Could the Thames River basin once have been home to abundant hippopotami?

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During the last inter-glacial (LIG), approximately 120,000 years ago, hippopotami thrived in the Thames River basin, indicating a warmer climate. Global temperatures during this period were about 2°C higher than today, particularly in the upper mid-latitudes. Current projections suggest that the ongoing interglacial may exceed these temperatures, supported by NOAA's astronomical calculations indicating an increase in summer insolation at 65N over the next 25,000 years. Additionally, the current CO2 levels, recorded at 401.58 ppm in October 2015, are not factored into these temperature predictions, suggesting potential for further climate change impacts.
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During the last inter-glacial (LIG), which ended some 120,000 years ago, hippopotami appear to have been abundant in the Thames River basin near what is now London. (Petersen & Lieberman, 2012) It appears that global temperatures were some 2°C warmer (less in the tropics, more in the upper mid-latitudes) during the LIG.

The current interglacial bids fair to surpass those temperatures, if NOAA is to be believed: "Astronomical calculations show that 65N summer insolation should increase gradually over the next 25,000 years, . . . http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/milankovitch.html

And that's not counting the effects of increased CO2 levels (401.58 ppm as of October of 2015).
 
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