An estimated 100-150 fatalities a year.

Can be found in Lakes, rivers, wallows - in fact any water - in Africa.

Hippos will charge, trample and gore victims with alarming ferocity, often when they are blocked from deep water or someone is standing between the hippo and their calf. They have also been known to upturn boats and canoes without provocation and feast on the victim within, despite being herbivores. Nasty.

Surprising hippos is a big no-no. If canoeing in hippo waters, rap on the side of the boat with your paddle to warn any wallowing occupants that you are close by, therefore giving them a chance to move to deeper waters. If you surprise them on land where they feel most vulnerable, do not block their escape route to water.

Hippopotamuses (hippopotami is also accepted as a plural form by the OED), also sometimes called hippos, are gregarious, living in groups of up to 40 animals, called a pod, herd, school or bloat. A male hippopotamus is known as bull, a female as cow, and a baby as calf. A hippo's lifespan is typically 40 to 50 years. Female hippos will reach sexual maturity at 5 to 6 years, and have a gestation period of 8 months.

Hippos average 3.5 meters (11 ft) long, 1.5 meter (5 ft) tall at the shoulder, and weigh from 1500 kg to 3200 kg (3,300 to 7,000 lb). They are approximately the same size as the White Rhinoceros, and experts are split on which is the next largest land animal after the elephant. Male hippos appear to continue growing throughout their lives, whereas the females reach a maximum weight at around the age of 25. Females are smaller than their male counterparts, and normally weigh no more than 1500 kg. The value given above of 3200 kg is often quoted as being the upper limit of weight for a male hippo. However, larger specimens than this have been documented, including one which weighed about 10,000 lb (4,500 kg) and measured about 16 feet (5 m) long. Their skin weighs a ton, it is 4cm thick, bullet-proof and accounts for 25% of their weight. Even though they are bulky animals, hippopotamuses can run faster than a human on land. There are estimates of their running speed varying from 30 km/h (18 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph), or even 50 km/h (30 mph). The hippo can maintain these higher estimates for only a few hundred metres or yards.

People believed for a long time that hippo's pink sweat was blood. This substance not only cools a hot hippo down, but may also fight skin infections and disease. Hippos are very territorial, and will fight other creatures and each other to hold their ground. Hippos may look half-asleep in the water, but don't get too close! Hippos like their space, and are powerful, quick fighters in the water. Hippos spend two-thirds of the day in the water before going off to find grass. While grazing, Hippos stick to themselves, but usually return to the same pool before sunrise. If there's no grass near the water, the Hippos will travel several miles each night to food.