Get ready to make a big splash with our Happy Hippo Coloring Pages! Hippopotamuses, or hippos for short, are some of the most fascinating and lovable animals in the world. With their huge mouths, round bellies, and friendly faces, hippos are sure to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Whether your child loves animals or is just learning about the wild, these coloring pages will spark their creativity and curiosity.
Our printable hippopotamus coloring bundle is perfect for family fun, classroom activities, or a quiet afternoon at home. Each page is designed to be both entertaining and educational, giving little ones a chance to practice important skills while enjoying imaginative scenes. Jump into the wonderful world of hippos, and let your child’s artistic talents shine! Download, print, and start coloring today!
Inside this hippopotamus coloring bundle, you’ll find five creative and delightful coloring sheets, each featuring a unique hippo scene. From playful river splashes to superhero adventures, every page offers a new way for kids to explore, imagine, and learn. These coloring pages are specially designed for preschoolers and young learners, making them perfect for home, classroom, or daycare fun. Grab your crayons, markers, or colored pencils, and let the hippo adventures begin!
Talk about where hippos live and why they love water.
Practice sharing and friendship by coloring the animal pals. Can you name each fruit on the picnic blanket?
Count the bubbles and butterflies for some fun early math, then make up a story about the baby hippo’s day.
Discuss family and how animals care for each other. Try drawing your own family napping with the hippos!
Imagine what superpowers a hippo might have! Can you invent a superhero name and write it on the page?
Gloria the hippo from the ‘Madagascar’ animated movies is one of the most famous hippo characters, known for her sassy attitude, confidence, and her close friendships with Alex the lion, Marty the zebra, and Melman the giraffe.
In the beloved children’s book ‘George and Martha’ by James Marshall, two hippopotamuses share silly adventures and teach young readers about friendship, kindness, and understanding through their gentle and humorous stories.
The character ‘Hippo’ from the television show ‘Peppa Pig’ is a friendly animal who joins Peppa and her friends in learning about the world, encouraging preschoolers to explore, ask questions, and play together.
In the animated series ‘The Lion Guard,’ Beshte the hippo is a strong and caring hero who helps protect the Pride Lands, showing viewers the importance of teamwork, courage, and using your unique talents to help others.
The song ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,’ made famous by Gayla Peevey, is a festive holiday tune that delights kids and adults alike, making the hippopotamus a fun and memorable part of holiday traditions.
Hippopotamuses are the third-largest land mammals on Earth, after elephants and rhinoceroses. Adult hippos can weigh up to 3,300 pounds (1,500 kilograms)! Despite their huge size, hippos can run surprisingly fast on land, reaching speeds up to 19 miles per hour (30 kilometers per hour) for short distances.
Hippos spend most of their day in water to stay cool under the hot sun. Their eyes, ears, and nose are on top of their heads, so they can breathe and watch for danger while almost completely underwater. They can even sleep submerged by automatically rising up to breathe without waking up!
Although hippos look gentle and slow, they can be very protective of their families. Hippos live in groups called pods or bloats, which can include up to 30 hippos. They use loud grunts, wheezes, and even underwater honks to communicate with each other.
Hippos are herbivores, which means they only eat plants. At night, they leave the water and walk on land to graze on grass. An adult hippo can eat around 88 pounds (40 kilograms) of grass in a single night!
A hippo’s skin is very special. It produces a natural sunscreen called ‘blood sweat,’ which isn’t really blood or sweat! This pinkish liquid helps protect their skin from sunburn and infections, making them perfectly suited for life in the African sun.
Download the 5 free ‘Hippopotamus’ Coloring Pages.
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The word ‘hippopotamus’ is a long and fun word to say! It has five syllables: hip-po-pot-a-mus. You can clap along as you say each part: hip (clap), po (clap), pot (clap), a (clap), mus (clap). The word begins with the letter ‘h’ sound, just like ‘hat’ and ‘happy.’ The middle part, ‘pot,’ sounds like the word ‘pot’ you might use for cooking. The ending, ‘mus,’ is pronounced like ‘muss.’ To help little learners practice, you can break the word down into smaller chunks and say them slowly: ‘hip,’ ‘po,’ ‘pot,’ ‘a,’ ‘mus.’ Try saying it together, speeding up a bit each time until you can say the whole word smoothly: hippopotamus! Learning to say and spell big animal names is a great way to build phonics skills and confidence.
Coloring is a wonderful activity for young children because it helps build fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, and focus. As kids choose colors, follow lines, and fill in shapes, they strengthen the muscles needed for writing and other important tasks. Coloring also encourages creativity and self-expression, giving children a safe and enjoyable way to share their ideas and feelings.
Reduces stress and anxiety – Colouring induces a calm, meditative state like mindfulness.
Enhances hand‑eye coordination – Children learn to match what they see with the motions of their hands.
Builds patience and perseverance – Completing detailed colouring pages encourages sticking with tasks.
Accessible and low‑cost learning tool – Colouring can be done anywhere with just paper and crayons.
Improves mood through colour therapy – Colour has subconscious emotional influence (as studied by Jung).
Introduces early math concepts – Counting shapes and repeated patterns develops foundational skills.
Coloring within the lines of a hippopotamus scene helps children develop better control over their hands and fingers. Encourage kids to trace around the hippo shapes with their finger before coloring, or use thick crayons and markers for extra grip support. For advanced practice, invite children to draw simple patterns or backgrounds around the hippos, like wavy water or grassy fields.
Turn coloring time into a phonics adventure! Show children the word ‘hippopotamus’ and break it down into syllables. Ask them to clap out the five parts as they say the word. You can also write the letter ‘H’ on one page and invite kids to color it in bright colors, then search for other words or objects around them that start with the ‘h’ sound. For extra learning, have them spell out ‘hippo’ or ‘hippopotamus’ with letter magnets, or write it themselves underneath their finished coloring.
Each coloring page tells a little story—encourage children to use their imagination by asking questions about what’s happening. For example, after coloring the hippo picnic page, prompt kids to name all the animals and foods they see. Invite them to create a short story about what the hippo and its friends are doing, or invent new adventures for Super Hippo. This sparks creativity, encourages verbal expression, and helps children learn new animal and nature words.
Displaying finished hippo artwork on the fridge, classroom wall, or a special ‘gallery’ area builds confidence and pride. Take it a step further by creating a scavenger hunt: hide the coloring pages around a room or playground, and let children find each one by following simple clues (like ‘Look near the bookshelf for the hippo with ducklings!’). This adds movement and problem-solving to the fun.
After coloring, encourage children to act out hippo scenes. They can pretend to splash in a river, share a picnic, or be a superhero saving the jungle. Use simple props, like blue blankets for water or towels for superhero capes. Acting out stories helps with social skills, cooperation, and understanding emotions.
Connect hippo coloring pages with science lessons by talking about where hippos live, what they eat, and how they help their environment. Use the pages for counting activities (How many hippos? How many ducklings?), color sorting (Color the hippo blue, the tree green), or geography (Find Africa on a map and mark where hippos live). These ideas make learning engaging and memorable.
By using hippo coloring pages in these creative ways, parents and teachers can support many areas of early childhood development—while making learning playful and fun!