Hippopotamus carrying birds in the water.

(? Uryadnikov Sergey | Shutterstock) Hippopotamus (hippopotamus amphibians) are large, round, water-loving animals native to Africa.

The word "hippopotamus" comes from the Greek word for "water horse" or "hippopotamus," although hippopotamus and horses are not closely related.

According to the San Diego Zoo, the hippopotamus' closest relatives are pigs, whales and dolphins.

Size Hippos are very round animals and are the third largest land mammal after elephants and white rhinos.

They grow to 10.8 to 16.5 feet (3.3 to 5 meters) long and up to 5.2 feet (1.6 meters) at the shoulder.

According to the San Diego Zoo, the average female hippopotamus weighs about 3,000 pounds (1,400 kilograms), while the average male hippopotamus weighs 3,500 to 9,920 pounds (1,600 to 4,500 kilograms).

They live in areas with abundant water because they spend most of their time underwater keeping their skin cool and moist.

According to National Geographic, hippos are considered amphibians and spend 16 hours a day in the water.

Hippos are social animals that roam in groups known as "schools," "pods," "pods," or "sieges."

Hippo schools usually consist of 10 to 30 members, both male and female, although some groups have as many as 200 people.

Regardless of size, the school is usually led by a dominant male.

Hippos are very loud animals.

According to the San Diego Zoo, the volume of their grunts, whines and gasps is 115 decibels, which is about the same level as at a rock concert when they are 15 feet (4.6 meters) away from the speakers.

These thriving animals also use subsonic vocalizations to communicate.

Hippos are aggressive and considered very dangerous.

They have huge teeth and tusks that they use to ward off threats, including humans.

Sometimes their young fall victim to the temperament of adult hippos.

A young hippopotamus caught between two adults in a fight could be seriously injured or even crushed.

Although hippos move easily through water, they can't actually swim.

According to the San Diego Zoo, these animals glide through the water by pushing themselves away from other objects.

According to National Geographic, they can stay underwater for up to five minutes without breathing air.

(Andreas Lipenberg/Shutterstock) Hungry, hungry hippos Hippos have the appetite of a healthy herbivore.

An adult would eat 80 pounds (35 kilograms) of grass a night and walk 6 miles (10 kilometers) a night just to get enough.

They also eat fruits they find while foraging at night, National Geographic reports.

If food is scarce, hippos can store food in their stomachs and go without eating for three weeks.

Although hippos have long been thought to be the only herbivores, a 2015 study published in the journal Mammal Reviews found that hippos occasionally feed on carcasses of animals, including other hippos.

Baby hippopotamus Female hippos have a gestation period of eight months and can only give birth to one baby at a time, according to the San Diego Zoo.

At birth, calves weigh between 50 and 110 pounds (23 and 50 kilograms).

For its first eight months, a calf suckles while its mother is on land or while it swims and suckles underwater.

When it dives, the calf closes its nose and ears to keep out the water.

All hippos have this ability.

Hippos also have membranes that cover and protect their eyes when underwater, according to the San Diego Zoo.

At 5 to 7 years old, hippopotamus calves are fully mature.

The average life span of a hippopotamus is 36 years.

Attacking humans Hippos are considered the deadliest large land mammals in the world.

According to the BBC, these semi-aquatic beasts kill around 500 people in Africa every year.

Hippos are highly aggressive, well-equipped animals capable of causing considerable damage to any animal that enters their territory.

For example, e. According to an Australian news agency, in 2014, a hippopotamus attacked a small boat full of Nigerian schoolchildren, killing 12 students and a teacher on board.

Conflicts between humans and hippos also occur when hippos search for food on land.

Don't mess with them.

Conservation status According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the common hippopotamus is not endangered, but it is susceptible to extinction.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature estimates that there are still 125,000 to 148,000 hippos in the wild.

Poaching and habitat loss reduced hippo numbers worldwide in the late 1990s and early 2000s, but the population has since stabilized due to stricter law enforcement, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Invasive hippos are notorious

Drug lord Pablo Escobar is known for keeping hippos, giraffes, elephants and other exotic animals on his estate in northwestern Colombia.

When Escobar was killed in 1993, the Colombian government confiscated all of his assets, including his zoo.

Most of his animals were moved to zoos and aquariums, but his four hippos were left to fend for themselves.