THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 49 



were their dams not at hand to protect them, and there 

 seems to be little doubt that about calving time, either 

 the mother herself or others of the herd drive all the 

 crocodiles away from the vicinity of the pool in which 

 they happen to be lying. I noticed on two occasions on 

 the Sabi, that when a certain deep pool, always the haunt 

 of several crocodiles, became temporarily the resting-place 

 of breeding hippo, the crocodiles completely disappeared, 

 though they were subsequently found there when the 

 other animals had departed. 



The cows are, not unnaturally, inclined to be vicious 

 when their calves are small, and it is then that they 

 sometimes attack canoes and boats, perhaps seeing in 

 them strange monsters having designs on their little ones. 

 The old bulls, too, not infrequently act in a similar manner ; 

 but probably most of the accidents which occur are due 

 to animals, either in play, or by chance, rising beneath 

 the boat, and so capsizing it. Except when they are 

 wounded, hippopotami, having acted thus, seldom 

 actually pursue human beings in the water ; nevertheless, 

 it is no light matter to be upset in the middle of an African 

 river, swarming, as most of them do, with crocodiles. 

 The few hippos remaining in the pools just above the 

 Victoria Falls have become very savage and aggressive, 

 through continuous persecution, and accidents to boats, 

 often with fatal results to the occupants, are not at all 

 uncommon. Hunting hippopotami from a boat is 

 therefore one of the most exciting sports imaginable, just 

 as shooting at them from the shore is one of the tamest. 

 Some of the Nilotic tribes harpoon them with a lance to 

 which is fastened, by a long cord, a piece of the very light 

 ambatch wood. The latter acts as a float, and indicates 

 the exact position of the animal. The hunters then pursue 

 it, spearing the beast every time it rises to the surface to 



