Hippo 30cm - Soft Toy

Physical Characteristics
The hippopotamus, whose thick hairless hide alone can weigh half a ton, is the third-largest living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. A Hippo's lifespan in the wild is up to 40 years. A massive creature, the hippo's head and body measures 9.5 to 14 ft, weighing in at an enormous 2,268 to 3,629 kg.

Habitat
Hippos live in eastern central and southern sub-Saharan Africa, always in close proximity to water.

Behaviour
Large hippo is an aggressive animal, old scars and fresh, deep wounds are signs of daily fights that are accompanied by much bellowing, neighing and snorting. With the long, razor-sharp incisors and tusklike canines, the hippo is well-armed and dangerous. Hippos spend up to 16 hours a day submerged in rivers and lakes to keep their massive bodies cool under the hot African sun. Hippos are graceful in water, good swimmers, and can hold their breath underwater for up to five minutes. Their eyes and nostrils are located high on their heads, which allows them to see and breathe while mostly submerged. Hippos also bask on the shoreline and secrete an oily red substance, which gave rise to the myth that they sweat blood. The liquid is actually a skin moistener and natural sunblock.

Breeding
A single young is born either on land or in shallow water. In water, the mother helps the newborn to the surface, later teaching it to swim. Newly born hippos are relatively small, weighing from 55 to 120 pounds. Young hippos can suckle under water by taking a deep breath, closing their nostrils and ears and wrapping their tongue tightly around the teat to suck. A young hippo begins to eat grass at 3 weeks, but its mother continues to suckle for about a year. Newborns often climb on their mothers' backs to rest.

Diet
Hippopotamuses leave the water at dusk and travel overland to graze for four to five hours each night in loop patterns, covering one or two miles, with extended forays up to six miles. Their modest appetites are due to their sedentary, amphibious lifestyle, which does not require high outputs of energy.

Strange and Interesting Facts
Hippopotamuses love water, which is why the Greeks named them the 'river horse'. Recent DNA evidence suggests that the hippopotamus is more closely related to cetaceans (whales and dolphins) than it is to any other artiodactyl (even-toed hoofed mammal). The bellowing of a bull hippo measures an ear-splitting 115 decibels, sounding like the roar of a lion.