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South African mamm
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SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
A SHORT MANUAL FOR THE USE OF FIELD
NATURALISTS, SPORTSMEN AND TRAVELLERS
BY
ALWIN HAAGNER, F.Z.8., &c.
Director National Zoological Gardens of South Africa ;
President Transvaal Game Protection Association ;
Vice-President S. A. Biological Society ;
Joint Editor 8. A. Journal of Natural History
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON :
H. F. & G. WITHERBY
326 HIGH HOLBORN, W.C.
CAPE TOWN:
T. MASKEW MILLER
29 ADDERLEY STREET
1920
TO THE
MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE OF MANAGEMENT
OF THE NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS OF SOUTH AFRICA,
PRETORIA, TRANSVAAL
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
TaBLe oF ConTENTS
List or ILLUSTRATIONS
INTRODUCTION
General Principles of Zoology
Order PrimatTEs
Family Catoapithesidss,
» Lemuride
Order CHIROPTERA ... :
Family Ptevonodides-
» Rhinolophide
» Nycteride ...
Vespertilionidze
Emballonuride
Order INSECTIVORA .. : ,
Family Tiidseonosliles
Hrinaceide ...
Soricidee
Chrysochloridz
Ped
Order CARNIVORA een
Family Mustelidee may
» Canidee
» Hyaenide
» Wiverride
» Felide
Order PINNIPEDIA
Farid ‘Olarlidee
» Phocidez
x TABLE OF CONTENTS
\
Order Ropewtia is
Family Sciuride
» Gliride
» Muride
» Bathyergide
» Pedetida
» Octodontide
» Hystricide ...
» Leporide
Order Hyracoipga ; Family Procavide ...
», PROBOSCIDEA...
» Unaubata a8 ve
Sub-Order Perissodactyla
Family Rhinocerotide
» Hquide ‘
Sub-Order Artiodactyla ...
Family Suide
», Hippopotamide
» Ruminantia...
» Giraffide
» Bovide
Sub-Family Bubaline...
4 Cervicapride
3 Bovine
Order SirEnia
» CETACEA and ee
Sub-Order Mystacoceti ...
o Odontoceti
Order EpENTATA ss
Family Manidee
» Orycteropodidz
INDEX...
PAGE
86
86
89
91
99
101
102
103
106
109
112
124
124
124
129
142
142
146
152
162
156
157
184
2.25
230
232
232
234
236
236
237
240
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
Froutispiece—In the Good Old Days ..
FIG,
Albino Vervet Monkey
Yellow Baboon
Chacma Baboon
Rhodesian Baboon
Grey Shrew
Albino Shrew <
Golden Mole at Hariimeand
Cape Otter .. ‘i
Side-striped Jackals
Cape Hunting Dog
Cape Long-eared Foxes .. ,
59 ‘i », and young
LBd > x? ”
Young Aardwolves
Civet-cat
Hunting fisapartee or 1 Oheotab
Cheetah Cub “6
Black-maned Lion
Lioness r oe Gs
Lion Cubs: 6 weeks old .
» 6 months ola:
Teopaedl Cubs aa
Leopard (female) ..
Serval
African Lynx or Grandes
Cape Sealions
Cape Dormouse
White-nosed Rat ..
-Giant Rat .. os ae
Cane Rats .. z
Albino Porcupine .. +3
Porcupines and Young
Rock Rabbits ode
8. African Elephant (Hen
Young Elephant :
W. Ayres
PAGE
F. Pollard we 6
8.A. Railways .. 10
A, K. Haagner .. 12
F, Pollard 23 15
R. H. Ivy ee BY
” ” as 32
age. rasp — 34
a . 40
A. K. Heapuer - ne 43
F. Pollard ey 46
C. J. Swierstra.. 47
A. K. Haagner .. 47
ee i a 48
Zoo. Records .. 50
A. K. Haagner .. 53
G. Tod .. by 66
A. K. Haaguer .. 67
A. H. Giovanetti 69
Zoo. Records .. 71
A. K. Haagner .. 72
a6 oe se 72
” ” 76
= ce wi WT
F. Pollard rae 79
oF ? ae 80
L. B. Jensen... 83
R. H. Ivy ag 90
LED a> sind 95
F. Pollard Ea 97
A. K. Haagner.. 1038
Zoo. Records .. 104
A. K. Haagner.. 105
F. Pollard -» 110
A. H. Giovanetti 112
F. Pollard -- 113
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
The Fallen Monarch a 5
Skeleton of S. African Elephant
Elephants feeding in the Marshes
Winding the Photographer
The Flight back to the Forest ..
Capturing a Young Elephant : Heed ng
Ready for his new home ‘
Driven into captivity
The last lap: into the box
The last bid for freedom
PAGE
Pp, Viana-Rodrigues
Trainiog a Young Elephant: After six montis is a
”
Herd. of Wild Blephants in them Forest "Home African Film
Head of Black Rhinoceros
Wounded Black Rhinoceros
Young Black Rhino
Baby Black Rhino
Quagga: now Extinct i
Zebras : Chapman’s, and one Gramahay
Burchell’s Zebra Mare (Bechuanaland)
Burchell’s Zebras ar
(Zululand)
i bopenaa 8 Pubes (Heavily scliele
cS Zebroid
Crawshay’s Zebra. .
Head of Cape Mountain Zebra ..
