CURIOUS FACTS CONTEST #6: Interesting Facts about Hippos

I’m joining in on the CURIOUS FACTS contest – put on by @river-island – again this week! It was fun to do a little research and present interesting facts that I didn’t know (last week, I wrote about sloths).

I will admit, I knew very little about hippos before I began researching for this article. I had seen them in zoos but have never really read much about them. What I found this week was really fascinating!

Interesting Facts about Hippos

The name “hippopotamus” comes from the Greek words for “river” and “horse”. Though they look like pigs, their closest relatives are actually whales and dolphins. They are the third largest land mammal (behind the elephant and rhinoceros).

Hippo Gestation is 8 Months

Female hippos carry their single baby for about 240 days (roughly eight months) before giving birth. Lucky animals get a month less of pregnancy than humans! ☺

Baby Hippos are Born in Water

What isn’t so lucky for hippos is that their babies are about 90 pounds when born! Hippos give birth in the water to help lessen the chance of injury when the newborn falls from the mother. The infant hippo has the natural instinct of swimming to rise to the water’s surface and take its first breath.

Hippo Milk is Pink

I had no idea that a hippo’s milk was pink! They are the only animals that have the ability to produce pink milk. So, why is it pink???

Apparently the color comes from two acids that are found in the milk. One is a reddish color and the other is orange, and together they give the milk a pinkish tint.

The acids help to reduce bacteria growth on the hippo’s skin, and they also act as a sunscreen to protect the hippo’s skin cells from the harmful UV rays.

Hippos are FAST

Anytime I’ve seen a hippo at the zoo, it’s lounging in the water or under a tree. However, these creatures are amazingly fast when they need to be.

On average, a hippo can run at a speed of 30 kilometers per hour, which is about 18 miles per hour. That’s pretty fast for an animal that can’t even jump!

Hippos are Hungry Herbivores

By the time it is 3 weeks old, a baby hippo has learned to munch on grass. An adult hippo can eat up to 150 pounds of grass in a single day! That is a lot of salad…

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