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What Do Hippos Eat? 
Hippos
are herbivores and their diet consists mainly of grass and some
water plants. Hippos do most of their eating during the night,
while during the day hippos spend most of their time basking in the sun
on a sandbar or floating lazily in the water with just their ears,
eyes, and nostrils, and perhaps their back and top of the head,
exposed.
Hippos will often traverse steep riverbanks at night to graze on
grass. They normally graze for approximately four to five
hours each night, covering one or two miles, with extended wanderings
of up to five miles. However, they do not usually venture far
from the water.
Hippos lead fairly sedentary lives that do not require high outputs of
energy. Therefore, they have relatively modest appetites.
Did You Know?
> The name hippopotamus comes
from the Greek "hippos," meaning horse. Hippos were once called
"river horses," even though they are more closely related to pigs than
horses.
Much of
the information provided on this page may be found
on the
following websites. Please visit them to learn more about hippos
and to
learn what you may be able to do to help preserve the precious hippo
populations that remain.
National
Geographic (specifically the
facts page provided by "Young Peoples Trust for the Environment")
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