HolzWald Hippopotamus mouth open

The carver has cut this hippo with its jaws yawning wide, the pose river hippos are best known for. You can see the rounded snout, the barrel body and the short stumpy legs that let it stand flat on a shelf or play mat. It reads instantly as a hippo mid-yawn rather than a generic blob, which gives children a clear character to talk about during play.

It measures 14.8cm long, 7.8cm tall and 2.5cm wide, so it is one of the longer single animals in the range. The low, wide body sits securely on any flat surface and does not topple. A toddler can wrap a whole hand around the middle, while the length also makes it a satisfying centrepiece next to smaller figures.

Each piece is cut from a single block of local wood, so there are no glued joints or small parts to work loose. The edges are rounded over through several sanding stages and then sealed with a quality oil, which means the surface stays smooth after being carried, stacked and dropped during ordinary floor play.

A hippo belongs in a river or watering-hole scene, so it pairs naturally with crocodiles, elephants and other African animals from the HolzWald range. Children often line it up along a blue cloth 'river' or half-submerge it in a sandbox. The open mouth invites feeding games and simple storytelling about who visits the water.

It is one solid carving with nothing to attach, unscrew or lose. That makes it a calm, open-ended object rather than a puzzle or a set. The natural dye is applied to bare wood and finished with oil, so the grain still shows through and each hippo carries slightly different markings.

Wipe it with a dry or barely damp cloth and let it air dry. Keep it out of water, never put it in a dishwasher and store it away from long spells of direct sun, which can slowly fade the natural colouring. An occasional buff keeps the oiled surface soft to the touch.

It is handmade in a small Georgian workshop that has been carving wooden animals for more than 35 years. The workshop employs people from the local community, including workers with disabilities, so each figure is shaped and finished by hand. Small variations in grain and tone are a sign of that hand work, not a flaw.