A little reason to celebrate
World Hippo Day
Animal ยท February 15
A day about the hippopotamus, the huge, river-dwelling African mammal, marked in the United States too with zoo visits, reading and documentaries.
World Hippo Day falls on Monday, February 15, 2027. That is 111 days away.
The hippopotamus is one of Africa's largest land animals, a barrel-shaped plant eater that spends its days in rivers and lakes and comes ashore at night to graze. This day, also called National Hippo Day, is marked in the United States too, mostly by people who find the animal hard to stop looking at.
Up close, a hippo is a study in contradictions. It looks slow and round, yet it is powerful and can be dangerous to people who get too near. It cannot really swim the way a fish or a seal does. Instead it walks or bounces along the bottom of shallow water, with its eyes, ears and nostrils set high on its head so it can stay mostly hidden. Its skin is sensitive to the sun, which is one reason it keeps wet through the heat of the day.
The name comes from Greek and means something like river horse, though its closest living relatives are actually whales and dolphins. That family tree surprises most people the first time they hear it.
Most people mark the day from a respectful distance. Zoos often share news about their hippos, and nature documentaries show the animals in groups, crowded together in the water and grunting at one another. Children's books have long treated hippos kindly, so a library shelf is a fine place to start.
Watch one for a while and you notice how much of its life happens with just the top of its head above the surface.
Ways to celebrate
- Watch a nature documentary about hippos in African rivers.
- Visit a zoo and spend extra time at the hippo habitat.
- Read a children's book about hippos with a young reader.
- Learn why hippos are related to whales, then tell a friend.
- Draw a hippo with only its eyes and ears above water.
Dates
| Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2026 | Sunday, February 15 |
| 2027 | Monday, February 15 |
| 2028 | Tuesday, February 15 |
| 2029 | Thursday, February 15 |
| 2030 | Friday, February 15 |
All national days on February 15
Also on February 15
- Washington's Birthday
- National Gumdrop Day
- National I Want Butterscotch Day
- Singles Awareness Day
- Remember the Maine Day
Categories: Animal days