Baby ”
Cape Mountain Tebras (Bair)
Mountain Zebra: South-West Variety
Bushpigs : :
Warthog Sow
Hippo. resting in the Water
Hippo. Skeleton és
Hippopotamus Bull
Young Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus Wading .. ;
Landing a Dead Hippopotamus
Southern Giraffe .. oe
A Pair of Southern Giraffes
Method of Tying-up eae captured
Giraffe .. ia
Wild Animal Caravan
Red or Common Hartebeeste
35 siieidled by goat
Tishteasreien 8 , Eavtebaawt
Productions, Ltd.
A. H. Giovanetti
F, A. O. Pym
Zoo. Records
A. K. Haagner
F, W. Bond a
C.J. Swierstra ..
P. Hoogland
A. K. Haagner
Moe Brothers
C. J. Swierstra
A. K. Haagner
” »”
A. H. Giovanetti
F. A. O. Pym
F. Pollard
Zoo. Records
A. K. Haagner
A. H. Giovanetti
Zoo. Records
F. Pollard
Zoo. Records
Percy Clark
Zoo. Records
F. Pollard
C. J. Swierstra ..
C. J. van Rooyen
A. K. Haagner
Zoo. Records
Maj. C. E. FitzRoy
A. K. Haagner ..
Dr. Pirow
114
114
115
116
116
117
118
119
119
120
121
122
122
123
126
127
128
128
130
181
182
133
134
1385
136
137
138
139
140
141
141
148
144
146
147
148
149
150
151
153
154
155
155
157
158
158
160
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Bontebuck Ram ..
A Pair of Bontebucks
Blesbuck in the Zoo. .
Capturing Blesbuck on the Vela
Blesbuck and Springbok Shoot in the O.F.S.
Tsessebi or Sassaby 5
Brindled Gnu or Blue Wildebeest
White-tailed ‘Gnu or Black Wildebeest
in Fagard
Biue Doilkes or Pietie ~ z
Common Duiker: a Bushveld ‘ » Bag”
Albino Duiker ae ek
Klipspringer (Ram)
A Pair of Oribis ‘
‘* Fufwa,’’? N, Hhetadans the Head of
the Oribi
Lechwes Feeding ..
Lechwe Ram
Puku Ram .
Briuging in a aad: Puku
Reedbuck and Bushbuck
Vaal Rhebuck
Impalas in the Zoo.
Dead Impala Ram
A Pair of Springbuck
Young Springbuck
Springbuck Rams sparring
A Fine Springbuck Ram
Dead Roan Antelope
Sable Antelopes and Young One
A Pair of Sable Antelopes
Baby Sable Antelope
Dead Sable Antelope Bull
Gemsbuck Bull .. 3
Freshly captured Gemsbuck andl Eland
Cape Bushbuck ec ae
Horns of Female Busbanek
An ’Nyala Hunt .
A Fine Series of "Nyala Hens es
Record Pair of ’Nyala Horns
Sitatunga Ram... :
Young Sitatunga Ewe
Koodoo surprised in his Home ..
A Koodoo Family ..
A Young Koodoo Bull
Koodoo Heads
Albino Koodoo :
Unstriped Eland Bull
A. H, Giovanetti
S.A. Railways
A. K. Haagner
” ”
”
Maj. C. BE. "FitzRoy
A. H. Giovanetti
Maj. C. E. FitzRoy
A. H, Giovanetti
A. K. Haagner
Wm. Harvey
A. K. Haagner
F. A. O. Pym
A. K. Haagner
ae A ” ioe
Maj. C. E, FitzRoy
F. A. O. Pym
A. K. Haagner
S.A. Railways
F, A.O. Pym
A. H. Giovanetti
” ” ae
A. K. Haagner ..
Maj. C. E. FitzRoy
S.A. Railways ..
A. H. Giovanetti
A. K. Haagner ..
Maj. C. E. FitzRoy
A. K. Haagner
C. J. van Rooyen
Tom Jenkins
F. 0. Noome
J. de V. Roos
F. O. Noome
? o> a
A. H. Giovanetti
Ben Woest
Tent by C. G. Finch- Davies
A. K. Haagner ..
F. Pollard
A. K. Haagner ..
. Lent by C. G. Finch-Davies
A. K. Haagner ..
xill,
PAGE
161
161
163
164
164
165
167
167
169
170
173
174
175
177
179
179
186
187
188
188
190
192
194
194
196
197
197
198
200
202
203
203
204
206
206
208
209
210
211
213
214
215
217
218
218
219
220
221
Xiv.
FIG.
1381
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
LIST OF ILLUSTRAYVIONS
Herd of Eland
Striped Eland ae
Pair of Striped Eland Heads
Young Striped Eland
Young African Buffalo
+¥
Afvena Butals 6
Head of Buffalo packealy on Bulloel
Cape Buffalo a ane
Aardvark or Antbear
C. Newberry
Maj. C. EH. FitzRoy
” ”
Zoo. Records
A. K. Haagner
be] ” bis
Maj. C. HE, FitzRoy
F. A. 0. Pym
F. Pollard
PAGE
222
222
223
224
225
226
226
227
227
228
238
INTRODUCTION.
SoutH Arrica has been, from the early days of its
emergence from a simple home for savages, the happy
hunting grounds of sportsmen from all over the world,
and, alas! the ruthless shooting down of game by biltong
hunters, game-butchers, and the like, inadequate game
laws, with still more inadequate means of enforcing them
—coupled with an epidemic some years ago, called the
rinderpest — have sadly diminished our noble game-
animals.
