So we've all heard Gayla Peevy's classic song 'I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas'. Why would you want one? Could you even house one? Well my curiosity on this has led me to do some research.

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I was DJing a party with my good friend TJ when the topic of this song came up. We kept laughing at how ridiculous this gift was. How could you want a hippopotamus? What could it even do for you? Is it going to protect you or eat everyone in the neighborhood? Well I'm not much of a news reporter but I wanted to do some research on this gift item.

How much does a Hippopotamus even cost?

In order to give a hippo, you must have the hippo. First step is buying one. I did a simple Google search of the costs and here are my results.

According to ChaCha: “The cost of a hippo varies greatly. It's always good to haggle, either way! Good luck in your hippo acquisition.” That didn't help much sadly so I had to hit the web again. But I did appreciate the words of good luck!

According to Yahoo Answers: “Around $100,000. Seriously, they are not cheap. They are very expensive and very rare. Most zoos do not even have them. By the way, they are illegal as pets. You would have to obtain all of the zoo permits and actually OWN a zoo. For good reason if you ask me! They are not pets you can just keep in your backyard. You would need a giant enclosure and years of research and experience before you could get one.” I realize this is yahoo answers, but it makes sense. So you may be looking at around $100,000 but that’s if you already owned a zoo and the permits.

How much does a suitable habitat for a Hippopotamus cost?

Hippos become easily dehydrated due to their skin, so during the daylight hours, when the sun is hot, hippos need to be in the water sleeping and socializing with the other members of their herd. So you'd need a good lake or a big pool. Fun Hippo fact, they are excellent swimmers and can remain under water for up to five minutes. When partially submerged, only their eyes, ears, and nostrils are visible.

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Cost of a big water source: $150,000 for a 20 acre lake, filled with the works. This is assuming you have the land.

Cost of 20 acres in CNY: 21 acres in Boonville New York is selling for $39,500 according to landwatch.com

How would your Hippopotamus act?

Hippos are extremely aggressive and have been known to attack humans, and they have enough jaw power to easily crush bones. Needless to say it's not a family pet.

What will your Hippopotamus eat?

Hippopotamus are herbivorous. They come out of the water at night to eat and can eat up to 100 pounds of food in one night! Hippopotamuses will often travel up to six miles from their watering hole to find something to eat.

Cost of 100 pounds of food for one day:  Assuming vegetables cost about 50 cents per pound, it would be about 50 dollars a day, which adds up to $18,250 a year.

What’s the total cost of a hippopotamus?

$307,750

Not to pricey right?

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