Hippos can’t swim. Hippos do have big bones, so big and dense that they’re barely buoyant at all. They don’t swim and instead perform a slow-motion gallop on the riverbed or the sea floor. Hippos can even sleep underwater, thanks to a built-in reflex that allows them to bob up, take a breath, and sink back down without waking.
100 Mind-Blowing Hippos Facts
Hippopotamuses can’t swim. We always see them in the water, but hippos can’t swim. Their bones are large and dense, making it hard for them to float. Instead, they do a sort of “slow-motion gallop on the riverbed or on the sea floor.”
Hippos’ closest living relatives are the aquatic mammals: whales, dolphins and porpoises.