In parts of Cape Colony, Koodoo, Elephant, and
Buffalo are still to be found, the two former in Albany
and the North-western Districts, while all three animals
still inhabit the Addo Bush and the Knysna Forests.
Buffalo may still be located in the thick bush near Port
Alfred as well. Elephant and Buffalo are now Royal
Game, but may be shot on a special permit, if found
destroying crops. Koodoo can be shot on a special
licence.
Since these lines were penned, the Cape Government
has signed the death-warrant of the Addo herd of
Elephants, and Major Pretorious, D.8.0O., of Hast African
fame, has been engaged to exterminate this monument
of Nature. All the efforts of the Transvaal Game Pro-
tection Association and various scientific bodies in South
Africa could not budge the members of the Provincial
Council. What the author of this work takes such strong
XVi. INTRODUCTION
exception to is the proposed total extinction of the herd.
Surely a few females and a young bull could do no harm,
especially after having had the wits scared out of them!
In the mountain regions of Cradock, Oudtshoorn, and
George, the Mountain Zebra is still to be found, and a
permit—fortunately now not easily obtainable—is required
to shoot or capture them. Probably not more than 400
are still left alive.
On one or two farms in the Bredasdorp district of the
Cape Province, Bontebok still linger in a semi-domesti-
cated state, but were it not for the praiseworthy efforts
of the Albertyns and the Van der Byls, this pretty
Antelope would long since belong to the past, in company
with the true Bluebuck and the Quagga.
In parts of the Orange Free State, especially in the
Winburg, Kroonstad, Hoopstad, and Boshof districts,
herds of Black Wildebeest, Blesbuck, and Springbuck
still roam the flats—but, alas! not in the countless
numbers of Baldwin’s and Gordon Cumming’s days.
Even during the last eight or nine years their numbers
have sadly diminished, owing to wanton and _ indis-
criminate shooting for the markets; happily this lament-
able state of affairs is being recognized, and attempts are
being made to remedy the evil, even at the eleventh hour.
In the Cape, Transvaal, and Natal, and even in Rhodesia,
Game Reserves exist in which our beautiful Antelope are
steadily increasing. Some farmers, too, are beginning to
realize what an asset game is to their farms, and do not
now ruthlessly mow down their Buck in hundreds for the
sake of the biltong and skins, as their predecessors did
fifteen or twenty years ago.
There are, however, still some who allow butchers—
sportsmen they cannot be called—to shoot down every-
thing within their reach for a few pounds per annum for
INTRODUCTION XVil.
the sole purpose of making profit out of the game on
the Johannesburg and Kimberley markets. We know of
one case in a certain village in the Free State where
a man and his sons had the shooting rights on a farm
teeming with game, and, although fairly well-to-do
people, this family party sent up to the Johannesburg
market hundreds of head of game every month, until the
constant inroad upon the supply caused a total destruc-
tion of all game on that particular farm !
lam, of course, not against the legitimate sportsman
who is naturalist and sportsman enough to recognize the
facts aforementioned and who is often quite willing to pay
for a few days’ shooting. I sincerely hope farmers and
landowners will realize the important fact that the game
is not merely their property, but that it is an asset to the
country and belongs quite as much to their heirs and
successors.
I have given a good deal of thought to this vexed
question, and the only practical solution of the problem
I can think of, without waiting until most of the Antelope
have to be totally protected, by being proclaimed Royai
Game, is the prohibition of the sale of game-meat on the
markets, or by wholesale butchers, except in certain
instances, such as Springbuck and similar cases where
the animal is plentiful, when a special permit from the
Administrator should be allowed for sportsmen to shoot
or remove game in certain quantities from one Province
to another, or to his home, upon a certificate from the
Resident Magistrate of the district in which he has been
shooting. At any rate, something drastic will soon have
to be done. There are in South Africa a number of
people—ehiefly Boers—to whom the “sport” of shooting
does not appeal. They only shoot for the pot, and to
them such ideas as not shooting a Partridge on the
XVH1. INTRODUCTION
ground, &c., seems farcical. These men will not realize
that the game is either Government or private property,
and they look upon poaching as legitimate “sport.” It
is largely the poacher—in and out of season—who is
causing the scarcity of game, and, in order to try and
stop him, the author appeals to all shooting men with
sporting instincts in this country to join the Game
Protection Associations, or, at least, to report all cases
of illegal shooting which come to their notice.
J am not a rabid protectionist, and do not advocate the
“protect at any price”’ theory, or the protection of birds
and animals when these are destructive to crops, or are
otherwise detrimental to the interests of the human
race. I adinit the wisdom of their destruction or confine-
ment to some circumscribed area, but before drastic action
is taken let us be sure of our facts.
For this reason IJ am at present against the wholesale
and indiscriminate slaughter of the game animals in
large areas in Zululand, and the total extermination of
the Addo Elephants. When they are once gone, nothing
can bring them back, and the men who advocate and
sanction such acts without full justification and without
exhaustive inquiry are taking a grave responsibility on
their own shoulders.
This is also the opinion of one of the leading American
authorities.
This book has therefore been written with a threefold
object: Besides being an introduction to the study of
South African mammals, this work is also intended as
a short manual for the use of sportsmen and travellers
and the amateur naturalist generally.
