Volume 13, Plate VII / Mammalia (Mammals)

Common Hippopotamus

Hippopotamus amphibius

Chiefly inhabiting the rivers of South Africa and the Nile, the Hippopotamus is gregarious and herbivorous, quitting the water by night to feed on roots and succulent aquatic stems, its eyes, nostrils, and ears set on one plane so little of the bulk shows above water. Of uniform hue with skin above an inch thick and nearly hairless, it yields the firmest ivory, esteemed meat, and a prized fatty pork called sea-cow pork.