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Hippo Sweat Could Lead to Better Sun Protection

A secretion that protects hippos from the sun also keeps insects and microorganisms away, and could be an inspiration for multi-purpose sunblocks. Read More

The next big thing in sunblock could be copied from hippos. Researchers have found that hippo sweat (actually an oily secretion) provides hippos with multiple types of protection: from the sun, disease and bugs.

Christopher Viney, a professor at the University of California, Merced, began investigating hippo sweat in 2004, taking samples from Bulgy, a 49-year-old hippopotamus at the Chaffee Zoo in Fresno. His research extended into a trip to Zambia, Africa, in an attempt to retrieve fresh sweat from hippos in the wild. National Geographic had invited him on the trip as part of a TV documentary, though the trip didn’t yield any new sweat samples.

Viney and his team found that the red-colored secretion acts as both a sunscreen and sunblock, with microscopic structures that scatter light, preventing it from burning the hippo’s skin. The sweat also deters bugs, and helps hippos keep wounds or scratches clean no matter how much mud or filth they’re exposed to. The researchers left the sweat stored in sealed containers for months, and it didn’t show any signs of microbial contamination.

“It would be nice to also try and replicate the antiseptic and insect-repellent characteristics of the sweat, to obtain a four-in-one product: sunscreen, sunblock, antiseptic, insect repellent,” Viney told Discovery News. He recently wrote about his findings on hippo sweat and other biomimicry research in an issue of Philosophical Transactions of The Royal Society A.

Hippo – CC license by Le Scribbler; Hippo skin detail – CC license by marfis75

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