As the author has spent twelve years amongst wild
animals in the National Zoological Gardens, it is also
hoped the work may be of some assistance to the workers
INTRODUCTION XIX.
amongst living wild animals in South Africa and else-
where; and to this end I have included remarks upon
their feeding and treatment in captivity, as well as some
of my personal experiences.
To my critics I would point out: firstly, to the
zoologist, that while I could have made the work much
more “‘scientific,” I would, in so doing, have defeated
my main object; and to the literary critic, that I have
purposely adopted a more or less ‘‘ note-book’’ style,
considering this quite adequate for a work of this nature,
and the saving of space being to-day a big consideration.
Many of the illustrations in this book are from life,
either from animals in the National Zoological Gardens
or in the field. As it is often not possible to photograph
the living animal in its native wilds, I have included
pictures of dead game animals as they fell in the field,
to show more or less the nature of the country they
inhabit.
My thanks are due to Mr. W. L. Sclater, M.A., of
London (one time Director of the South African Museum
in Cape Town) for so kindly undertaking the revision of
the proofs for ne; to His Worship the Mayor of Pretoria
(Mr. C. W. Giovanetti) for placing at my disposal the
photographs of his son, the late Lieutenant Giovanetti, of
the Royal Flying Corps; to Major C. EH. FitzRoy, of His
Excellency’s Staff, for the loan of a number of interesting
photographs of game-trophies in the field; to Mr. P.
Viana-Rodrigues (Administrator of Maputoland) for an
interesting series of photographs of wild and tame
Elephants; to the African Film Productions, Ltd., Johan-
nesburg, for the loan of a photo of wild Elephants in the
bush; to Dr. A. A. Schoch, of the Transvaal Attorney-
General’s Office, for a number of weights of game taken,
often at great inconvenience, in the field: also for the
XX. INTRODUCTION
loan of photos to Mr. L. B. Jensen, of Jobannesburg ;
Mr. J. de V. Roos (Auditor-General), J. R. Ivy, and
R. H. Ivy, of Pretoria; to Lieutenant C. G. Finch-
Davies, 1st $.A.M.R., F. O. Noome, and C. J. Swierstra,
of the Transvaal Museum ; to Frank Pym, of the King-
williamstown Museum; the 8. A. Railways (Publicity
Dept.); Ivan Ayres; G. Tod; P. Hoogland; Percy
Clark; Moe Bros.; ©. J. van Rooyen; Dr. Pirow ;
Mr. Harvey of Bindura, S. Rhodesia; T. Jenkins; Ben
Woest, and to the Zoological Society of London for kind
permission to reproduce a photograph of the now extinct
Quagya.
I have to acknowledge having made free use of Rowland
Ward's “Records of Big Game,” 1914 Edition, for the
record measurements; but a number of new records
have been established since the issue of this work. To
these I have added the name of the owner, or the
authority for the measurements given.
I am also indebted to Mr. W. L. Sclater’s ‘‘ Mammals
of South Africa ’’ for much information.
SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMAIS
A SHORT MANUAL FOR THE USE OF FIELD
NATURALISTS, SPORTSMEN AND TRAVELLERS.
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ZOOLOGY.
BEFORE proceeding to the individual descriptions of
the quadruped animals or mammals found in South
Africa, a short account of the principles of zoology may
not be out of place.
Animals form the great division in Nature termed the
“Animal Kingdom,” in opposition to the ‘‘ Vegetable”’
and ‘‘ Mineral” Kingdoms. A concise and exact definition
of an animal is not easy. Linneus, the first systematist
who reduced the chaos existing in his time to some-
thing like order, wrote the following as his description :
‘Stones grow; vegetables grow and live; animals grow,
live and feel.” Rymer Jones, in his “ Natural History
of Animals,” vol. i, gives us another definition: “Animals
are possessed of an internal receptacle for food wherein
they collect the nutriment destined for their support.”
The Animal Kingdom may roughly be divided into
two great groups, the Vertebrate (or animals possessing
a vertebral column or backbone) and the Invertebrate
(animals without this appendage). The full classification
in modern use is too long and complicated to warrant
inclusion in this work, and the reader must refer to one
1
2 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
of the numerous text-books on Zoology if he wishes to
probe more deeply into the subject.
Animals may be classified, commencing with the lowest
forms and ascending to the highest; or the reverse
method may be adopted. The latter is the system used
in this sketch, as the only comprehensive modern work
dealing with South African mammals is classified in this
way. The following is a more complete list of the Sub-
Kingdoms into which the Animal Kingdom has been
divided: Vertebrata (backboued animals), T’wnicata (sea-
squirts, &c.), Mollusca (mussels, snails, &c.), Molluscowdea
(moss-corals and lampshells), drthropoda (lobsters, crabs,
and insects), Vermes (worms), Echinodermata (starfish,
sea-urchius, &c.), Coelenterata (sponges, corals, and jelly-
fish), and Protozoa (the lowest forms of animal life,
including the germs of many diseases),
VERTEBRATE ANIMALS.
The Vertebrates, as already stated, constitute the
highest group of animal life, and are mainly charac-
terized by a vertebral column or backbone, which consists
of a number of bones called vertebra, joined together by
ligaments. Through the centre of the backbone runs a.
canal containing the spinal marrow (a cord of nerve
tissue running from the brain to the end of the column).
On the opposite side of the backbone or spine there is a
much larger cavity, formed by the ribs and breastbone,
which contains the heart, lungs, liver and intestines, &c.
