Hippo Standing at the River Coloring Page: PDF Sheet

Hippos and Life Along the River

One of the Largest Land Animals

The hippopotamus is the third-largest land mammal on Earth, behind only the elephant and the rhinoceros. A big male can weigh three to four thousand pounds, yet its barrel-shaped body is carried on short, sturdy legs like the ones in this scene. Despite that bulk, a hippo can outrun a person over a short distance, charging at close to twenty miles per hour along the riverbank.

Hippos spend up to sixteen hours a day in the water to keep their huge bodies cool and to protect their sensitive skin from the hot African sun. Interestingly, hippos cannot really swim. Instead they walk or push off the bottom of the river, seeming to bounce gracefully through deeper water while staying mostly submerged with just their eyes, ears, and nostrils poking above the surface.

The Wide Mouth and Big Teeth

A hippo can open its mouth almost one hundred and fifty degrees, far wider than the open jaws shown here. Inside are long curved canine teeth and tusks that keep growing throughout the animal's life and can reach well over a foot in length. Hippos use that huge gape and those teeth mostly to warn off rivals and defend their stretch of river rather than to eat.

For all that fearsome equipment, hippos are plant eaters. At night they leave the water and travel along well-worn paths to graze on grass, munching up to eighty pounds in a single evening before returning to the river by dawn. Their broad lips work almost like a lawn mower, cropping grass close to the ground.

Built-In Sunscreen and Skin Care

Hippos make their own sunscreen. Their skin oozes a thick reddish liquid, once called blood sweat, that is actually neither blood nor sweat. This natural fluid blocks harmful sunlight and helps keep cuts from getting infected in the muddy water, giving the animal a faint pink sheen when it rests in the sun at the river's edge.

That special skin needs to stay moist, which is another reason hippos live so close to water. When rivers and pools dry up, hippos crowd together into shrinking mud holes, and their skin can crack in the heat, so a steady supply of fresh water is essential to their survival.

Hippos in Africa's Rivers and Lakes

Hippos live in the rivers, lakes, and wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa, gathering in groups called pods that can hold ten to thirty animals or more. A dominant male controls a stretch of water, and hippos communicate with grunts, bellows, and even sounds that travel both above and below the surface at the same time. Scientists have found that hippos are surprisingly close relatives of whales and dolphins.

Baby hippos, called calves, are often born underwater and can nurse below the surface, popping up for air between drinks of milk. A calf may rest on its mother's back in deep water. These river giants play an important role in their habitat, and the wide, gentle face of a hippo at the water's edge has made it a favorite animal for children to color.