A hippo’s ears and nostrils barely breaking the water can make an enormous animal look deceptively small. Then it rises, water sliding from its back, and everyone watching gets a better sense of the proportions. A child who was asking where the hippo went suddenly has an answer worth announcing.
Hippo coloring pages allow a longer look at that unmistakable shape. The broad muzzle has an appeal of its own, especially to someone who remembers a zoo visit mainly as a lengthy wait beside the pool. On paper, at least, the hippo cannot disappear underwater just as someone points a camera.
Free Printable Hippo Coloring Pages
Click any coloring page below to open the PDF, then print on US Letter or A4 paper.
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Coloring Ideas for Hippo Pages
Try one of these coloring ideas, or use them as a starting point for your own.
Make a Party Hat for the Birthday Hippo
A party hat, balloons, presents, and a cake surround this smiling hippo. The little hat supplies a manageable craft idea when a full party project would be rather more work than anyone intended.
Try a lavender hippo, striped hat, and bright balloons. Choose one cake color and repeat it in the bunting overhead.
Decorate a sheet of paper with a pattern inspired by the pictured hat, then roll it into a cone. Trim the bottom until it sits evenly and tape the overlap. It can dress up a stuffed animal for a small pretend birthday celebration.
Give the Bath Toys a Wash
The baby hippo sits in a round tub with a hose and scrub brush nearby. This is a playful bathing scene, well suited to a little pretend washing station.
Soft gray-brown fur, a blue tub, and a yellow brush will keep the equipment distinct. Leave the water and splashes light.
Set out a shallow bowl of water, a soft cloth, and a few washable plastic animals. Wash and dry each toy before returning it to the shelf. Keep the finished hippo nearby as the station’s cheerful customer; this particular bath can finish without anyone soaking the bathroom floor.
Make the Floral Border Continue Beyond the Picture
Roses, smaller flowers, and curling leaves frame the hippo’s face. The border is already generous, but a larger backing sheet offers room to let a few stems escape it.
Keep the hippo gray and choose a limited flower palette, such as pink, cream, and purple. Green leaves will connect the blossoms.
Mount the finished page on plain paper, then draw a few extra stems continuing outward from the printed flowers. Copy their general shapes rather than every petal. Allow some stems to end early and others to reach farther, so the added border feels like growing plants.
Share a Watermelon Snack
The hippo holds an enormous watermelon wedge, with smaller pieces waiting below. It makes an inviting companion for a human snack break, especially on a warm afternoon.
Use pink-red flesh, dark seeds, and two greens along the rind. A pale purple hippo will stand apart from the fruit.
Serve real watermelon pieces and look at their shapes together. Find the curved rind and pointed corners shown in the drawing. If a piece needs sharing, decide where to divide it before cutting. The pictured hippo can keep its oversized portion; everyone at the table gets something more manageable.
Let the Heart Carry the Message
This seated hippo holds a large heart in both front feet, leaving a useful space for a message. The pose already feels affectionate, so a few direct words will do.
Choose a soft gray or lilac hippo and a pink heart. Keep the heart light enough for writing to remain clear.
Write something specific inside it, such as “Saved you a seat” or “Hope tomorrow feels better.” Choose the words for the person receiving it rather than filling the space with a standard greeting. Slip the finished picture into their book or leave it where they will find it.
Follow the Calf’s Footstep Trail
A small calf walks close beside its mother along the water’s edge. Their different sizes suggest a simple trail game built around matching large and small shapes.
Use related gray tones for the pair, with green bank plants and pale blue water. Give the calf a slightly lighter shade.
Cut large and small oval footprints from scrap paper and arrange two short trails across the floor. Follow the smaller trail to reach a toy calf, then follow the larger one to its parent. Change the routes and let someone else work out which trail belongs to which traveler.
Find a Rhythm in the Hippo’s Patterns
A large flower spreads across the hippo’s body, surrounded by smaller repeating shapes. It is a page for settling into a pattern rather than finding a new color for every space.
Choose three colors and repeat them around the central flower. Use a quieter fourth color for the outer sections.
Start at the center and work around one ring before moving outward. After a few sections, see whether the color sequence is easy to predict. If a different choice slips in, repeat it elsewhere and make it part of the design. The pattern has room to change as it grows.
Watch How Ripples Spread
The baby hippo splashes above circles of water, with little fish nearby. Those drawn ripples offer something simple to investigate away from the page.
Try gray for the hippo, blue water, and orange fish. Leave the splash edges pale so their shapes remain visible.
Fill a shallow bowl with water and wait until the surface settles. Touch it gently with one fingertip and watch the movement spread. Draw what you notice on scrap paper, then compare it with the rings around the hippo. Try a second touch near the bowl’s edge and see what changes.