The next time you’re at the zoo and you see a sign outside a hippo enclosure that reads “Splatter Zone,” take a step back—way back! That’s because hippos are some of the messiest poopers in the animal kingdom . . . as workers at Ohio’s Cincinnati Zoo experienced a few years ago.
In 2016, senior keeper Wendy Rice and staff members on the zoo’s visitor experience team went to check on Henry, a male hippopotamus. They fed the massive hippo from behind a fence surrounding his enclosure. Then Henry turned to take a dip in his pool.
But before he did, Henry backed up against the fence and started swishing his tail in a circular motion—a sign that a hippo is about to spray a shower of feces, or poop, and urine. The workers tried to get away, but it was too late. Henry sprayed them with the disgusting combo. Although it was gross, Rice had a good sense of humor about it. “The day we got sprayed by Henry is one of my funniest hippo memories of all time,” Rice recalls.
While most mammals’ poop is in the shape of a tidy log or pellet, the hippopotamus sprays poop everywhere. It’s an adaptation that helps the big mammals survive in the wild. Hippos release their signature spray of dung for several reasons: to mark their territory, defend against threats, and warn other hippos in their herd of danger. But sometimes—like in Henry’s case—they’ve just got to go!