oil palm in malaysia

Malaysia is a famous palm oil producing country. There are many oil palm estates in Malaysia because of its suitable climate. Many years ago the seeds of the oil palm tree were brought to Malaysia from Africa.

The seeds of the oil palm are planted in plastic bags and put in a special place called the nursery. After a year, the seedlings are planted in the field or plantation. They start producing fruits when they are about three years old.

The oil palm tree is about 9 meters tall. It has a thick trunk and fronds like the coconut trees. The fronds that grow on the lower part of the trees are cut twice a year so that the workers can harvest the fruits easily.

Palm oil is produced from the oil palm fruits. The fruits grow in bunches. Each bunch has about 400 small fruits and weighs between 10 to 20 kilograms.

A long handled knife is used to cut down the fruits. For the taller trees, a longer pole is attached to the knife. The fruits are transported by lorries to the oil palm mill, where they are processed into oil. Palm oil is used to produce candles, cooking oil, margarine and soap.

hippopotamus

A hippopotamus is the largest member of the pig family. It is a native of East Africa and lives in a large herd. It is always found near river and lakes. The hippopotamus feeds on water plants. Its favorite activity is to roll about in the cool mud. Although the hippopotamus likes water very much, it can remain under water for only about five minutes.

The female gives birth to single young. The baby hippopotamus can stand and walk within an hour after birth. It weighs a little over twenty seven kilograms at birth and within a year its weight increases to several hundred kilograms. Most hippopotamus reach full height at the age of seven. At this time, they may weigh as much as four thousand kilograms.

Today, the number of hippopotamus is becoming less. The natives hunt them for food.