THE GREAT THICK-SKINNED ANIMALS 
171 
can best dodge the attacks of his foe. They usually pursue each other 
in a clumsy gallop, round and round, in a large circle, until the ground 
shakes beneath them. If the elephant succeeds in making use of his 
long tusks, the fate of the rhinoceros is sealed, for as soon as the 
elephant has speared his enemy he stamps him to the ground with his 
heavy feet, then tries to render him harmless by destroying his head, 
and usually departs leaving a mangled carcass on the field. 
A peculiarity is noticed about the rhinoceros found in the forest. 
The upper lip hangs over and down in front a short distance. This 
is known as a prehensile lip and is not found in the rhino of the plains. 
An animal which is becoming very scarce and consequently 
desirable is Burchell’s white rhinoceros. The color is a dirty brown¬ 
ish-white and except that it is much larger than the black rhino and the 
front horn is longer, the general description is the same as are its 
habits. Mr. Roosevelt was particularly anxious to secure a specimen 
of this species, as their rapid extinction makes it improbable that they 
will last more than a few years longer, in spite of the game laws which 
are being made more and more rigid. 
The Hippopotamus. -Next among the pachyderm family and 
in the hunter’s estimation, comes the hippopotamus, the river horse of 
the ancients, though there is hardly any basis for the name save that it 
lives chiefly in or near the water. 
Not as large as the rhinoceros, the hippopotamus stands from four 
to five feet high at the shoulders and is from ten to eleven feet long. 
Hippo shooting is considered good sport. The hunter rarely 
ever secures an easy shot as the animals are found chiefly in the water 
and almost entirely submerged. Further than that, the skin, which is 
pinkish-brown in color, is so hard and thick that a shot must be very 
accurately placed to take effect. Its skin is naked, thick, and pene¬ 
trated by pores which exude or give out a thick, fatty liquid, which 
may perhaps be useful to it while in the water. The front part of the 
head is massive, and broader than that of any other living quadruped; 
the nostrils are comparatively small slits, which are closed and water¬ 
tight during the frequent dives beneath the surface of the water; the 
eyes are prominent, and placed far back in the head; and the ears are 
so short that they look as if they had been cropped. 
