World Hippo Day

While the rest of the world celebrates love this week, we look forward to celebrating World Hippopotamus Day

The hippopotamus is one of Sub-Saharan Africa’s treasures with no sightings of this incredible animal on other continents. As with most days that celebrate a specific wild animal, the idea is to create awareness around the animal's function and importance in their natural habitat.

These large semi-aquatic mammals, spend most of their time in the water – walking on the bottoms of shallow rivers, streams, and other suitable water bodies. When walking on the banks of these bodies of water they help keep waterways open, stopping aquatic plants from bogging up channels and helping to maintain oxygenated water flow and healthy environments for many other animal species to live in.  And did you know – Hippos can hold their breath for up to 5 minutes underwater?

Hippos are, however, only semi-aquatic animals and spend a great deal of time on land as well. While on land these herbivores spend their time feeding and can consume up to 40kg of food in one evening. With this staggering fact, it’s no wonder hippos are among the heaviest land animals on earth, generally weighing a whopping 1,500 to 4,000 kg.

These hefty herbivores are also considered to be one of the most dangerous large mammals in Africa. They can reach a running speed of up to 36km/h, which might not sound like much, but compared to the average human running speed of only up to 10km/h it will be pretty challenging to outrun these giants.

Despite their, somewhat, aggressive nature, hippos are social animals and typically move in groups of around 40 individuals, these groups are called pods or herds.

As we commemorate World Hippopotamus Day today, we take a step back to appreciate the valuable contribution they offer to the environment. Each animal plays an important role in maintaining their environment’s natural ecosystem and these waterlilies are no different! Celebrate this day with us – Happy World Hippo Day.

Nako Safari Lodge is situated in the Dinokeng Game Reserve within the Pride of Africa Nature Reserve, which is home to many Hippos. Come and witness these herbivorous waterbodies in their natural habitat while you sit back and relax in luxury.

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