576 



Lte witk tkfr feir^ w wind, coae to Llo— i in mlnoet any wmrm water, and 

 lakes focHl^ behind dasa ridi in nutrients from the fertile 

 Oace it gets soins in ttese watns. it can fona a mat thick 

 to ««Ik «■. and sptead at a frightwii^g rate over hundreds of square 

 Its cu check a lirer's flc<w to a txickle. increase floods by bloekins 

 aad coBtrot-«ate& do? irri^tiaa canals and drainage ditches, bkx^ 

 tte pnssasp of boats tor transport or feAi^g- become entangled in a dam's tzmsh- 

 oncks or pcKKoeks and so stop the tmtines. poUnte the water with endleaeiT 

 nCtii^ v^eetotiaM, MUfajg off the fsh for lack o£ osy^en. harbor snail and 

 insect caniHS of biBmiaia. liver flake, miliiii encephaliris. bolt oat the son's 

 nys and ans intcsT«|it the photo^jmthesis necessaiy for phytoplan^too. a pri- 

 mary fish food, keep »»™**mm> reanrroiis half-empcy for rears or ftx^rer by 

 scttking 19 esght or ten times motv crater throng transpiration than losses 



it has anni^ed erery assault devised by man. Sawboats with 

 eontaptions my cut the same area four or fire times., and it 

 wffl still simwt again, fl^iffish lenf-eating beetles have beoi tnrDed loose on it 

 »mti retired in d^ear. Weed-eatii^ fish snch as rbe silv«- carp have beec stocked 

 jH hnge numlrm. only to end ^» as an expensive lunch fc«' cannibals like the 

 Mnrrei, wko kure to spvt among its trailing roots. 



Fkzmecs have tried to harreBt it as fodder fM- water-b«fEalo or pigs, bat the 

 prBceeai^ and pcH^age coet more than its worth. Hntkiddes have been ponred. 

 painted, sprayed from l-oats. the ^»ore, the air at huge expoise, some not poisoit- 

 ons eno B ^ others too much so for the fish, and us. 



There iimtini tlK miiia^'^, not easy to cone by. or keep. Some are l^t in 

 TtritiiA Guyana, but not many: they are too virtuoos, too g)X>d-tempered. and 

 mncfa too good to eat. Their flesh, depenfing on the cut. may taste like poultry. 

 fish or beef, while that of their T.:.niig is much Kke vea.L Their fat is more 

 dcfieio ns than b^ter. with a mild davor of pc^k in the youi^ ones and the added 

 adnuKtase of not going rancid in the heat. It is also a mfld lasative. and bums 

 brightiy in i«»pg if any further incentive to hxmt them were needed. Thoogh 

 dly at the hmter. they would nerer think of hunting him back, being strict 

 Tliey are iherefo^re incapable of frightening vaesi off. and ance they 

 and love ea^ otho*. th^ may even fioander after a hunter. 

 to be talseB along, if he is carrying off a mate. 



it is diis very g ffff dm* '' -^ that wiQ doubtless keep them from being saved, now 

 that we are trying rather late in the day to save them. Effnts have been made 

 to captiBre and bred them, in Mexico and the U.S.. in waters where they have 

 o^ly to reach oat a ffippo- for as m^nch as they want of the food they dote on. 

 Bnt only constant surrcillance can ke^ the hunters away, and no yoong 

 miaitff — they ^ost ^estate a year, and only one at a tinte — has yet beea bom 

 in eauUvily. 



