1036 THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



unable to find their way back to the river, and stand helpless on the land. The 

 males generally remain in company with the females, although a few very aged in- 

 dividuals of the former sex may lead more or less solitary lives. ' The still 

 reaches," continues the same observer, " are their favorite haunts, as elsewhere the 

 constant exertion necessary to keep themselves from being carried down the stream 

 disturbs their nap. They remain by day in a drowsy yawning state, taking little 

 notice of things at a distance. The males utter loud, snorting grunts, which may 

 be heard a mile off. The young ones stand on the necks of their dams, and their 

 small heads appear first above the surface as they rise to breathe. The dam, know- 

 ing the more urgent need of her calf, rises more frequently when it is in her care. 

 In the rivers of L,onda, where they are in danger of being shot, the hippopotami 

 gain wit by experience; for while those in the Zambezi expose their heads, the 

 others keep their noses among the water plants, and breathe so quickly as to elude 

 all observation." 



On the banks of the White Nile, Sir S. Baker states that the favorite haunts of 

 hippopotami are the dense masses of tall reeds fringing the river. There they pass 

 a considerable portion of their time in marshy retreats among the canes; such dens 

 would be impervious to human beings, and would not be observed unless from a 

 vessel upon the river. The tangled mass of vegetation is pierced in numerous 

 places by dark tunnels, which have been bored out by their bulky forms, and these 

 gloomy routes form their channels of retreat, where they retire to sleep. Females, 

 with their calves, are especially fond of these impervious bowers, where they are 

 secure from all chances of molestation by man or beast. 



The hippopotamus is a purely herbivorous animal, and from its gigantic bulk 

 consumes an enormous amount of food. The capacious stomach, which, when ex- 

 tended, measures some eleven feet in length, is indeed capable of containing between 

 five and six bushels, which gives some idea of the vast quantity of nutriment the 

 creature requires. In uncultivated districts, grass and various water plants more 

 especially the lotus and papyrus afford the chief food supply; but where the land 

 adjoining the rivers is under cultivation, the damage done to growing crops of rice, 

 millet, maize, and sugar by hippopotami is incalculable. It is not only the amount 

 they actually eat (although this is large enough), but the quantity damaged in their 

 passage from one part of a field to another. Water plants are dragged up by the 

 roots from the beds of rivers and lakes, when not too deep, by the hippopotamus in 

 its capacious mouth, and after being brought to the surface, are devoured at leisure. 

 When starting for their nocturnal excursions in the fields, these animals seldom 

 leave the river till about an hour after sunset, and do not return till dawn. On 

 such expeditions they make a prodigious snorting and grunting, which may be 

 heard for long distances. 



There is usually but a single offspring produced at a birth, and Sir S. Baker says 

 that he has never seen a female hippopotamus accompanied by more than two 

 calves. The period of gestation is a little short of eight months, and it would seem 

 that the young may be brought forth at any season of the year. The mother, as 

 we have already noticed, is sedulous in her attention to her offspring, but the male 

 is apt to be evilly disposed toward it. Males, according to Sir S. Baker's account, 