Vertebrate animals are still further characterized by
the possession of not more than four limbs, and by the
fact that the jaws are situated one above the other, or
“upper and lower.”
GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF ZOOLOGY 3
The Vertebrate Sub-Kingdom is divided into the
following five classes :—
(1) Mammalia (mammals, animals which suckle their
young).
(2) Aves (birds).
(8) Reptilia (reptiles, snakes, lizards, and turtles).
(4) Amphibia (frogs, newts, and salamanders).
(5) Pisces (fish).
Order PRIMATES.
(Apes, Monkeys, and Lemurs.)
The form is more or less human-like, with a tendency
in the animal to assume an upright position. Body
covered with hair. Feet hand-like in shape; as a rule,
five digits to each foot—both hands and feet forming
grasping organs, the big toe being opposable to the other
toes, a feature man has lost. The collar-bone is well
developed, and the sockets of ,the eyes are completely
surrounded by a bony ring. The mamme are thoracic
and two in number.
Of the man-like Apes (Simiide#) South Africa possesses
no representative.
ea
Family CERCOPITHECIDAL.
This family includes the Old World Monkeys and
Baboons, which are quadrupedal and possess naked
patches of hard skin on the buttocks termed “ cal-
losities.”” The number of teeth is the same as in the
man-like Apes, viz., 32, but differing from those of the
Similde by the two-ridged character of the molars.
Dentition: Incisors 2-2, canines 1-1, pre-molars 2-2, and
molars 8-3. Tail not prehensile.
Cercopithecus pygerythrus. Vervet Monkey. Blaauwaap.
(Also called the Grey Monkey and the Natal Monkey
by the Colonials.)
Description : Above of a grizzly greenish-grey colour—
greyer in some individuals, darker in others. The hairs
are ringed alternately with black and white or black
VERVET MONKEY 5
and yellow. A narrow band across the forehead, chin,
cheeks, and underparts, including the insides of the
limbs, a dirty white. Face, hands and feet black. The
hairs at the root of the tail reddish. The scrotum is
of a bluish-green colour, hence the vernacular name of
“Blaauwaap” given to it by the Dutch South African.
Young animals are greener in colour than the adults.
The total length is about 4$ feet, whereof the tail
measures 2 feet. I have, however, occasionally seen
larger examples. Trouessart, ‘“‘ Catalogus Mammalium,”
recognizes two species of Vervet, the other one being
C. lalandei, but the matter requires further working up,
although my own opinion is that in South Africa there is
only one species.
A sub-species, C. p. rufoviridis, is recorded from
Portuguese East Africa.
The Vervet is the commonest monkey in South Africa,
and is found in all the wooded tracts, ranging from
Swellendain in the Western Cape Colony through the
Eastern Districts, the Orange River basin, Natal and
Zululand, to the Transvaal. I found it common at
Vliegepoort, Rustenburg district, and also along the
Maputo River in Portuguese South-Kast Africa. It lives
in troops of from three to several dozen individuals, and
feeds upon the gum of the Mimosa tree, berries and
fruit, including prickly pears, insects, spiders, vegetables,
&c., and in cultivated districts (like its larger relative the
Baboon) is much given to thieving.
The cry of the Vervet Monkey is a harsh, loud,
cackling bark, but it also emits a peculiar, soft rattle-
like grunt expressive of pleasure or curiosity, or when it
desires to attract attention. When young it makes an
amusing and lovable pet, but when old it very often
becomes treacherous and cranky, and cannot be relied
6 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
upon. Several hundreds of these animals have passed
through my hands at the Pretoria Zoo, and of all the
adults there were only two that I could really trust.
They are quarrelsome animals, and it is almost impos-
sible to keep a number of them together in a cage, the
stronger fighting continually amongst themselves, and
bullying the weaker.
Fie. 1.—Albino Vervet Monkey.
The peculiar fact noted of the young one born in the
London Zoo was substantiated in an instance in the
National Zoological Gardens, namely, taking both teats
of the mother in its mouth at once. The mother lost
the hair of the white frontal band on the forehead before
the birth of her baby, which, however, had grown out
again by the sixth week after the birth of its young one.
Neither of these facts appear to be constant, as there is
now a young one in the Zoo which often uses only one
teat, and its mother has only lost a little of the hair of
the frontal band. The first-mentioned little one was
born on October 1, 1909, and at the date of its death—
MOZAMBIQUE MONKEY 7
at the age of ten months—was not even half grown, so
that the growth to maturity would probably occupy three
to four years. The newly-born Vervet is of a much
darker and greener shade than the adults, which becomes
paler and greyer as the animal gets older. When a fort-
night old he was first allowed on the ground, but not
beyond arm’s length of his doting mother, whose fond
and solicitous regard was ludicrous, and even touching.
At the age of one month he climbed about the branches
of the tree-perches by himself, but was not allowed to
go far. The Zoo possessed several pure albinos of the
Vervet (with pink eyes) from the Orange River, pre-
sented by Mr. Montague Gadd, of Tafelberg, the first of
which after four years in the gardens died of acute
dysentery.
Mona albigularis, var. beirensis. Mozambique Monkey.
Mozambik Aap.
The colour on the head and shoulders is a dark
speckled greenish grey, the cheeks being paler. The
region from the back to the tail is of a speckly greenish
yellow, the hair being ringed with alternate yellow and
black. Below, greyish or dirty white, with the exception
of the chin and upper chest, which is pure white.
