will the people didn't have the opportunity to see wild animals in captivity but nothing like hippopotamus high or elephants minutes if you look at his painting of the hippopotamus hunt he will think what had tred full beast what a monster. of ours it happens rubens modeled his portrayal on an exhibit of a baby hippopotamus displayed in florence's museum of natural history the us and. and there was nothing rubens wasn't interested in and his knowledge was encyclopedic. but evidently the taxidermist in florence had never seen a live hippo. and rubens can't be blamed for the imaginative portrayal. in