HIPPOPOTAMUS 



2800 



HIPPOPOTAMUS 



HIPPOPOTAMUS, hip o pot' a mus, a mon- 

 strous, clumsily-built land and water animal of 

 tropical African marshes, swamps and river 

 courses. It is related to the pig family, but 

 its name, from the Greek, means river horse. 

 This animal is represented by two living 

 species. One species, the common hippopota- 

 mus, often weighing 8,000 pounds, is, next to 

 the elephant, the most bulky of land animals. 

 The other, the rare pygmy, or Liberian, hippo- 

 potamus, is much smaller, weighing but from 

 400 to 600 pounds. The pygmy also differs 

 slightly from the common hippopotamus in 

 color and habits. 



The Common Hippopotamus. This species 

 is a huge, thick-skinned creature with a heavy, 



bristles on the muzzle and small bunches of 

 short hair on head, neck, ears and tail. The 

 tail is very short. A remarkable characteristic 

 of the hippopotamus is the red, oily substance 

 known as blood sweat, which flows through 

 the pores and covers the skin of the animal 

 when it is excited. 



Although clumsy on land, the hippopotamus 

 is an excellent swimmer and diver. It can 

 remain under water a long time, and when it 

 comes to the surface it spouts water from its 

 nostrils like a whale, though the stream is not 

 at all powerful. A male hippopotamus stands 

 nearly four feet high at the shoulder when full 

 grown, and is from twelve to fourteen feet 

 long. The color varies from dark brown to 



THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 



barrel-shaped body set on four short, thick 

 legs. Each foot has four toes, which are con- 

 nected by webs and rest flat on the ground. 

 The head is large,, lumpy and ugly, and is so 

 heavy that the animal usually props its chin 

 on some support when out of water. The ears 

 and eyes are small and piglike. Eyes and 

 nostrils are set so high that only a small por- 

 tion of the animal's face need remain above 

 the water to enable him to see and to breathe, 

 while the rest of the body is safely hidden. 

 The mouth of a hippopotamus is enormous. 

 When opened to its full spread of three or 

 four feet, numerous ivory-covered grinding 

 teeth may be seen. With these strong teeth 

 the creature is especially fitted to cut its food 

 of grasses and grains or to tear up and cut 

 through the stems of water plants. 



The skin of the hippopotamus is spongy.' 

 rough, thick and naked, except for a few 



bluish gray. Females are somewhat smaller 

 and usually of lighter color. One baby hippo- 

 potamus is born to a female each year. It 

 is taken to the water immediately, but is car- 

 ried on the mother's neck until it learns to 

 swim. It takes five years for it to attain its 

 full growth, and thirty or more years is the 

 average life of a hippopotamus. 



Hippopotamus flesh and fat are eaten by the 

 natives of Africa. The hides are used for 

 handle covers, whips and other purposes, and 

 the tusks and teeth, which are harder and less 

 liable to turn yellow than the ivory of ele- 

 phants' tusks, were at one time in demand for 

 the making of artificial teeth. Hippopotamus 

 hunting is a dangerous sport. Small boats are 

 always in danger when nearing an enraged' 

 hippopotamus, and even large boats have been 

 attacked. To obtain a specimen for a zoologi- 

 cal garden, a mother hippopotamus must be 



