February 15·Every year

World Hippo Day

Hippos kill more humans annually in Africa than lions, leopards, and cheetahs combined — an estimated 500 per year. They cannot swim; they walk along riverbeds and hold their breath up to seven minutes. Conservation pressure has intensified since populations were halved by conflict and poaching in the late 1990s.

Category: Animal
Observed in: KenyaSouth AfricaUgandaUnited States

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Notable · 2018

Following nationwide protests, Hailemariam Desalegn announced his resignation as prime minister of Ethiopia, remaining in post as a caretaker until he was succeeded by Abiy Ahmed.

2021Sixty people drown and hundreds are missing after a boat sinks on the Congo River near the village of Longola Ekoti, Mai-Ndombe Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2013A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.
2012Three hundred and sixty people die in a fire at a Honduran prison in the city of Comayagua.