Hippopotamus

• Range: South of the Sahara in the East from Ethiopia to Mozambique, Transvaal and Northern S.W. Africa.
  
• Habitat: Streams, lakes and ponds with permanent water bordered by grassland, and at altitudes as high as 8,000 feet.
  
• Description: The word hippopotamus comes from two Greek words that mean “river horse”. It is one of the world’s largest and heaviest animals at 55 to 63 inches at the shoulders and weighing up to 8,800 pounds.
  
• Diet: Hippopotamuses eat soft grasses and other low-lying plants, aquatic and reed plants, leaves, and fallen fruits.
  
• Behavior: Very gregarious, sedentary and attached to a particular place. They live in schools of five to 30, which during certain seasons may join together in larger herds. Density of population may be very high in some districts. Hippos are considered quite dangerous, as they kill more humans in Africa than any other animal.
  
• The sweat of a hippo is pinkish red and contains a natural sunscreen. Some people confuse this sweat with blood.