THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 



{Hippopotamus amphibius) 



The very ugliness and .unwieldiness of the " River-Horse" — the Greek 

 name of the beast, which has been adopted as its English one — has 

 always attracted attention to it, and indeed it is one of the most re- 

 markable of hoofed animals, as well as the largest after the Elephants 

 and the great Rhinoceroses. Its relationships are not at all with the 

 Horse, the family to which it belongs being nearer to the Pigs than 

 to any other existing animals. It resembles Pigs in having four hoofs 

 on each foot, but all these touch the ground, and the weight is likewise 

 borne, as in the Tapir and Rhinoceros, by pads beneath the base of 

 the toes. The huge broad swollen muzzle is very unlike that of a 

 Pig, and the teeth are very characteristic of the animal. There are a 

 pair of huge canines in each jaw, which grow continuously, and, meet- 

 ing at the tips, wear each other flat, the upper pair being slantingly 

 bevelled off behind, and the lower in front. There are two pairs of 

 incisors in each jaw, of which those in the upper jaw curve outwards, 

 while the lower incisors project straight forwards in a very curious way, 

 and look like thick sticks of ivory. These also have continuous growth. 

 The small eyes have a bulging appearance, and the features, if the 

 expression may be permitted, are so arranged that the animal can 

 have its nostrils, eyes, and ears all above water, while the rest of its 

 body is submerges. The body generally is devoid of hair; but there 

 are a few bristles on the muzzle and on the short tail. Not the least 

 remarkable peculiarity of the Hippopotamus is that its sweat is red, 

 and has much the appearance of blood. The young animal, as the 

 illustration shows, is not so uniformly grey as its parents, and has a 

 much more reasonably-sized face ; there is only one at a birth, and 

 when quite small it has the habit of riding on the back of its mother 

 when in the water. 



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2 T 



