XII 
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 
3 
the displacement in water, but so nearly balanced 
that the animal can rise to the surface with very 
slight muscular exertion; and it can at the same 
time run along the bed of the river at great 
speed, as hardly any weight would press upon 
the limbs, the body being almost self-supporting 
in the water. 
The feet of the hippopotamus are shaped in 
a peculiar manner, which enables it to clamber up 
greasy and slippery mud-banks, at the same time 
that they are well adapted for swimming, or for 
travelling upon the spongy bottom. There are only 
four toes upon each foot; these are tipped with 
horny points, which afford good holding power 
either for ascent or descent. The toes spread 
widely upon soft ground, and although not actually 
web - footed, the skin between each toe expands 
to a certain degree, which assists the animal’s pro¬ 
gress when swimming by offering a considerable 
surface for resistance to the water. 
I measured a bull hippopotamus, 14 feet 3 inches 
from snout to end of tail; the latter being about 9 
inches. 
The legs are exceedingly short, being in the 
same proportion to the height of the animal as 
those of a well-bred pig. The head is enormous, 
and the mouth is the largest of any terrestrial 
creature in existence. Cuvier describes the teeth 
as follows :—“ Six grinders on each side of both 
jaws, the three anterior of which are conical, the 
posterior presenting two pair of points, which by 
