THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 



thirty animals in a short time, when in the beginning 

 of his stay in East Africa he chanced to come upon 

 a large pool inhabited by river - horses, or, as they 

 should be called, "river-hogs." He saw the heads of a 

 few animals and fired at them. They disappeared, and, 

 as he ignorantly thought, came to the surface again. 

 He kept up his firing as long as his ammunition lasted, 

 and was greatly astonished when he saw, a few hours 

 later, thirty dead bodies floating about on the surface. 



He did not know that these animals, when mortally 

 wounded, sink immediately, often not floating again for 

 two or eight hours . The officer saw the error of his ways , 

 and, like a true sportsman profited by his experience. 

 But the average hunter does not, and this accounts 

 for the rapid extermination of these animals in East 

 Africa. 



I saw, in 1899, in the small lakes between the Meru- 

 berg and the Kilimanjaro— discovered by Captain Mer- 

 ker— at least one hundred and fifty river-hogs. When 

 I passed the lake again, in 1903, the number of " vibo- 

 ko"^ had dwindled down to a dozen or so. 



The river-hog is perfectly at home in the water. It 

 swims well, is able to dive quickly and to remain a 

 considerable time— up to twelve minutes— under water. 

 It need rise only at intervals in order to breathe. It 

 may do so by merely raising its nostrils above the water, 

 and thus remain protected, since a telHng shot can be 



> Plural of kiboko, the nati\-e name for the hippopotamus. 



