Hippopotamus mother and baby, Chobe National Park, Botswana
© jacobeukman/Getty Image
We’re all smiles for World Hippo Day. Hippopotamus mother and baby, Chobe National Park, Botswana
It’s time to celebrate one of earth’s heaviest land animals on World Hippo Day! The hippopotamus, named “river horse” by the ancient Greeks, is an herbivore scattered across Africa below the Sahara Desert. Despite their wide range hippos are listed as a vulnerable species due to a loss of habitat. More closely related to whales than horses, hippos spend their lives in and around water, but they can’t swim or float. To breathe, they push off the ground underwater, a behavior they can do even while asleep. Hippos can live up to 40 years in the wild and possess the largest mouth of any land animal in the world, so smiling for the camera comes naturally.
Related Images
Zebras in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Hope Valley in the Peak District
Swift fox pups in Grasslands National Park near Val Marie in Saskatchewan, Canada
Rajgad Fort near Pune, India
The Llangattock Escarpment in the Brecon Beacons National Park, Powys, Wales
Peel Castle on St Patrick’s Isle, Isle of Man
Winnats Pass in the Peak District of Derbyshire, England
An old farm in the Shetland Islands, Scotland
Bing Today Images
A kingfisher perched on a branch
Feb 15, 2025
Elephants crossing Luangwa River, Zambia
Feb 15, 2017
A pygmy seahorse hiding in a sea fan
Feb 15, 2016
