552 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



-swim in any depth of water witli a degree of ease 

 •and agility that is amazing and they go through the 

 water as swiftly as a row-boat, without making a rip- 

 ple, when they swim quietly. When, on the contrary, 

 a Hippopotamus is enraged and charges at an enemy, 

 •or blusters about after having been wounded, it jerks 

 its hind legs backward with extreme violence,, shoots 

 forward with powerful bounds, and may trouble the 

 ■waters of an entire lake, causing high waves on the 

 "whole of its surface. The force of its movements 

 under such circumstances is such that it has been 

 "known to lift boats of considerable size and dash 

 them to pieces. 



"To describe the vocal utterance of these giants 

 with even approximate accuracy," says Heuglin, 

 ■quite truly, "is beyond the power of words. It 

 •consists of a roar, bearing some resemblance to that 

 >of a Buffalo. Its tone is a deep, reverberating bass, 

 which sounds as if it came from the recesses of a 

 large, hollow barrel. The roar of a number of 

 males, each striving to outdo the others, suddenly 

 resounding through the quiet loneliness of night, 

 ■combined with the rushing, blowing and pufifing of 

 the diving Hippopotami, produces an infinitely ma- 

 jestic impression, which does not seem to be lost 

 even on the animals of the wilderness; for the Jackal, 

 the Hyaena, and even the Lion, are silent and listen, 

 when, like the rolling of an earthquake, the thunder- 

 ing voice of Behemoth booms over the watery sur- 

 face, resounds through the distance, and is lost in 

 the vast virgin forest." The voice of the Hippopot- 

 amus surpasses that of all other animals in volume, 

 "but is seldom heard in full force. 

 Habits of Feeding In the broad lagoon-like spots of the 



of the Hippo- upper Nile, abounding in vegetation, 



potamus. the Hippopotamus does not leave 



the stream even at night, or does so very rarely. It 



feeds in such places day and night on the plants 



growing in the water. 



Such is not the case in localities where it must 

 -ascend the bank to graze. About an hour after sun- 

 set it emerges from the water, listening and watching 

 with the greatest caution; in the neighborhood of 

 •cultivated localities it shapes its course towards the 

 plantations. There it works great devastation, some- 

 times laying waste an entire field in one night. Its 

 voracity is enormous, and if its numbers increase to 

 any extent, it, may become a serious plague, in spite 

 <)f the fertility Of its native country; for a much 

 jgreater quantity than the amount consumed is trod- 

 den down under its huge feet or broken <vhen it 

 wallows contentedly, like a Hog, in some shallow de- 

 pression after it has satisfied its wants. It consumes 

 all kinds of grain and all vegetables which are raised 

 in the country. 



The Hippopot- The Hippopotamus, however, is not 



amua a Danger- only hurtful to the crops on its forag- 

 0U8 F09. ':: ing expeditions, but may become a 

 monster perilous to the life of Man and beast. The 

 four powerful tusks are formidable weapons when 

 used against other anirrlals. Ruppell tells us of a 

 case, in which a Hippopotamus crushed four draught 

 6xen, which were quietly standing near a water- 

 wheel. "On the Kingani," says Boehm, "two women 

 who were loudly talking to each other, as they 

 passed by several feeding Hippopotami, were sud- 

 denly attacked by one of the animals and injured so 

 :severely by a few bites, that both died." The Hip- 

 popotami are not, however, regarded everywhere as 

 uncommonly dangerous; in some regions they are 

 jiot feared when on land, but only in the water. 



They seldom molest large vessels, but light boats 

 sometimes fare rather badly from their attacks. 

 "Lieutenant Vidal," says Owen, "had just started on 

 his trip on the river Tembi in southwestern Africa, 

 in a light boat, when he suddenly felt an exceed- 

 ingly powerful thrust from beneath, so that the stern 

 of the boat was nearly lifted above the water and 

 the pilot was precipitated overboard. The next 

 instant a gigantic Hippopotamus rose out of the 

 water, and, open-mouthed and with a fierce, menacing 

 look, rushed at the boat. It seized the craft between 

 its fearful jaws and tore seven boards off it at one 

 bite. Then it disappeared, but soon came up again 

 to renew its attack and was made to desist from 

 its purpose only by a shot fired at its face. The 

 boat, which immediately filled with water, was fort- 

 unately so near the shore that its occupants could 

 gain the land before it sunk. Probably the little 

 vessel had grazed the back of the animal and thus 

 provoked the attack." 



Similar stories, with manifold additions and mul- 

 tiplications, are current in many of the regions in- 

 habited by the thick-skinned fellows, if not in all, 

 and he who hears them is led to the belief that 

 they relate to everyday occurrences. Hippopotami 

 are quite frequently to be seen on some African 

 rivers, and in some special localities exist in large 

 numbers, and if they were as dangerous as they are 

 sometimes represented to be, all travel and traffic on 

 water-courses frequented by them would cease, or at 

 least would be greatly impeded. In reality, how- 

 ever, numberless frail craft ply along those streams, 

 past the huge creatures or between them, and are 

 not molested. 

 Birth and Youth The Hippopotamus is dangerous 

 of the Hippo- only when it is defending, its ybung. 



potamus. jt ig only during modern times that, 

 by watching captive animals which have bred in 

 confinement, observations concerning the pairing of 

 these animals and the birth of their young have 

 been made. In the free state, the young are born 

 about the first third of the rainy season, which 

 period always affords them the most abundant quan- 

 tity and succulent quality of food. This season of 

 tropical spring varies greatly in different parts of 

 Africa. The maternal Hippopotamus is tenderly 

 solicitous for her progeny, seeing impending danger 

 in the most harmless objects. Probably the father 

 also guards his offspring, but the mother is easily 

 recognized, never losing sight of her infant for an 

 instant, watching it with truly maternal care and 

 sometimes playing merrily with her pet. She suckles 

 it under water, but Theodor von Heuglin says that 

 the female gives birth to her young on the land, or 

 in some swamp, in a secluded lair. After birth she 

 does not always lead it straightway to the river, but 

 sometimes puts it into a pit, which the little beast 

 can not leave Without her aid. 



Dangers of Hunt- The blind rage of an infuriated Hip- 

 ing the Hippo- popotamus indicates clearly that the 



potamus. pursuit of the animal without fire- 

 arms of heavy calibre and great power is a sport not 

 exactly suitable for amateur hunters. Light rifle 

 bullets, even when fired at short range, seldom have 

 any effect. Ruppell says: "With one Hippopota- 

 mus which we killed we fought for four hours, and~ 

 it came very near destroying our large canoe and all 

 of us along with it. The twenty-five bullets we ficed 

 at the monster's head, from a distance of about sik 

 feet, pierced only the skin and the bone near the 

 nose. All other bullets lodged in the thick hide. 



