Today is World Hippo Day.
Happy World Hippo Day!
World Hippo Day is on the 15th of February every year, it is a day to celebrate these wonderful animals.
Hippos are found living in Africa.
These unmistakable animals are semi-aquatic animals - they are found on land and they are one of the world's largest land mammals. Hippos are found living in a few different habitats, these habitats include mangroves, lakes, rivers and swamps.
Hippos spend time in water to help them keep cool under the warm African sun. They spend most of their time in water to help keep themselves cool and avoid sunburn - hippos don't have any fur to protect them from the sun and they cannot cool themselves down like other mammals can, which leaves these animals vulnerable to the heat of the sun.
The Latin meaning of 'hippo' translates to 'river horse' which is a fitting name for hippos.
These giants of the animal world are also herbivores. When living in the natural world, hippos will mostly eat grass, sometimes they will also eat aquatic plants too.
While World Hippo Day is a day to celebrate hippos, it is also a day to raise awareness about them.
Sadly, hippos are vulnerable to extinction today. There are two species of hippos in the world today, they are - the common hippo, and the Pygmy hippo. The hippo population overall, is estimated to be between 115,000 and 130,000 hippos.
Pygmy hippos are sadly an endangered species. Their population today is very low, with it being estimated that the Pygmy hippo population is between 2,000 and 2,500. This very low population makes Pygmy hippos one of the most endangered animals in the world today, and sadly, it also makes these beautiful animals near and at risk of extinction.
There are two main reasons why the hippo population is so low, and why they are at risk of extinction, those two reasons are - that they are at risk of being hunted by humans, and, are also at risk because of their habitats being destroyed by humans.
To save hippos from extinction, we need to protect and preserve their habitats, and, we also need to stop them from being hunted.
We are lucky to share our world with these beautiful animals, they are unique, fascinating and wonderful animals. World Hippo Day gives us an opportunity to appreciate hippos.
Happy World Hippo Day! 🦛