"And God made the beast of the earth after his kind... and God saw that it was good." Gen. 1:25.
The hippopotamus, also called the African river horse, is a huge, three to four-ton animal. It grows to 14 feet long and between five and six feet tall. Next to the elephant it is the world's largest land animal. Its enormous head has tiny ears and wicked-looking eyes on each side of its bulging forehead. It is equipped with a sharp-toothed mouth that can cut a crocodile in half with one bite and even bite another hippo viciously when fighting among themselves.
The Creator has provided this water-loving beast with nostrils located so that it can lie underwater with just its nose above the surface. If it goes completely under, valves automatically take over so it can stay down a full five minutes.
Short, thick legs with wide feet having four webbed toes are spaced far apart to support its great weight when on land, but hardly look strong enough for the job. Yet it moves amazingly fast over the ground and can easily outrun a man. It lives in streams, rivers or lakes where mud baths are available. It goes ashore at times to feed on grass and foliage to add to its usual diet of water plants. A mature hippo eats about 200 pounds of vegetation a day.
Mothers usually give birth to one 50 to 70-pound, pink baby a year. You would certainly consider the offspring ugly with its big head and loose skin over rolls of fat, but each mother shows her pet lots of attention, guarding it carefully and letting it frequently ride on top of her head. The little ones nurse for over a year.
Skin about two inches thick, with many wrinkles, attracts irritating insects. Knowing this, a variety of birds ride the hippos' backs to feast on these pests. The hippos seem to realize these riders are helpful and do not scare them away. This is another example of how the Creator often provides two extremely different creatures to benefit one another. A further provision of His care is the means by which hippos avoid sunburn in the hot African weather when out of water. Glands lying just under their bare skin moisten it, much like suntan lotion protects your skin.
As we consider the care the Lord God gives every creature, we are reminded that His loving thoughts toward us are even more wonderful. Animals have only one life, but we have a life after death. While most people hope to be in heaven, many forget that none can enter there with their sins on them and need to follow the Bible's instruction: "prepare to meet thy God." Amos 4:1212Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. (Amos 4:12).
Happily, we read, "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." 1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18). Each of us must make this our own personal belief, confessing himself or herself a sinner, thanking Him for so great a salvation, and in faith accepting Him as our Savior. Have von done this?