Few hippos are as happy as Mars, a baby pygmy hippo born at the Tanganyika Wildlife Park. At just a few months old, Mars has a fulfilling life, even on his rest days. In a video posted by the park, the baby hippo showed off one of his favorite methods of self-care. And, surprisingly, it’s not much different from our idea of a relaxing day! If a spa day is your idea of self-care, there’s good news: Mars has some tried-and-true tips so you can have one, too. We only hope to achieve this level of bliss on our own recovery days!
Start With the Basics: Mars’s Guide to a Spa Day
The first step to achieving the perfect spa day, according to Mars, is acting like you own the place. If we can learn any lesson from this pygmy hippo, it’s to exude confidence, even on your days off. Mars opts to put his boss-babe energy to the side and focus on what really matters: being spoiled. “Float like you own the place, because obviously, you do,” Mars’s video narration says. “Let the human apply the perfect water massage, with the added bonus of water delivery directly into your mouth.” In human terms, this means booking a massage—and maybe having someone squirt water into your mouth like they do for athletes at sporting events.
Mars recommends following up a massage with a mud bath. Now, we know this sounds unpleasant to many. After all, mud is just wet dirt. However, Mars teaches us the importance of slowing down and appreciating the small things. This means feeling mud squish between our toes or, in his case, his hooves. It might not provide the same cooling effect for us as it does for a hippo, but there’s no denying it’ll awaken your inner child. The only problem is doing the laundry after a roll in the mud, but thankfully, hippos don’t need to worry about that.
Ignore the Rest of the World
“Plant yourself in front of the jets, and let the warm water melt the stress,” Mars’s video narration continues, “and any humans foolish enough to interrupt you.” As Mars soaks up the healing powers of a warm spring, he provides another tip. “Don’t skip any plants floating in your spa. Every leaf is a must-taste, trust him.” While we’re not encouraging eating random foliage that falls into your tub—err, spa—it couldn’t hurt to make a side salad for your spa day. If you’re feeling extra daring, skip the bowl and let it float around you for easy munching instead.
“Conclude with a hot stone massage,” Mars’s narration continues. “Act as if the rock has been waiting its whole life to serve you.” For the sake of the rocks used for Mars’s hot rock massage, we sure hope this is the case. While the hot rock treatment you’re likely to get won’t be as intense, you can still pretend the rocks were plucked from the earth specifically for your back. We’re sure that wouldn’t look strange to your masseuse in the slightest.
Let the Feeling of Calm Wash Over You
Viewers watching Mars’s spa day got as much joy from it as he did. “Not going to lie, I’m so glad Mars exists after the morning I had,” one TikTok user says. “He’s giving me the serotonin boost I need today.” Another offered to adopt a pygmy hippo like Mars. “Mars is my favorite thing on the internet. And I would adopt a pygmy hippo in a heartbeat if I were allowed. My husband is very glad that is not a possibility.” While the general public cannot adopt pygmy hippos, you can rest assured that Tanganyika Wildlife Park takes excellent care of them. Mars is perfectly at home with his pygmy hippo family.
Visitors can even book tickets for a meet-and-greet if they want to meet this adorable animal up close. During the meet-and-greet, fans will go home with a one-of-a-kind nose print painting created by one of the adult hippos. Pygmy hippos are an essential part of West Africa’s ecosystem and are typically elusive and nocturnal. It’s estimated that there are only 2,000–3,000 pygmy hippos left in the wild, which is what makes animals like Mars and his family so essential. While the park protects them, much more work goes into conserving the rest of their wild populations. One TikTok viewer sums up perfectly how we feel about both Mars and spa days: “Self-care is so important!” And Mars thinks so, too.