The fore limbs are black, the hinder limbs paler (ashy
black), the feet are black, and the root of the tail is
rufous. Base of tail yellowish rufous, darkening to the
final three-quarters, which is quite black. There is no
white frontal band on the forehead. This animal is about
the same size as the Vervet. It is an East African
species, and was included by Mr. W. L. Sclater in the
fauna of South Africa on the strength of an example
collected at Umtali in Mashonaland, and presented to
8 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
the S.A. Museum by Mr. Morrison. Mr. Claude
Grant, of the British Museum, collected a female in
the Woodbush in 1905, and says they are common
there, but difficult to obtain on account of their warl-
ness. Natives of the Northern Transvaal in my employ,
upon seeing an example of the Samango, stated that it
was found in the Zoutpansberg, but they were evidently
confusing it with the present species—a natural enough
mistake for an uneducated native to make, and one
which many unobservant white men would probably
follow. The Zoo has had examples from the neighbour-
hood of Delagoa Bay and Southern Rhodesia.
Mona samango. Samango Monkey. Samango Aap.
Colour of the upper parts a dark grizzled grey, darker
on the head and shoulders. Underparts resembling those
of the Vervet--being of a dirty or yellowish white.
Face, fore limbs, hands and feet black. Outside of hind
limbs dark grey, nearly black on the upper portion of
the hips. Ears whitish. The hair of the cheeks long
and forming side- whiskers. The terminal three-quarters
of the tail is black. The Samango further differs from
the Vervet monkey in having no white frontal band and
no red hair at the root of the tail. It is a slightly larger
animal, measuring from 4 to 4} feet in total length, the
tail alone measuring from 2 to 23 feet.
This isa much scarcer monkey than the Vervet, and
has a much more restricted range, being confined to the
thickly wooded portions, from the Pirie Forest near
Kingwilliamstown, ranging through Pondoland and Natal
to Zululand. Mr. W. L. Sclater states that it is also
found in Portuguese East Africa, which I much doubt,
this species having been confused with the preceding one.
YELLOW BABOON 9
The National Zoological Gardens has been indebted on
more than one occasion to my friend, Mr. Frank Pym,
of the Kingwilliamstown Museum, for examples of this
pretty monkey. It appears to be nothing like so hardy
in captivity as its commoner relation, the Vervet, and is
of a more restless disposition, and never seems to wholly
overcome its natural shyness. Mr, Pym tells me it is
seldom seen far from the forest, although it occasionally
makes short trips into the mealie fields after the grain
and pumpkin crops. “Its home is undoubtedly in the
thickest part of the forest,’ he writes, ‘‘and it is extra-
ordinarily shy and difficult to shoot. The males occa-
sionally give vent to a call, which may be described as
a quick series of coughing grunts. This can be heard
at a long distance, and is surprisingly vociferous for so
‘small an animal. If the vegetation is sufficiently dense,
the Samango does not make off when approached, but
conceals himself in a wonderful manner, not even its
tail showing. I have never heard of its associating
with the commoner Vervet. Its food consists of fruits,
berries, leaves and insects. One I had in captivity
caught and devoured a chicken.”
Papio cynocephalus. Yellow Baboon. Geele Baviaan.
The colour varies from an ochreous to a brownish
yellow. A very old male in the Pretoria Zoo is of a
greenish tinge much resembling one form of the Chacma.
The underside is paler and the whiskers are yellow.
It is a much thinner, lankier built animal than the
Chacma, with relatively longer limbs and shorter muzzle.
It is the East African species, and within our limits
occurs in Portuguese South-East Africa. The National
Zoological Gardens contain two males from the first-
10 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
named territory, one from Barberton’ and one from
British East Africa. Both the first-named have now
been in the gardens since November, 1905, and although
tractable animals with anyone they know, are vicious
Fig. 2.—Yellow Baboon.
with strangers. The older one of the two once gave
us a lot of trouble. He broke loose owing to being
teased by some thoughtless visitors to the gardens,
and ‘bolted’ through the grounds, followed by two
of the keepers and half-a-dozen natives. He would
let no one come near him and would show fight upon
1 This record must be an error in the books of the Zoo.
CHACMA BABOON 11
the approach of anybody. He eventually allowed him-
self to be caught by his own particular “ boy,’ who
had arrived on the scene, and led home like a Jamb.
When irritated by the public he used to throw stones
at them while he was located on the old pole-stand,
which was on the natural ground floor, but after the
new stand had been built on a concrete floor he resorted
to dashing water over his tormentors, and many a man
and woman has, been justly rewarded for teasing with
a sudden and unexpected ducking.
Choiropithecus porcarius. Chacma Baboon. Baviaan.
This animal is‘subject to a large amount of variation,
and whether two or more sub-species exist is at present
“not clear. Mr. Pocock has recently separated the Trans-
vaal form from that of the Cape, but so far I can see no
reason for so doing. The Chacma is usually of a dark
olive-brown colour, darker on the lower half of the limbs
—the hands and feet being generally black. Muzzle
elongated.
Some individuals are yellower, others greener in tone.
