The Hippopotamus

The hippopotamus live in the hot part of Africa. It is a mammal. That is its babies are born alive,and they drink milk from the mother's body.
The hippopotamus is a large animal. It weighs four tons. Its stomach is seven meters long, but it eats only plants. It is a mammal, but it spends a lot of time in the water. During the day it sleep beside river or a lake. Sometime it wakes up. Then it goes under the water to get some plants for food.It can close its nose and stay under water for ten minutes. Its ears, eyes, and nose are high up on its head.It can stay with its body under the water. Then is can breathe the air. At night the hippo walks on the land and looks for food. It never goes very far from the water.A baby hippo often stands on its mother's back. The mother looks for food under water. The body rides on her back above the water.The hippopotamus or “river horse” (hippopotamus in ancient Greek) is well known for its large size and enormous mouth. Hippos are the second largest animals on land next to elephants and the third in line for heaviest. They are usually found lounging in a river or lake to keep their bodies cool throughout the warm sunny days. They like to feed when the sun goes down. They can live to be between 40 and 50 years old with one once living to the old age of 61 in captivity.They are quite territorial in the water, but they are not when they are on land. They are dangerous to humans; they don’t seem to like people in the wild at all and will attack without provocation.The hippo is a massive herbivore. It is really hard to believe that such well-built, bulky creature could only be plant eater but it is true. So what do they eat to sustain such a large body? Believe it or not just grass. Those big scary teeth are only used for defense and fighting. Hippopotamus are giant creatures. They may seem docile, but when their territory is threatened they can be vicious. Some authorities list the hippopotamus, the world's third largest land animal, as one of the most deadly. They often will attack without apparent provocation, and at 1.5 to 3 tons, their attacks are swift and savage.
After a gestation period that lasts for around eight months, the female Hippopotamus gives birth to a single calf generally during the rainy season. Although like many other activities (including mating) the Hippopotamus often gives birth in the water, it is not actually that uncommon for their young to be born on land. The female protects her calf fiercely and it rides on her back to keep it safe. Hippopotamus calves are fully weaned by the time they are 18 months old but tend to remain with their mother until they are fully grown, often not leaving her until they are 7 or 8 years old. Although young males will become more independent and find their own patch of bank to patrol, females will join a herd of other females and young but despite this seemingly sociable behaviour, they do not seem to interact socially and will even graze on their own when they leave the water at night.