Compared with Africa’s other big animals, hippos have been relatively neglected in scientific research. Partly, this is because they’re hard to study and dangerous to encounter.
Hippos tend to live in wetland areas often partly submerged in rivers, lakes and swamps – habitats that overlap with areas where people live, farm and fish. Though hippos are plant-eaters and don’t see humans as food, they’re highly territorial and aggressive in water. Along with their huge teeth and sheer size, this makes them one of the deadliest large mammals in the world: around 500 people are killed by hippos each year.
