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Animal Themes
Mammals
Grasslands
 Warthogs

Warthogs
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 3 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.96

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    admit, extremely, fully-grown, hyena, occasionally, residence, savannahs, species, violent, upright, hesitate, actually, underground, lower, adult, boar

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Warthogs   
1     Let's admit it! Warthogs are perhaps one of the most unattractive-looking animals on Earth! First, their heads seem too large for their bodies. Second, there are two or three pairs of wart-like bumps on their flat, shovel-shaped faces. Third, four tusks protrude from their jaws, giving them a forceful appearance. Fourth, while warthogs have sparse hair on their brown skin, they have long manes extending from the top of their heads to the middle of their backs. Well, although warthogs look rather strange, or down right ugly to some people, they are very interesting.
 
2     Living in African savannahs, warthogs are the only pig species that can live in places where absence of water during the dry season can last for a couple of months a year! Adding to the uniqueness is that warthogs are also the only pig species that graze grasses. When warthogs are hungry, they kneel on their padded front knees to nip off short grass or to dig bulbs, roots, and tubers with their snouts and tusks. Occasionally, warthogs eat carrions (dead animals), too. Warthogs look tougher and meaner than they actually are. If threatened, warthogs most likely choose to flee from the scene than to challenge their enemies. When warthogs are on a run, they hold their tails upright like an antenna.
 
3     Warthogs are active during the daytime. As night falls, they return to their underground homes or burrows. Although warthogs have sharp tusks that they can use to excavate their own burrows, they prefer not to. Usually, they find and occupy burrows abandoned by other animals. Among all the choices they have, they like aardvarks' work the best! Warthogs are extremely cautious when they enter or exit their homes. When warthogs are about to reach home, they slowly back up into their residence with their heads facing outward so they can detect any impending danger, such as a lion or a vicious hyena hidden nearby. When warthogs are ready to leave their burrows, they rush out at their top speed, about 30 miles per hour so they can get a running start on any predators that may be lurking nearby.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
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