The length of the héad and body is about 3 feet, tail
14 feet. This animal is known to the Boers as the
Baviaan, and is pretty evenly distributed all over the
sub-continent. The Baboon with its dog-like face and
sharp barking howl, is well known to nearly every
resident in South Africa. It inhabits rocky hillsides
and kranzes all over South Africa, being even found on
Table Mountain. They go about in groups of various
sizes, and are so depredatory in some districts that the
farmers organize hunting parties to rid themselves of
a few of the brutes. They live on fruit, vegetable
matter, insects and spiders, and pillage the farmers’
12 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
mealie crops. They feed as a rule in the early morning
and towards dusk. When encamped with a companion
on the banks of the Crocodile River in the Hartebeest
Poort (District Pretoria) one moonlight night, we could
not get to sleep on account of the Baboons, which came
swarming over the kranzes about 600 yards from us,
Fig. 3.—Chacma Baboon.
as we lay motionless under the trees. The barks of
the adults and the incessant screaming of the young
ones was anything but pleasant, and we could watch
their every movement, it being a bright moonlight night.
When feeding they are in the habit of throwing out
sentinels to warn the troop of impending danger. When
young they make pleasant pets, being intelligent and
confiding, but old animals can seldom be trusted; they
CHACMA BABOON 13
are generally a little too ready with their powerful teeth.
In the Eastern Province of the Cape the writer has seen
large troops of Baboons stealing the green mealie-cobs
and pumpkins from the lands, and a favourite method of
killing them was to set a spring-gun across an opening in
the hedge which surrounded the fields. They are often
very tenacious of life, and old males sometimes take a lot
of killing, although Major Hamilton thinks differently.. I
once saw an old male with five bullet holes in him being
dragged along by natives, and he was continually catch-
ing at and holding on to tufts of grass, bushes, &c., until
a bullet in his brain put an end to his misery. Another
hideous sight I have seen on more than one occasion
was the tearing out of the entrails by Baboons wounded
in the stomach. They will also stuff the wound with
grass.
The Chacma is fairly sagacious, and soon learns to
perform various tricks, hence being in constant demand
by circuses and menageries. An old male in the Pretoria
Zoo was very good at somersaults, but he would not
exhibit his skill without payment. I have repeatedly
tried to cheat him into imagining I had food in my
pockets for him, but he would take no notice of such
make-belief, and refused to ‘show off’ until the tit-bit
was openly shown him.
Another individual we have had for some time has
learnt quite a number of tricks, and besides throwing
somersaults, he twists or waltzes round to the left,
as well as to the right, stands up, gives the military
‘ salute, shakes hands, puts on a hat, and fetches a stone or
any other handy article pointed out to him. However,
like the first-mentioned animal, he refuses to perform
without being shown a reward in the way of something
tasty, or he has to be threatened with a whip or stick.
14 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Choiropithecus rhodesiz, Haagner. Rhodesian Baboon.
Bhodestes Baviaan.
Description.—Upper parts of a grizzly olive-yellowish
colour, much darker on the crown and along the spine,
where the hairs are long and tipped with black, forming
a mantle. These long hairs range from 5 to 12 inches
in length. Legs, feet and tail coloured like the sides,
the individual hairs being ringed with black and yellow,
the tips being pale yellow and the bases grey. Below
pale greyish white, especially the chin, lower cheeks and
throat, insides of the legs, belly and a patch behind each
armpit; chest and limbs speckly. Muzzle considerably
lengthened and pointed, more resembling that of the
Chacma, and not short and rounded like that of the
Yellow Baboon. Length of the head and body 3 feet
6 inches to 3 feet 9 inches. Length of snout from tip of
nose to frontal ridge between eyes 6 inches. Jength of
forearm from tip of middle finger to end of elbow
164 inches. Length of hand from tip of middle finger
to metacarpal joint 6 inches. Length of top canines
24 inches. Ears rather small and almost hidden by the
hair of the upper cheek. Tail long (2 feet 4 inches).
Remarks.—This animal is bigger and heavier in build
than any Chacma or Yellow Baboon we have ever
possessed. In coloration the Rhodesian Baboon some-
what resembles the Yellow Baboon, but is darker and
in build is much more like the Chacma. It lacks the
darker tip to the tail often found with the latter animal,
and has not black hands and feet. The cry of this
species also differs somewhat from that of the Chacma,
being shorter and more cough-like. This example was
received in February, 1913, along with two others from
Central Rhodesia, and noticing well-marked differences
from young Chacinas, I kept one to see whether these
16 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
characters would persist in the adult animal. The
example is now 6 years old and, I should say, fully
adult; I am describing it as well as I can from a living
specimen. I have since received a skin and skull from
a friend at Marandellas in Mashonaland, who told me,
before he saw our example, that their Baboon was dif-
ferent from the Chacma, and that it is common in
that neighbourhood, but not easy to obtain on account
of its wariness and the hilly nature of the regions it
frequents. The receipt of the skin and skull confirms
my opinion as to the novelty of the species. The skull
appears to be intermediate in general characters between
the Chacma and Yellow Baboons, and can be described
as follows :—
Skull of Rhodesian Baboon.—Parietals not so rounded
or high as in porcarius, more like those of cynocephalus;
sagittal crest more developed, although in very old
Chacmas this is more advanced than that of the example
on the accompanying plates; frontals wider; supra-
orbital ridge well developed ; squamosal not so deeply
dented as that of the Chacma. Nasals long, and broader
than those of the Chacma, the nasal opening or orifice
being much wider and more open than that of the
Chacma, resembling in this detail more the skull of
the Yellow Baboon; maxille higher, with the ridges
more pronounced than those of the Chacma Baboon.
