Hippo Trivia

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Did you know...

...that the hippo's scientific name, Hippopotamus amphibius, translates loosely as "river horse that leads a double life"? The Greek roots of its name are:

híppo(s) horse; equine

potamós river

amphí two; both; on both sides

bíos life

The amphibius, or "double life", portion of its name refers to the fact that the hippopotamus is at home both on land and in the water.
...that the Biblical "behemoth" described in Job 40:15-24 is probably the hippopotamus? (By the way, the word "behemoth" has two accepted pronunciations. You can say "BEE-uh-muth" or "beh-HEE-muth.")

...that, despite its massive body and awkward appearance, the hippopotamus is remarkably fast and agile? Some hippos have been clocked at 30 mph over short distances--almost twice as fast as the fastest human sprinters.

...that one of the first people to exhibit a live hippopotamus in the United States of America was the legendary showman P.T. Barnum? On August 12, 1861, Barnum opened an exhibition of "the first and only genuine hippopotamus that had ever been seen in America" at the famous American Museum in New York City. As was often the case, Barnum's claim did not quite fit the facts. The first live hippopotamus exhibited in America was part of a circus menagerie owned by George F. Bailey and G. C. Quick that toured the Midwest in 1857. The animal was billed as "G. C. Quick's Colossal Hippopotamus."

...that the hippopotamus comes in two sizes: small and large economy size? The smaller variety is called the pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis). It is a relatively rare and solitary creature that lives in the swamps and forests of West Africa. An adult pygmy hippo weighs approximately 400 pounds--about the same as a large hog.

Common Hippo and Pygmy Hippo

...that there are two acceptable plural forms of the word "hippopotamus"? They are "hippopotamuses" and "hippopotami."
...that George Washington's false teeth were not made of wood, as is commonly believed, but were carved from the tusks of a hippopotamus?

...that the bellowing of a bull hippo has been measured at an ear-splitting 115 decibels? Explorers have reported that, at night, it is difficult to distinguish the hippo's bellow from the roar of a lion.

...that people once believed that hippos sweated blood? This belief arose from the fact that the hippo's skin secretes a sticky pink fluid that protects the animal from dehydration, sunburn, and probably infection.
...that a hippo in dry air loses three to five times as much water per square inch per minute through its skin as a man does?
...that the Swahili word for "hippopotamus" is kiboko?

...that a hippo's yawn is not a sign of sleepiness or boredom but is actually a threat gesture? Yawning is the hippo's way of displaying its most fearsome weapons: its long, thick, razor-sharp canine teeth, or tusks, with which it is capable of biting a small boat in half.

...that the hippopotamus is a pachyderm? Many people think that "pachyderm" means "elephant," but the word literally means "thick skin" and is used to describe any thick-skinned animal, such as the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus. The description is especially appropriate for the hippo, for its skin can be two inches thick in places.
...that a group of hippos is sometimes called a "bloat"?
...that recent DNA evidence suggests that the hippopotamus is more closely related to cetaceans (whales and dolphins) than it is to any other artiodactyl (even-toed hoofed mammal)?

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Revised 15 April 1997
URL: http://members.aol.com/HippoPage/hipptriv.htm

híppo(s)	horse; equine
potamós	river
amphí	two; both; on both sides
bíos	life