HIPPOS
GIANTS WHO LOVE THE WATER
By Caitlind L. Alexander
A LearningIsland.com
15 - Minute Book
Editor: Jennifer Robinson
Pictures by Photos.com and Clipart.com
Smashwords Edition
(c) Copyright 2005 Caitlind L. Alexander. All rights reserved.
Published by LearningIsland.com.
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Hippos; Giants Who Love the Water/Caitlind L. Alexander
Summary: A brief look at hippos.
1. Hippopotamus. Juvenile Literature. 2. Wild Animals Juvenile Literature.
Created in USA
Words: 1515
Reading Level: 3.8
Age 7 and up.
What is a Hippo?
What animal is as big as a boat, and loves to go swimming? It even loves to go surfing on the waves? It's the hippo, of course.
Hippos are huge animals. They can weigh almost 10,000 pounds (4536 kg)! That's five tons (4.5 tonnes)!
Hippos are mostly brownish in color, but some of them can look more gray. Some even look purplish.
Hippos have very thick skin with no hair. Their skin is about one-and-a-half inches (four cm) thick! That keeps them from getting hurt when they fight each other.
Hippos also have four fat legs. Their legs need to be big to carry around all that weight. They also have four toes on each foot.
Hippos have a huge head. Their jaw goes all the way back to the back of their head. That means they can open their mouth WIDE. Hippos can open their mouth so wide that a child could even stand up in it, but you wouldn't want to.
Hippos look nice, but they aren't. Hippos can be some of the meanest animals around, and they aren't afraid of people. They will go into areas where people live and eat anything they want!
If someone gets in their way, they just might kill them. Hippos are among the most dangerous animals in Africa. In fact, more people are killed by hippos in Africa than by any other animal. They are even more dangerous than lions, because most lions stay away from people when they can.
Hippos can be friendly, at least to other hippos. They like to live in large herds. Herds can have up to 40 hippos in them.