Third-largest land animal

HIPPO

This semi-aquatic herbivore with a barrel-shaped body is known for its massive jaws and spending days submerged to stay cool in African rivers.

The clue "Third-largest land animal" points directly to "hippo" because, after elephants and rhinos, hippos rank as the heaviest land mammals. There’s no wordplay here—it’s a straightforward fact-based clue testing general knowledge about animal sizes. If you know hippos can weigh over 3,000 pounds, the answer becomes obvious.