550 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



sparsely covered by short, bristly hair. Furrows, 

 which cross each other, divide the skin into scale- 

 like plates, which may be of large or small size. 

 The color is of ,a peculiar coppery brown, which 

 merges into a dark, dirty-looking red on the upper 

 surface and into a bright, purple-brownish tint be- 

 neath. Brownish and bluish spots, placed with a 

 -considerable degree of regularity, give the rather 

 uniform mass a certain diversification in coloring. 

 The hue changes, however, with reference to whether 

 the Hippopotamus is dry or wet. On just leaving 

 the water, its upper parts appear brownish blue, and 

 the lower surface nearly flesh-colored, but when the 

 skin dries, it becomes darker, nearly blackish brown 

 or slate-colored, or when the sun shines on its back, 

 it looks uniformly bluish gray. The total length of 

 an adult male Hippopotamus is from fourteen feet 

 to fifteen feet, inclusive of the tail, which is eighteen 

 inches long; the height at the shoulders is five feet. 

 The weight of the animals may'average from four 

 thousand to five thousand pounds, and probably 

 may rise as high as six thousand in an old bull. 

 The head alone of such a giant weighs fully four 

 hundred pounds. 



The dentition of the Hippopotamus differs from 

 that of the Swine, with which it most nearly corre- 

 sponds, less in the number of teeth than in their for- 

 mation. Each jaw contains four incisors, two ca- 

 nines and fourteen molars: thus the teeth are forty 

 in number. The two central incisors of the lower 

 jaw are separated from each other by a gap, are con- 

 siderably larger than the lateral ones, and are in a 

 certain sense similar to canine teeth. Those of the 

 upper jaw are smaller, curved and placed perpendic- 

 ularly to the jaw. The canine teeth of the lower 

 jaw are enormous tusks, averaging twenty inches in 

 length and eight pounds in weight; they are three- 

 sided, curved in a crescent shape, beveled at the 

 extremity, and marked with deep longitudinal fur- 

 rows; the upper ones, which are directed downward, 

 are perceptibly smaller and weaker than the lower 

 pair, but are also curved and beveled. The skele- 

 ton is exceedingly bulky in all its parts; the skull is 

 nearly rectangular, flat and compressed, the cerebral 

 area is small, the orbit is surrounded by a high ridge 

 formed by the frontal and malar bone, the remainder 

 of the bony framework is thick, clumsy and heavy. 



The Range of At present one must penetrate rather 

 the Hippo- deeply to the interior, coming from 

 potamus. the north, if he wishes to encounter a 

 Hippopotamus in Africa. The noted animals have 

 receded far towards the center of the continent along 

 the Nile. Only when one reaches the very heart of 

 Africa do the sculptured effigies in the Egyptian 

 temples, which date four thousand years back, be- 

 come living pictures before one's sight. There the 

 same animals are found to-day, among the un- 

 changed people; there we meet the Baboon and the 

 Crocodile, the sacred Ibis and the Tantalus, and be- 

 side them what remains of the Elephant, the Rhi- 

 noceros and the Hippopotamus. Wherever Man 

 rules undisputed the latter have succumbed to the 

 terrible firearms; but where he is armed only with 

 a spear or bow, they still confront him as living 

 enemies. The Hippopotamus is now extinct in all 

 parts of Egypt and also in Nubia, where Ruppell 

 found it in considerable numbers as late as the be- 

 ginning of this century. 



In east, south and west Africa the Hippopotami 

 descend much lower towards the coast than in the 

 northern half of the continent, and not infrequently 



even swim out to sea. They likewise go up a river, 

 as far as the force of the current permits them, and 

 thus it happens that they are found in the lake of 

 Tana in Abyssinia, which is situated 6,460 feet above 

 the sea. 

 General Traits of The River Horse is confined more 



the Hippopot- closely to the water than any other 

 amus. thick-skinned animal; for properly 



speaking it comes to the shore only in exceptional 

 cases: when the stream itself does not abound in 

 the plants which form the animal's customary food, 

 it leaves the water for the purpose of feeding. 

 Sometimes, however, it seeks the bank during the 

 day, to bask in the sun's rays. 



In favorable spots along a watercourse an expert 

 can soon discover the whereabouts of these gigantic 

 animals. At intervals of three or, at the most, four 

 minutes, during calm weather, one may see a jet of 

 spray rising to the. height of, about eighteen inches, 

 ^d-may hear a'riis'hihg, pufifing or snorting sound. 

 This means that a Hippopotamus has just risen to 

 the surface to breathe, and then, if the observer is 

 near enough, he may also see a part of the animal's 

 head: a shapeless, red or brownish red mass, upon 

 which may be distinguished two points — the ears; 

 and four little hillocks — the eyes and nostrils. It is 

 seldom that more than the upper part of the head of 

 a Hippopotamus is seen in the water, and even this 

 portion can be easily mistaken for something else, 

 when it is seen for the first time. By keeping to 

 the leeward and remaining quiet, it is easy to ob- 

 serve the animal swimming up and down as if in 

 play. 



The Hippopotamus is gregarious, only the old 

 males living a solitary life. A large pool is some- 

 times utilized for a somewhat protracted sojourn of 

 a herd of these animals. When they inhabit narrow, 

 shallow waters which, in many places, dry up during 

 the arid season, it can be observed that the animals 

 do not leave certain favorable spots during any part 

 of the day. They are also wont to hollow out for 

 themselves pits in the middle of the beds of shallow 

 rivers: long, deep depressions — the longest diameter 

 of which follows the same direction as the current — 

 in which they can dive conveniently and hide when 

 they are pursued. These, depressions are sometimes 

 connected by channels, hollowed out like ditches, 

 which form submarine pathways for the animals. 

 The Hippopotami In places where they deem them- 

 by Day and selves free from danger of molesta- 

 Night tion the animals seek, during the day, 



some spot near the bank, either in shallow water or 

 on the shore, and bask in the sunshine, abandoning 

 themselves to a dreamy, half-dozing condition, dur- 

 ing which they display a degree of blissful content- 

 ment equaling that exhibited by wallowing Swine or 

 bathing Buffaloes. At intervals the male animals 

 grunt like Hogs, or one of them lifts its head a little 

 to look around, but otherwise pay little attention to 

 the surroundings except in those localities where 

 they have learned to dread Man and his terrible fire- 

 arms. 



Toward evening the group shows signs of life. 

 The grunting of the male becomes louder and the 

 entire herd dive up and down the stream in play 

 and sometimes indulge in a merry chase. They 

 seem to like the neighborhood of vessels, and often 

 accompany boats on evening trips for considerable 

 distances. Sometimes they make such a terrible 

 noise, with their snorting, grunting, roaring and gur- 

 gling that they become veritable nuisances. They 



