Yup.

Opotamuses are pretty cool to begin with... But a hippopotamus is a subspecies of the order Opotamisus ... They are born with a little extra bodyfat, sideburns, and backwards facing baseball caps... the back hind left leg is shorter than the others , causing it to walk with a limp. This doesn't affect the hunting abilities of the species, as it is a strict vegetarian, thriving on Gin and Juice.

No a hippo is an normal animal that belongs to its own species.