I spend 16 hours in the water and my skin secretes a red oil that is a natural moisturizer and antibiotic.
I’m Mayo the hippo, sending you a warm welcome from my exquisite water home here at the Zoo, the first of its kind in the Middle East. I spend my days splashing around in my warm pool, and because I’m a big boy, I need a big pool! It should have enough water for me to move freely and enjoy my dips. My watery home contains 195 thousand gallons of water, including little creeks and ponds where I can splash around in, along with some companions, like Crocodiles and Otters in adjacent pools, so close that I can hear their noises sometimes. I love my home and feel very lucky to be here.
Visitors really enjoy coming to see me and my family every Friday when they line up to watch us and wave as we approach them. My sister, Chrystal, and I love to strut in front of the visitors while they take pictures.
My body has a very thick layer of skin, 50 mm in thickness, and it’s almost 20 times thicker than human skin. I also secrete a reddish oil, which is a natural skin moisturizer, water repellant and antibiotic that fights infections and keeps me healthy. I can hold my breath under water for five minutes with ease and spend most of my days, 16 hours daily that is, splashing around to keep myself cool. Don’t get me wrong, I can walk up to 10 km on dry land as well, and look for food, because I need a lot of that. I eat about 35 kg per day at least. In the wild I can live up to 40 years but in a protective zoo, I can live up to 50 years.