Hippopotamuses are better than rhinoceroses because...?

I don't know if hippopotamuses are better than rhinoceroses or vice versa. They both call Sub-Saharan Africa home (as well as regions of India and Sumatra for rhinos), they both have huge bodies and short legs, they're both mostly herbivorous, they both can run about 35 km/hr on land. But somehow, rhinoceroses have gotten a bad rap in history. Their two horns, broad snout, assorted humps and scaly body have made them the bad guy in countless children's stories over the past few hundred years. Meantime, hippopotamuses have always come across as more cute and less dangerous than the rhino. "Hungry, hungry hippo," anyone?

Let's not kid ourselves. Hippos are one of the most aggressive animals in the world and often the most ferocious in Africa. They travel in large herds of up to 40, with one bull, many cows and assorted offspring. They spend up to 16 hours is the water a day to keep cool and come out of the water at night to graze on up to 80 pounds of grass. They're huge eaters!

Rhinos, on the other hand, are much less aggressive and more sociable. White rhinos travel in groups of up to 15; black male rhinos travel alone. Land mammals that live in the same areas as hippos, rhinos roll around in mud to coat their skin; the mud acts as a sun block and insect repellent. Females only reproduce every 36 months to five years.

Hippos are lucky––they have no natural predators. Rhinos, unfortunately for them, are valued by humans for their horns, which are used for medical purposes in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, as well as for ornamental dagger handles in North Africa and the Middle East.  This means that there are between 125,000 to 150,000 hippos throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and less than 20,000 rhinos in the world.

I wouldn't say that hippopotamuses are better than rhinoceroses––they're just luckier.