Show while few menageries or zoological gardens include hippopotami among the members of the animal world which they contain the general public Is nevertheless quite familiar with the appearance and characteristics of the great ungulates they have been de scribed in word and picture by in numerable naturalists historians and writers even of the ea est times we find unmistakable reference to them in the records of the ancient egyptians and to day there la little doubt that the behemoth of the bible was identical with the hippopotamus I 1 the central park zoo of new york city Is particularly fortunate in the possession of three splendid sped mens a pair of older animals and a young one the pair caliph and miss murphy are well known not only to those directly interested in these mat but also to the reading public for the huge brutes have been described and pictured in various publications caliph the great male which Is the subject of the accompanying interest ing engravings has been in the cen aral park zoo since 1889 while his mate miss murphy has been included in the collection for a somewhat short er period these two have proven re mar kably prolific and have presented an admiring public with eight healthy and these with the excel alon of the young one at present in the park have been sold to other menag eries this Is not an exceptional case for strangely enough these curious beasts thrive well in captivity and breed not infrequently were it not for the difficulty formerly experienced in securing original pairs they would to day be tar more common in zoo logical parks needless to say it Is very difficult to capture the tamus in a wild state and transport the animal uninjured to civilization though it this be accomplished fully he takes kindly to captivity and often lives contentedly for many years in fact a single specimen existed in the zoological park in london for over twenty eight years i hippopotami in captivity do not re quire the excessive care and attention which are usually necessary tor the well being of tropical animals one factor which Is of considerable addan tage in this respect Is the fact that the animals lack the restlessness and nervousness so commonly found in wild creatures though terrible fight ers it aroused they are even tempered and fairly intelligent and learn to obey the word of command of their keepers they appear to appreciate kindness and seldom it ever required punishment hippopotami are purely herbivorous and in the wild state teed upon grasses various water plants rice millet maize and similar growths this diet Is approximated as nearly as possible in captivity they are fed every da usually early in the afternoon tg fresh grass or hay various vegetable i and bread they have very heatch appetites and one can imagine th quantity of food that a hippo ca consume when one considers that tl stomach of a large specimen will sure as much as eleven feet in lengal the hippopotamus Is heir to te troubles natural attrition keeps hi teeth which grow throughout hia alfi time within proper bounds As he n only spends most of his waking hou in the water but often filba the also the frequent immersion s kee his thick sun in a healthy the water must have a temperature not less than fifty five degrees an must be maintained at this point th year around with the exception the usual attention regarding th cleanliness of the habitation othe necessary care includes merely th preparation of his food and the reg of the temperature |