Hippo Cow and Calf

A hippopotamus cow and calf! These huge mammals are today confined to Africa, but not so long ago there were species in Europe - even in Britain - and southern Asia as well as the island of Madagascar. There is one other kind of living hippo, the Pygmy Hippo of west African rainforests. There used to be dwarf hippos on several of the Mediterranean islands, but they were dwarfed forms of the big European hippos, not closely related to the living pygmy hippo. Hippos in Africa can be extremely dangerous. As you can see they have enormous teeth, and have been known to kill crocodiles. This is an acrylic painting.