HIPPOPOTAMUS, the RIVER-HORSE, a genus of quadrupeds, belonging to the order of belluce; the characters of which are these: It has 6 foreteeth in the upper jaw, disposed in pairs at a distance from each other; and four prominent foreteeth in the under jaw, the intermediate ones being longest: the dog-teeth are solitary and obliquely truncated; and the feet are hoofed on the edges.
There is but one species of hippopotamus, viz. the amphibius, or river-horse. The history of this quadruped, though next to the elephant in magnitude, is far from being sufficiently delineated. The best description hitherto given of him is that of
Frederic Zerenghi, an Italian surgeon, published in the year 1603. Zerenghi killed two of them (a male and a female) on the banks of the Nile, preserved their skins, and brought them to Rome. Every skin took 400 pounds of salt in curing. He says, the skin of the hippopotamus is about an inch thick, extremely hard, impenetrable by a common musket-ball; and there are only a few short white hairs scattered very thin over it. The teeth are not protruded out of the mouth, as is commonly believed; for, when the mouth is shut, although the teeth be extremely large, they are entirely covered by the lips. The dimensions of the female, of which Zerenghi gives a figure, are as follow: From the point of the muzzle to the origin of the tail, between 11 and 12 feet; the circumference of the body about 10 feet; the height of the body, feet; the circumference of the leg, near the shoulder, 2 feet 9 inches, lower down 1 foot 9 inches; the height of the legs about 1 foot; the length of the feet from the extremity of the claws, inches; the claws are nearly of an equal length and breadth, and are somewhat more than two inches; each toe is furnished with a claw, and each foot with four toes. The tail is about one foot long, more than a foot in circumference near the origin, and about 3 inches near the point. The tail is not round, but flattish. The head, from the extremity of the lips to the neck, is about 2 feet 4 inches, and the circumference 5 feet 8 inches. The ears are about 3 inches long, and nearly as broad; they are a little pointed, and covered in the interior side with short white hair. The mouth, when open, is about 1 foot wide, and furnished with 44 teeth of different figures. Their teeth are of such a hard substance, that they give fire with steel. These dimensions are taken from a female hippopotamus; but the male is generally about one third larger.
With such powerful arms, and such a prodigious strength of body, the hippopotamus might render himself formidable to every other animal. But he is naturally of a mild disposition; and besides, his body is so heavy, and his motions so slow, that he cannot overtake any other quadruped. He swims swifter than he runs, and preys upon fishes. He dives in the water, and can stay very long under. He has no membrane betwixt his toes, as the castor or the otter; and he only swims easily in consequence of the great bulk of his belly, which makes him nearly of an equal specific gravity with the water. Moreover, he often keeps himself at the bottom, and walks upon the channel with the same freedom as upon dry land. Besides preying upon fishes, crocodiles, &c. he frequently goes out of the water and feeds upon sugar-canes, rushes, millet, rice, roots, &c. These he devours in large quantities, and often does great damage in the cultivated field. But as he is more timid on land than in the water, he is easily drove away. His legs are so short, that he cannot escape by flight when at a distance from the river. He generally flies when approached by people in boats; but, if they wound him, he returns with fury, attacks the boats with his teeth, and frequently oversets them.
This animal seems to be confined principally to the
rivers of Africa. The male and female generally go together, and the female is said to produce but one at a birth.