Do they sweat blood? Will one kill you? What are cocaine hippos? Is Moo Deng… okay? Actual real life Hippopotomologist Dr. Rebecca Lewison explains how hippos have some of the best – and worst – PR. We chat about pet hippos, subspecies, daily diets, the current state of hippo conservation, the absolute chaotic affection we have for pygmy hippos, their role as ecosystem engineers, what’s up with their nostrils, and how to keep a hippo in your pocket. Also: how to flatter your friends into planning a group vacation. Visit the Lewison Lab at SDSU and follow Dr. Lewison on Google ScholarA donation went to The Wechiau Community Hippo Sanctuary (WCHS)More episode sources and linksSmologies (short, classroom-safe) episodesOther episodes you may enjoy: Pinnipedology (SEALS & WALRUSES), Wildlife Ecology (FIELDWORK), Cucurbitology (PUMPKINS), Culicidology (MOSQUITOES), Scatology (POOP), Conservation Technology (EARTH SAVING)Sponsors of OlogiesTranscripts and bleeped episodesBecome a patron of Ologies for as little as a buck a monthOlogiesMerch.com has hats, shirts, hoodies, totes!Follow Ologies on Instagram and BlueskyFollow Alie Ward on Instagram and TikTokEditing by Mercedes Maitland of Maitland Audio Productions and Jake ChaffeeManaging Director: Susan HaleScheduling Producer: Noel DilworthTranscripts by Aveline Malek Website by Kelly R. DwyerTheme song by Nick Thorburn
Full Episode
Oh, hey, it's the fish soup that you spilled all over the kitchen, which actually did happen to me, Hallie Ward. And this is Ologies. It's a podcast where we explore an ology a week. So you are tuning into a chat about hippos. It will leave you changed. It changed me.
We've got a true hippopotamologist, a professor of biology at San Diego State University, whose research at Vassar and UC Davis focused on vulnerable wildlife populations and conservation and, of course... Hippos. So they know way more about hippos than most people ever will on the planet. And they're in a very elite club of hippopotamologists.
And I asked her all of my very not smart questions as well as yours. If you want to submit a question ahead of time before we record... You can become a patron at patreon.com slash ologies. It costs about 25 cents an episode to join. It helps fund the show.
You can also buy ologies merch at ologiesmerch.com or you can support for no dollars by leaving us a review, which helps convince me that I'm not broadcasting to an assortment of dolls in a basement. And I read all your reviews, such as this one from Chris F., who writes, Hippos, hippos. You might know, you probably know that hippopotamus in Latin, it means river horse.
If you didn't know that, I'm going to give you a second. It's hippo means horse, potamus means of the river, hippopotamus, river horse, these beasts. They are artidactyls, meaning that they have an even number of toes, like a bison or a deer and a giraffe. Those are all in artidactyls.
And after elephants and rhinos, hippos are the largest land mammal, even though the common hippo's scientific name is hippopotamus amphibius. Terrestrial animal? We'll get into it.
So point your weird little ears our way to learn about knife teeth, blood sweat, swamp hippos, pet hippos, subspecies, their daily diet, the current state of hippo conservation, the absolute chaotic affection we have for Mudang. How many people hippos kill a year for real? If you need to apologize to a hippo. Who are hippos' best friends? Their role as ecosystem engineers.
If you have ever been brainwashed about a hippo, what's up with their nostrils? How to keep a hippo in your pocket? And tips on flattering your friends into planning a group vacation. With conservation biologist, professor, and actual real-life hippopotamologist, Dr. Rebecca Lewison.
Rebecca Lewis in She, Her.
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