Hippo Pages

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African Hippo Article by Owen Introduction You’re walking down the beach and a huge hippo jumps out of the water and it chases after you! There is something next to it. It’s a baby hippo! Be careful….a hippo can open its mouth four feet wide….If you want to find out more about the hippo, than read this article! Physical Characteristics Can you hold your breath for five minutes? A hippo loves to spend most its time in the water. Hippos have webbed feet to help them swim. The hippopotamus also is a land animal. It is the third largest land mam- mal on Earth. Their closest relatives are dolphins and whales. A hippo weighs about 1,000 pounds. The female hippo is smaller then the male. The eyes, ears and nostrils of a hippo are on the top of their skulls to allow most of their body to be in the water. When they dive, they fold their ears on their heads. A hippo can open its mouth four feet. A hippo threatens a rival by opening its mouth to show its long fangs. A hippo has very little hair on its body. A hippo has a layer of fat protecting a layer of muscle. A hippo has short stubby legs. A hippo can run from 18 mph to 30 mph. Hippo secrets a natural sun screens substance that is red. Habitat Find out where hippos live. A hippo lives all over Africa. They usually live by rivers and lakes in large groups up to 30 animals. Hippos are only territorial in water. That means they don’t like other animals coming near them while they are in the water. 1

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MCDS 3rd Grade Animal Report

Transcript of Hippo Pages

Page 1: Hippo Pages

African Hippo Article by Owen Introduction You’re walking down the beach and a huge hippo jumps out of the water and it chases after you! There is something next to it. It’s a baby hippo! Be careful….a hippo can open its mouth four feet wide….If you want to find out more about the hippo, than read this article!

Physical Characteristics

Can you hold your breath for five minutes? A hippo loves to spend most its time in the water. Hippos have webbed feet to help them swim. The hippopotamus also is a land animal. It is the third largest land mam-mal on Earth. Their closest relatives are dolphins and whales. A hippo weighs about 1,000 pounds. The female hippo is smaller then the male. The eyes, ears and nostrils of a hippo are on the top of their skulls to allow most of their body to be in the water. When they dive, they fold their ears on their heads. A hippo can open its mouth four feet. A hippo threatens a rival by opening its mouth to show its long fangs. A hippo has very little hair on its body. A hippo has a layer of fat protecting a layer of muscle. A hippo has short stubby legs. A hippo can run from 18 mph to 30 mph. Hippo secrets a natural sun screens substance that is red.

Habitat

Find out where hippos live. A hippo lives all over Africa. They usually live by rivers and lakes in large groups up to 30 animals. Hippos are only territorial in water.That means they don’t like other animals coming near them while they are in the water.

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Page 2: Hippo Pages

Food Hippos have a boring diet. A hippo can eat 180 pounds of grass or other plantsThere are not many predators for a hippo. Lions and spotted hyenas will eat baby hippos.

Life cycle

How long does a hippo live? A hippo’s life span is 40-50 years. The oldest hippo in captivity, Donna, is 57 years old. The oldest known hippo in the wild, named Tanga, died when it was 61 years old. Female hippos start puberty at 3-4 years old. Males mature at age 7.5 years. Female’s hippos give birth under water. Baby hippos can dive underwater for 20 seconds even as soon as they are born.

Fun facts Learn ten amazing facts about hippos. The Greeks call hippos river horses.

Hippos have two plurals; hippopotami, hippopotamuses both mean that’s a lot of hippo! Hippos are hostile to-wards crocodiles especially if there are baby hippos nearby. When a hippo opens it’s mouth it feels threatened. A hippo can bite a crocodile in half in one bite. To mark territory hippos spin their tail. Hippos learn how to defend there self’s from ruff housing. Hippos rarely kill each other even in territorial changes. Some sick hip-

pos eat baby hippos. A common hippo touches the bottom of a lake with the front feet first. Hip-pos are nocturnal.

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BibliographyThe Animal AtlasTaylor , Barbara New York 1994

Wikipediahttp://www.wikipedia.org /wiki/hippopotamus4/22/10