While the third Monday of always designated as President's Day, did you know that February 15th is also World Hippo Day? 

Immediately seeing this, the camp song "Hipp, Hipp, Hooray" and the game "Hungry, Hungry, Hippos" came into my head. I must be longing for summer campfire nights after missing last year's.. If you have no clue what I'm referencing, or just want to be silly, go check it out on YouTube and Facebook for various renditions. Most of us adults probably remember the crazy game where we tried to get as many marbles as possible into our hippos mouth, usually scattering them all around the room in the process. 

At any rate, why Hippo Day? Upon seeing this, I was curious.. because, well Hippos aren't exactly creatures we interact with on a regular basis! 

The third largest mammal deserves some respect y'all! The Blue Whale and African Elephant are the only two animals in the world LARGER than the Hippo! 

Did you know that Hippopotamus is a Greek word? Sure is- and it loosely translates into river horse. That makes sense since these huge creatures need water for 16 hours a day! Even though hippos keep their bodies submerged most of their days, they do have to breathe every 5 minutes, so they can't stay under water forever! 

Hippos weight over 8000 pounds! Who thinks they can be a beast and get one to move? I doubt I can! 

Hippos can only be found in one continent in the world. Can you guess which one? Yes, that's right: Africa! Hippos are considered a vulnerable species- meaning, that while they are not on verge of being extinct, we have to be careful about how we treat them! Unfortunately, hunters and poachers find Hippo teeth valuable and end up killing them senselessly, so we must try to protect this beautiful animal as much as possible. 

But, hippos are not cute and cuddly. In fact, they are a very aggressive breed and kill up to 500 humans a year. If you find yourself near a Hippo, definitely don't get close! 

I couldn't find much on why we celebrate World Hippo Day, but these animals definitely need celebrating. They help out the eco-systems by stirring mud and providing nutrients to other creatures that live in the water. They can't really swim in the water as it's more like running. And, just for the sake of knowledge.. dolphins and whales are the closet relative to the hippo! 

Want to learn more about hippos? Spend some time researching today, after all, you can find a lot on google! 

Have you ever seen a hippo in-person?