Dead hippopotamus in the Ruzizi River, near Lake Kivu, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"Lake Kivu is one of the Great Lakes of Africa. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, at the altitude of 1,463 m, and is in the Albertine (western) Rift, a part of the Great Rift Valley. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. Lake Kivu sits very close to the neighboring Nyiragongo Volcano and is one of three known volcanic lakes. During daylight hours, the common hippo spends almost all its time wallowing in shallow water. In the evenings, after the hot sun has set, common hippos come out of the water for a night of grazing. While hippos like to feed on patches of short grasses (called "hippo lawns") close to water, sometimes they must travel several miles (kilometers) to find food, making long trips on land to new lakes or rivers." This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.