page_title: Hippopotamus
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Hippopotamus / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: The front end of a Hippopotamus
context_page_description: The hippopotamus, or hippo, ancient Greek for "river horse", is a large mammal in Africa that usually eats plants. It is one of only two species in the family Hippopotamidae that are still alive. The other is the pygmy hippopotamus.
  The hippopotamus is the second largest land animal in size, and the third largest land animal in weight. The elephant is the heaviest, and the white rhinoceros is the second heaviest, but a bit smaller than the hippo. The hippo is also the heaviest artiodactyl.
  The hippopotamus is semi-aquatic. This means that even though it usually lives on the land, it spends a great amount of time in rivers and lakes where males lead groups of 5 to 30 females and young. In the daytime, they keep cool by staying in the water or mud. They give birth to baby hippos in the water, too. At dusk, they come out to graze on grass. Hippopotamuses rest together in the water, but they like to graze by themselves.
  The hippopotamus has a torso that is shaped like a barrel, a very big mouth and teeth, an almost hairless body, short legs and great size. It is the third largest land mammal, judging by its weight, which is between between 1½ and 3 tonnes.
context_section_description: Hippopotami are the fourth largest mammals in the world (after whales, elephants, and rhinoceroses).  The Egyptian hippopotamus is smaller than the others.  They can live in the water or on land. They can walk or even run along the bottom of a river.
  Because hippos are so large, it is difficult to weigh them in the wild. Most adult male hippos weigh between 1,500–1,800 kg (3,300–4,000 lb). Females hippos are smaller, and usually weigh between 1,300–1,500 kg (2,900–3,300 lb). Older males can get even bigger. They are at least 3,200 kg (7,100 lb) and sometimes even weigh 4,500 kg (9,900 lb).
  Male hippos seem to keep on growing for their whole lives. Females hippos, though, become heaviest when they are about 25 years old.
  Hippos have big and heavy bodies, dark gray skin, and short legs. A hippo's main defence is their extremely strong mouth.  They can grow to be 15 feet long and weigh 3,000 pounds.
caption: Inside the mouth of a hippopotamus
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