Class: MAMMALIA

Order: ARTIODACTYLA

Family: HIPPOPOTAMIDAE

Genus: HIPPOPOTAMUS

Species: AMPHIBIUS

The laid-back look is somewhat deceiving - the hippo is perhaps the most vicious mammal in Africa, killing 500 or so people a year, as well as a number of other animals as well. They are, however, herbivorous.

The larger of the two living hippopotanoids, both of which are commonly referred to simply as 'hippos'. The range of the wild hippopotamus once stretched up to North Egypt, but today it is just dotted throughout Central and South Africa. The preferred habitat of the hippo is wetland savannah, where land is close by.