Happy Hippos

Hippopotami have always had a jolly fictional character, Hippo Hamburgers in San Francisco had a winsome logo in the 1960's. Funny songs have been written about them. They are well loved for many reasons, not the least of which is their round shape and winning "smile". In reality the hippopotamus is regarded as one of Africa's most dangerous animals. They can kill crocodiles and lions and people. It is not good to get on the wrong side of a hippo. They are very large, up to over 2000 pounds for the female to 7000 pounds for the male

All that being said, They are rather marvelous to watch, even though their rudeness knows no bounds. They fart, excrete, and fornicate at will, which seems to be often. They like to hang in groups and they are herbivores. They will wander for several miles at night to eat grasses if they need to outside the water but the water is the most comfortable place for them. I would think it assists in taking a load off, and gets rid of various bugs. Small oxpeckers like to clean them, as they do also with giraffes and buffalos.  The water also keeps them from getting dehydrated and prevents overheating.

A hippo pool, of which there are fabulous ones in the Serengeti can hold well over a hundred in water that has all manner of effluents. They can be found in swamps and rivers all over Africa. They are not popular poaching animals. To hear them is to laugh. They make wonderful woofling noises, deep laughter, snorts and snuffles. A good link to hear them is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng6x3VShJDs . They are very photogenic.

See what I mean-