In ancient Egypt, one had be careful if he decided take a swim in the Nile river, because back then, the Nile swarmed with hippos. It was one of the most feared animals in Egypt. Interestingly, the name Hippopotamus comes from the Ancient Greek and it means ‘a River Horse’.
Although hippos love water, they breath air. Therefore, they need to resurface every three to five minutes to breathe. But then how do they sleep? Fascinatingly, Hashem with His kindness gave them an ability to surface and breath air while sleeping!
The giant fangs and enormous mouth will make one ponder what they love to hunt for. The irony is that a hippo is a vegetarian! Hippo’s gigantic fangs and mouth are just for the show - to scare away his enemies. And when necessary, a hippo will not be shy to use these powerful tools to eliminate his threatening opponent. Even very large animals should stay away from an angry hippo, because Hashem fashioned hippos with extremely powerful jaws, making it possible for a hippo to literally bite a crocodile in half. Even elephants stay away from them. It’s good we’re not in Egypt any more.
