Hippo Facts

Common Hippo's

Pygmy Hippo's

Typically, baby hippos are born underwater, where their mothers help them to the surface after birth.

Common hippos normally live in herds of about 10-30, but have been known to live in groups three times as large.

Pygmy hippos can be found in Liberia and Ivory Coast, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The word “hippopotamus” comes from the Greek word for “river horse,” but hippos are not related to horses, in reality.

Common Hippos can weigh up to 3-1/2 tons. That’s a whole lot of hippo!

The Pygmy Hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) is much smaller than the common hippo, only weighing about 450-600 pounds. It can be found in West Africa.

Newborn common hippos weigh about 55 to 120 pounds.

The scientific name of the common hippo is Hippopotamus amphibious.

A hippo usually stays under water for 4-6 minutes, although no one really knows the maximum amount of time that they can.

Hippos are too heavy to swim, but navigate under water by walking on the bottom or pushing off against the bottom of the river.