Hippos are distributed in Africa and are the third-largest terrestrial animals after elephants and rhinos. Usually, they like to stay in the water, only exposing their heads above the water. Why do hippos like to soak in water? There are two types of existing hippos: one is the common hippo, with a shoulder height of about 1.5 meters, a body length of 3-5 meters, and an average weight of nearly 2 tons, some reaching 4.5 tons; the other is the pygmy hippo, which is smaller in size, with a shoulder height of less than 1 meter, a body length of less than 2 meters, and a weight of less than 300 kilograms. It lives in the jungle and there are very few of them left. Both types of hippos like to soak in water, but the difference is that the common hippo likes to soak in groups, with a group size of 5-30 heads, and sometimes up to 100 heads, while the pygmy hippo is more solitary and likes to soak alone or in pairs. To adapt to life in the water, the position of the hippo's five senses has changed. Its nose, eyes, and ears are located on the upper part of its head and face, so it can still breathe freely and see all around while soaking in the water.
There are two reasons why hippos like to soak in water: first, the weather in Africa is really too hot, and the sun is too fierce. Although hippos' skin contains "sunscreen" substances, they still hide in the water to cool off and avoid the pain of mosquito bites; second, hippos are clumsy and can't run fast. Although they have long teeth and huge mouths to defend themselves, they are not agile in movement and find it too difficult to defend themselves against hyenas and lion packs. So it's safer to stay in the water. If they want to go ashore to eat grass and satisfy their cravings, they should sneak up to eat at night.