Baby Hippo Picture

Here's proof that even ugly can be cute!

baby hippo picture

Baby Hippo Picture - Infant with its mum

Female hippos give birth to a single calf in shallow waters, or sometimes in a dry nest among the rushes. Baby hippos are pink when they are born and weigh between 60-80kg (50-75 pounds). Their skin darkens quickly and within a month or so are the same colour as the adults.

It's a tough life for the baby hippo - it suckles underwater and has to surface for air every minute or so in between sips.

Baby Hippo - Fun and Security

Baby hippo learn to swim before they can walk. However sometimes they can't swim fast enough - then they hitch a ride on their mum's back.

It's a big part of the devoted hippo mother's job to protect her baby from the clumsy male, also from lions and crocodiles.

It's not all fun and games though... baby hippos need discipline. The mother will scold or rap the baby on the head if it misbehaves!

Danger to Humans

The baby hippo itself isn't really a danger, but indirectly it is definitely responsible for some sad statistics.

Because hippo females are so protective over their young, one needs to be very careful on a canoe safari. Should you row by when she has a baby nearby, she might attack to avoid harm to come to her calf.