BASE OF SKULL OF HIPPOPOTAMUS,
SHOWING DENTITION.
LOWER JAW OF HIPPOPOTAMUS,
SHOWING DENTITION.
The River Horse is nocturnal in its habits, frequenting rivers and lagoons, and rarely leaving them or their immediate neighbourhood except at night, when it will go considerable distances in search of food, sometimes causing great damage to cultivated crops, which may be estimated from the fact that its stomach is capable of holding from five to six bushels. Its food consists principally of grass, young shrubs, and water plants, and it is particularly fond of green corn. When in the water its slow respiration enables it to remain for a long time beneath the surface without coming up to breathe; and the means of closing both its ears and nostrils against the access of water, before alluded to, is admirably suited for its aquatic habits.
STOMACH OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. (After Clark.)
a b c d, the four divisions in their order; p, partition in interior of division; œ, œsophagus; du, duodenum.
The first and only time in which any animal at all answering the description of the Hippopotamus is mentioned in the Bible is under the designation of Behemoth (Job xl. 15–24), and even then there is room for doubt as to whether the description may not be nearly as applicable to the Elephant, though on the whole it certainly suits the Hippopotamus better.