Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Hippos 101

Lately, Hippo has enjoyed watching a couple of new series on the Discovery Channel: Dogs 101 and Cats 101. They explain the differences between breeds and recommend which dog or cat might be appropriate for your lifestyle (activity level, space, family size).

Hippo thought there should really be a series called Hippos 101 to help prospective hippopotamus adoptees. Until that happens, he would like to share these fun facts from the San Diego Zoo:

  • A hippo weighs between 3,000 and 10,000 pounds.
  • Hippos live about 45 years.
  • Hippos can go up to 3 weeks without eating. But they really prefer to have three square meals a day plus second breakfast, mid-afternoon snack, dessert, and some bedtime grazing.
  • If you visit a hippo at the zoo and he's underwater, you might have a long wait. They can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes.
  • Hippos are one of the noisiest animals in Africa.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Aren't hippos the most dangerous animals in Africa? It makes them that much more exciting! Thank you for taking down my pictures, btw.

Hippo A. Potamus said...

And some more fun facts:

1. While we like regularly scheduled meals, we actually like them well rounded--like pizza, cookies, doughnuts, and Cheerios.

2. We can stay underwater even longer than 30 minutes if we have snorkels.

3. We're not always the noisiest animals. That just happens when the parties get out of hand.

Anonymous said...

The San Diego Zoo also says "the pygmy hippo can be heard munching from up to 150 feet (45 meters) away!"

Does Mr. Potomus chew that loud?

Rick Wagner said...

Little Mr. Potamus has learned to chew very quietly. Otherwise he has trouble hearing the movie while he munches on popcorn.

However, I do get tipped off to his midnight snack excursions by the rustling of potato chip bags, the gurgle of milk jugs, and the pop of toaster springs. But how else is he going to make a peanut butter and Ruffles on toast sandwich with a nice glass of chocolate milk?