THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 297 



Nile Hippopotamus 

 Hippopotamus amphibius amphibius 



Native Names: Luganda, <?wito^m ; Dinka, nyang; Bongo, habba; Abys- 

 sinian, gumari. 



Hippopotamus amphibius Linnaeus, 1858, Systema Naturae, p. 74. 



Range. — Nile watershed from the Victoria and Edward 

 Nyanzas northward to the Hmits of the grass-land on the 

 White Nile as far as Kaka, and eastward through the Abys- 

 sinian highlands drained by the Nile tributaries. 



The hippopotamus was first known to Europeans from 

 the Nile, and it is to this region that we must refer the 

 original species described by Linnaeus. If we regard the 

 species as separable into several geographical races, then 

 the Nile race must stand as the typical one. Specimens 

 from the Nile watershed are distinguishable from those 

 of East Africa by the narrower nasal bones, the less ele- 

 vated orbits and the greater rostral constriction of the 

 skull, and the larger body size. At the present time there 

 are no skins of Nile specimens available for comparison 

 with East African skins, and the color and other external 

 characters cannot be determined. Every traveller who has 

 entered the upper regions of the Nile watershed has met 

 with this animal and has, with few exceptions, given ac- 

 counts of his experiences with these aquatic monsters. 

 The flesh forms a valuable article of food to exploring 

 caravans or safaris, and the quest of the hippopotamus 

 has been more or less of a necessity to the leaders of such 

 parties. Owing to the great bulk of the head, compara- 

 tively few specimens of skulls have reached Europe, usu- 

 ally the only parts retained as trophies being the large 

 lower canine teeth. The Nile hippopotamus, therefore, has 

 yet to become well known in a detailed way as regards the 

 variation of its structure. The Nile race of the hippo- 

 potamus attains a large body size, judging from the dimen- 

 sions of a male skull in the British Museum, which has a 

 length of 30 inches and exceeds any other skull known to 

 the writers. A female skull from the Lado Enclave col- 

 lected by Major Powell-Cotton shows a correspondingly 

 large size, measuring 26>^ inches in length. In contrast 



