Stuffed Hippo & Facts

What would you do if you had a stuffed hippo? Would you love it and cuddle it or just have it follow you into every possible imaginary adventure you can think of? Maybe you would do both. Whatever you decide, a stuffed hippo will bring you loads of fun.

Hippos are the third-largest living land mammal next to elephants and white rhinos. It's hide alone, can weigh as much as half a ton. In Africa, the hippo continues to both live and thrive. There are two hippo species, the larger of the two can be found in East Africa, south of the Sahara, and the smaller the pygmy hippo (weighing just 440 - 605 pounds) makes its home in West Africa.

Hippos are blessed with four webbed toes so when they stand on land, their feet splay out evenly to distribute their enormous weight. They have grey bodies with very thick skin that is devoid of hair. They also don't have sweat glands, so to remain cool in the African sun, they use water or mud as a means of beating the heat. To protect their skin from the suns rays, their bodies secrete a red fluid.

Baby hippos are either born on land or in shallow water. If born in the water, mom helps it get to the surface and then later teaches it how to swim. Babies weigh 55 to 120 pounds when born and when young, can remain under water for half a minute. Adults, on the other hand, can do so for six minutes. To suckle under water, young hippos take a deep breath, close their ears and nostrils and then get milk from their mother. At 3 weeks of age, a young hippo will begin to eat grass but will go on suckling for close to a year.

At night, hippos leave the water and make their way up steep embankments to eat grass. They typically leave and go back into the water in the exact same spots and will eat on land anywhere from four to five hours. They are known for travelling 1 to 2 miles while grazing and have even gone as far as 5 miles.

Luckily for you, your stuffed hippo won't require grass or water. Nor will its skin need to be protected from the hot sun. Stuffed hippo's, of course, are covered in soft, plush fur and underneath it all, there is no such thing as red fluid waiting to protect them which is a good thing given that it could get awfully messy!