HIPPOS

HIPPOSHippos are fat animals!

By LS

INTRODUCTION

• Scientific name is hippopotamus amphibious

• Weighs 10,000 pounds• Third largest land animal• Can run 20 miles per hour

WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE• Long stiff hairs on the front

of their face around their mouth and nose

• VERY big mouth• Belly is almost scraping the

ground• Leather looking skin• 10 to 12 feet long• 4 feet tall• Stubby ears that stick up

above the eyes• Eyes are big and on the side

of the heard• Gray or brown skin

LIFESPAN

• 40 or more years when they live in the wild

• 50 or more years in captivaty

• Not endangered

HABITAT • Lives In Africa• Rivers to keep cool• Protected areas / wild life parks

(they never wanted to go there)• Swamps to keep cool• Mucky water to keep cool and

to be camouflage

CLIMATE

• Rains in spring, fall and, winter• They love this climate because the stay in the

water and keep cool and wet• Sunny in summer and most of spring• Very humid

FOOD• Herbivore• doesn’t eat any

animals• Eats grass, leaves, and

muck—mud and sticks on the bottom of the swamp

PREY OF-Things that eat hippos• Alligators• Crocodiles• Lions (only to babies)• Hyenas (only to babies)• Humans want there

teeth

BEHAVIOR

• Sleepy• Lazy• Fights when something

gets in between it and the baby

• Lives in small groups

BABIES

The pregnant female leaves for two weeks

one baby is usually one baby is born sometimes twins

Baby weighs 100 pounds right when it’s born

PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS

• Nostrils open and close so water doesn’t get in them

• Weighs 10,000 so not a lot of animals will mess with them

• Ears can move so it can hear well

• Sweats oils on skin like sun screen so doesn’t get sun burned

BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATION• Eats a lot so it can stand on the bottom of the

river for a long time• Stays in the river a lot of the day so they stay

cool• Stays in a group so it is not attacked

PHYSIOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS

• Big teeth which helps them eat their food and protects them from other animals

• Strong and wide mouth for chewing

• Strong muscles for swimming

• Can see in the dark (not nocturnal)-to protect itself from predators

FUN FACTS• The word hippo comes from the Greek word

riverhorse• Hippos spend 75% of their day in the water• Can sleep under water