WILD LIFE ACROSS THE WORLD 



Whilst we were at this place I noticed several giant 

 ants on the ground near my feet. I pointed them out 

 to Clark, at the same time warning him not to touch 

 them, as they are capable of biting unpleasantly hard. 

 Still, he thought he would like to try the experiment. 

 A minute later he was sorry he had not taken my 

 advice, for he received a most painful bite on the 

 thumb. 



We pitched our camp on the bank of the Tana 

 River, intending to use the spot as a base for 

 operations, and the following morning saw us out in 

 search of rhino, of which there were supposed to 

 be plenty in the neighbourhood. 



Two days later we went down the Tana River 

 in quest of hippo. I had been told that there were 

 numbers of these creatures about, but I also knew of 

 the difficulty of approaching them. Few animals are 

 more shy or more constantly on the alert than the 

 hippopotamus. It is only when you do not want him 

 that he seems to lose his natural diffidence. 



If I were asked to compile a Hst of ugly animals I 

 should give the wart-hog first place and the hippopotamus 

 second. Even under the most favourable conditions he 

 is a hideous, pinkish-blue coloured monstrosity; but 

 when he opens his great jaws so that they form a right 

 angle, and exposes his vast red cavern of a mouth, he 

 becomes a veritable nightmare. Moreover, he is apt to 

 become a terrible nuisance. Quite apart from his 



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