230 WILD ANIMALS. 



tHese two different species of mammals, both of great size in tlieir 

 respective ways, and related by being inhabitants of the same 

 continent. In the one instance, we see a creature beautifully 

 marked, soaring gracefully aloft, mild featured, and of timid dis- 

 position ; in the other, when on land, a shapeless beast resembling 

 an immense Grerman sausage, with formidable fangs, stupid appear- 

 ance, and its cumbersome body grovelling on the earth. 



The hippopotamus is undoubtedly the ugliest and most ill- 

 favoured-looking quadruped that will come under our considera- 

 tion. It is huge-bodied, short-limbed, immensely large-headed, 

 and presents altogether an unwieldy, massive, and withal stunted 

 appearance. These creatures measure when full-grown somewhere 

 between twelve and thirteen feet from the snout to the tail, and 

 round the body a little over ten feet. This great length and 

 girth is supported on very short and feeble-looking legs, which 

 are only a little more than eighteen inches high, so that the 

 animal's body is barely lifted off the ground. Its full height 

 at the shoulders is under five feet, which by the standard of the 

 majority of other members of the animal creation, is out of all 

 proportion. Their feet have each four toes, which are, however, 

 enclosed in hoofs. 



The huge head is ornamented near the summit with two very 

 small ears, which are perpetually twitching, and is terminated by 

 a heavy, massive jaw with thick upper lips bulging over and com- 

 pletely covering the mouth. Its eyes, which are very small, are 

 situated but a little way apart, and in protruding sockets. The 

 nostrils, ears, and eyes are nearly all on the same plane, the flat 

 surface of the massive head. This very remarkable feature in the 

 construction of this singular beast permits it to breathe, and use 

 the senses of hearing, seeing, and smelling by only exposing a 

 very small part of its body; hence the custom it adopts of 

 floating in the water with only the upper level of the head resting 

 a little above the surface. Its slow respiration enables it to 

 remain under the water for long intervals at a stretch. It is, in 

 fact, in every way adapted to live both in the water and on land. 

 The massive body, ungainly as it may be, floats easily, and when 

 beneath the surface the hippopotamus can exclude the water by 



