is thick and bulging; the incisor and canine teeth are very large and grow continuously as they are worn away. Numerous skin glands release a protective, oily, pinkish secretion that has popularly, but incorrectly, been thought of as blood sweated by the animals.Hippopotamuses live in herds in rivers and swamps and feed, mostly at night, on water plants and shore vegetation, often doing much damage to crops.
In water, from which they never wander far, they can swim fast and also walk along the bottom. On land they can gallop faster than a man can run for short distances. The voice is a loud grunt or bellow. A single young is born after gestation of about eight months; the baby often rides the mother’s back while she swims or floats at the surface. In the breeding season, males engage in battles that are sometimes fatal. Hippopotamuses are generally inoffensive but sometimes make unprovoked attacks on small boats, smashing them in their jaws. Their flesh is much esteemed by natives, and their teeth are of good quality ivory.
The smaller pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsir liberiensis), also of the family Hippopotamidae, is about 1.5 metres long and darker in colour. It lives alone or in pairs in the streams, wet forests, and swamps of West Africa and appears to be less aquatic than its larger relative.
