The hippopotamus is a good swimmer, and is able to dive, remaining under water for a considerable length of time. The young hippopotamus, pink, and as fat as a pig, rides on his mother's shoulders. He is a good diver too. When he wants his dinner he plunges beneath his mother's body. He seems able to remain there an indefinite length of time. The hippopotamus conceals itself in the water during the day time, and ranges abroad in herds at night for vegetable food. It is considered exceedingly destructive. It is found only in the rivers and ponds of Africa. It was forrnerly abundant and was much hunted by the natives both for its flesh and for ivory, but its range has lately been restricted to the upper Nile and to interior, inaccessible waters.
The hippopotamus was shown in Europe for the first time about 1850. The huge, waddling, three-ton hippopotamus is entirely too large for capture and transportation. The hippopotamus of the menagerie is taken when small and is reared for show purposes. The hunters in their canoes catch sight of a likely chap riding on his mother's back in the river. They close in and kill the mother with a harpoon. When her struggles are over they capture the little fellow, who stays by his mother's side, squealing to the last. They put him in a tank cage and supply him with goat's milk. When old enough to live on a partly vegetable diet he is shipped over seas, probably to Hamburg. With proper care the young prisoner becomes quite friendly and playful. The business of hunting the hippopotamus is not without danger. When infuriated by wounds or pursuit the adult rushes upon the hunters, and is quite capable of crushing the largest rowboat with a single snap of the jaws. The unlucky hunter who comes in the way meets the same fate.
