Hutto hippos: How one city is celebrating World Hippo Day

HUTTO, Texas - Saturday is World Hippo Day, and the Hutto community is celebrating by honoring its beloved mascot.

You can make it far in Hutto without seeing at least one of its beloved mascots, the hippo.

And that's what the day is all about.

A day for all things hippo.

The Hutto community is throwing a celebration in honor of its one-of-a-kind mascot on this world hippo day!

It's a day to celebrate the majestic creatures and raise awareness about the fight against their extinction.

What they're saying:

"Maybe all this brings some awareness about hippos, how rare they are. You don't get to watch hippos everywhere unless you go to a zoo or Africa," said Karthik Shah. 

The event was packed with fun for everyone: live music, food and shopping vendors, local nonprofit booths, a reptile show, sculpting classes, and—of course—hippos in all shapes and sizes!

"We're the only city, only school district anywhere in the United States that has a hippo as a mascot," said Mayor Mike Snyder. "It just so happens there is a worldwide holiday that celebrates the hippopotamus. And so that's what brought us here."

The backstory:

But how did the hippo become such a staple in Hutto? 

Legend has it that back in 1915, a circus train stopped in Hutto to restock on supplies for its animals.

Somehow, a hippo managed to escape its keeper and sprint toward Cottonwood Creek. 

The train depot agent quickly sent out a message that would go down in history: "Stop trains. Hippo loose in Hutto."

And from that day on, Hutto’s love for the hippo was born and will continue to make its imprint on this community. 

"The hippo is huge. In fact, in some neighborhoods, there's actually HOA restrictions on the amount of hippos you can have, like a limit of hippos you can have in your yard," said Snyder. "We have them outside of city hall, outside of our schools. Almost every business has a hippo. We even have a website that tracks where the hippos are. So, it is. It's ingrained in us."

If you missed it, don't worry, you can explore the many hippos of Hutto anytime.