Physical Characteristics
The hippopotamus is the third-largest living land mammal, after elephants and white rhinos. Its hide alone can weigh up to half a ton. In ancient Egypt it was considered the female goddess of pregnancy, but has since been wiped out of Egypt because of the damage it inflicts on crops. The hippo continues to thrive well in other parts of Africa.
The foot of a hippo has four webbed toes which spread out to distribute weight evenly and therefore adequately support it on land. The grayish body has very thick skin which is virtually hairless. The hippo has neither sweat nor sebaceous glands, relying on water or mud to keep cool. It does, however, secrete a viscous red fluid which protects the animal’s skin against the sun and is possibly a healing agent. The hippo’s flat, paddle-like tail is used to spread excrement, which marks territory borders and indicates status of an individual. The pad like tail also helps the hippo wade through water.

Habitation
There are two hippo species that are found in Africa. The large hippo, found in East Africa, occurs south of the Sahara. This social, group-living mammal is so numerous in some areas that "cropping" schemes are used to control populations that have become larger than the habitat can sustain. The other, much smaller species, weighing between 440 pounds (200Kg)  to 605 pounds(275Kg), is the pygmy hippopotamus. It s t be found in restricted ranges in West Africa and in limited numbers. It is a shy, solitary forest dweller, and is now very rare.

 

Diet

Hippos are herbivores, grinding up vegetation with their big, flat molars at the back and the mouth. They have a huge mouth, measuring up to 4 ft (1.2 m) across, and a pair of large incisors in each jaw. Only a few teeth are immediately visible, mainly the curved lower canine teeth (which are a source of ivory) on the outer part of the jaw. Like tusks, these teeth continue to grow and can reach a length of 3 ft (1 m).
After sunset, hippos come onto land in search of succulent grasses and fruits. The path to an individual bull's foraging ground may be marked by a spray of excrement that warns other hippos away.  Individual animals may wander as far as 20 miles (32 km) during the night to find food. It takes almost 150 lb (68 kg) of food each night to satisfy a hippo's appetite. Hippos die when their molars have worn down too much to grind food.