Hippopotamus

The Retina Hippo Pool on the Seronera River in the central Serengeti is the most reliable year round viewing site in the northern circuit. Lake Manyara and the Ngorongoro Crater pools also hold strong pods. Legend Expeditions includes all three on northern circuit itineraries.

Hippos kill more people in Africa each year than any other large mammal, estimated at around 500 deaths annually. The danger comes mostly from accidental encounters along rivers and hippo paths at night, not from inside a safari vehicle. On a guided Legend Expeditions safari you are completely safe.

Hippo skin loses moisture very fast in dry air, and they can become severely dehydrated within hours of leaving the water. They submerge to keep their skin hydrated and their massive bodies cool through the heat of the day, then emerge after dark to feed on grass when temperatures drop.

Yes, but mostly at dawn, dusk and after dark. Hippos leave their pools each evening to graze on land for several hours, walking long distances along established paths. Early morning game drives that pass known hippo paths sometimes catch them returning to the water at first light.

Adult male hippos in Tanzania weigh between 1,500 and 3,000 kilograms, making them the third largest land mammal on Earth after elephants and white rhinos. Their canines can reach 50 centimetres in length. They are far larger than most safari travellers expect when they see one out of the water for the first time.

Despite the superficial resemblance, hippos are not closely related to pigs at all. Their closest living relatives are whales and dolphins. The two lineages split from a common semi aquatic ancestor around 55 million years ago, which is why hippos share so many physical traits with cetaceans.