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How many hours do hippopotamuses usually spend feeding at night?

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A hippopotamus stands at the edge of a watering hole, with several other hippos partially submerged in the water, surrounded by green vegetation in Botswana, Africa. — hippopotamus The word hippopotamus is Greek for “river horse,” which reflects their behavior: they are often seen basking on the banks or sleeping in the waters of rivers, lakes, and swamps across Africa. They favor shallow areas where they can sleep half-submerged, though these places can become quite crowded—as many as 150 hippos may use one pool in the dry season.

Hippopotamuses typically spend five or six hours each night feeding in surrounding grasslands, walking along familiar paths that can extend as far as 10 km (6 miles) from their aquatic habitats.1