Measurements (in millimetres).—Total length of skull,
217; zygomatic width, 120; occipito-nasal length, 171;
intertemporal width, 61; medium length of nasals, 77;
length of upper canine, 40 (tips badly worn); length of
upper molar series, 61; lower molar series, 82; length of
mandible, 162.
As will be seen from the above, the skull—like the rest
of the animal—partakes of the characters of both the
Chacma and Yellow Baboons,
THICK-TAILED LEMUR 17
With regard to geographical range, this is still in doubt.
As I have recently received the skin of a fine male shot
on the Kafue Flats in Northern Rhodesia by Dr. A. A.
Schoch, the range of the species seems fairly wide.
Family LEMURIDA.
In the more modern classification the Lemurs are
relegated to a separate order, the Prosimiz (Lemuroidea).
They are usually nocturnal animals, covered with fur.
Their home is in the Island of Madagascar, but several
species are found in South Africa. These are charac-
terized by their large, rounded, and nearly naked ears.
which are capable of being folded at will. The eyes are
large, and the tail is thick and bushy. The fingers and
‘toes are supplied with flat nails, with the exception of
the second toe of the hind limb, which has a distinct claw.
Otolemur crassicaudatus. Thick-tailed Lemur. Bosch Aap.
To the Natal Colonist it is known as the “‘ Bushbaby,”
a name also applied in the Transvaal to the Night Ape
or Moholi Lemur. The Zulus call it the ‘ Sukwe.”
The colour is a yellowish to slaty grey, the hair being
soft and thick. The ears, hands and feet are nearly
black. The chin and underparts are yellowish-white.
The tail, which is thick and bushy, is about a foot long.
The total length of the head and body is only 14 inches.
Teeth, 36 in number.
This animal is found in Natal, Zululand, and the more
thickly wooded portions of the Eastern Transvaal. The
National Zoological Gardens possesses an example from
near Lydenburg. This species was also procured in the
Gorongoza Forest of Portuguese South-East Africa by
2
18 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Mr. C. H. B. Grant, and I shot one near Bela Vista, in
the Maputa District of the same territory in August,
1918, where it seemed to be fairly common.
Little is known of the habits of this strange creature.
Mr. C. H. B. Grant, who collected for the Rudd Explora-
tion of South Africa, obtained examples at Hshowe and
Ngoye Forest in Zululand, and says: ‘It is almost
exclusively an arboreal animal. It sleeps during the
day in some hollow tree, waking up at sundown, at
which time and throughout the night its peculiar cry
can be heard.” The individuals in the Pretoria Zoo
are not very regular in their habits, appearing one after-
noon just before or after sundown, and perhaps on the
following day not till dark. It feeds upon insects, fruit
and gum. When irritated it makes a harsh, rattling cry
somewhat resembling that of the Vervet Monkey, but,
not half so loud: I believe in its wild state the usual
call is a plaintive cry not unlike that of a baby, hence
its vernacular name of ‘“‘ Bushbaby.’’ A closely allied
species (O. garnetti) is supposed to exist, its geographical
range overlapping to a certain extent that of the
preceding animal.
Galago moholi. JMJoholi Lemur. Nachtaapje.
This is the Night Ape or Bushbaby of the Colonists,
and Nachtaapje or Boschaapje of the Boers.
The colour is a slaty-grey or mouse-grey above and
a yellowish-white below. Chin and throat pure white.
There is a white stripe down the nose and a dark ring
round each eye. The tail is long, measuring about
eight or nine inches, and has a bushy tip. The length
of the head and body is about seven inches. The eyes
are large and soft, and of a bright pale to hazel-brown
PETERS MOHOLI LEMUR 19
colour. One example in the Pretoria Zoo, caught in the
Pretoria Bushveld district, has the terminal 2 inches of
the tail of a pure white. This little animal ranges all
over the wooded portions of the Transvaal, but has so
far not been found in Natal or the Cape Colony. It is
replaced in Rhodesia by the closely allied G. mossambicus,
and in Portuguese South-East Africa by G. granti.
The Moholi Lemur is very common in the Pretoria
and Rustenburg Bushveld, whence the Zoo has had
many examples. It feeds upon the gum of the mimosa
tree, berries and fruit, as well as insects and spiders.
It is nocturnal in habit, lying asleep during the day and
going forth to feed at dusk.
The Night Ape is a wonderfully agile little creature,
and can leap remarkable distances for so small an
animal. It makes an amusing and often lovable little pet.
There is a female at present in the Pretoria Zoo
suckling two young ones, which was captured with her
young. Another female gave birth in October, while
in captivity, to two young ones—so that two would
appear to be the usual number. They cling to the
mother like the young of the ordinary Ringtail Lemur
and South American Marmosets, and ride on her back
or hang underneath her as opportunity offers.
Galago mossambicus. Peter's Moholi Lemur. Peter's
Nachtaapje.
This animal is mainly distinguished from the preced-
ing species by its smaller size and relatively longer tail.
It was obtained by Mr. C. H. B. Grant at Tette, on the
Zambesi, and recorded by Mr. E. C. Chubb from Bula-
wayo and the Mansamnyama Rivers (in the Bulawayo
Museum).
20 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Galago granti. Grant's Moholi Lemur. Grant’s Nachtaapje.
This species was described by Thomas and Wroughton
in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London
as follows :—
“Above drabbish brown; below creamy buff. A light
nose-line and black rings round the eyes, as in G. moholit.
Outer side of fore limbs light drab, paling to white on
the hands. Hind limbs dull creamy buff. Tail long
and very bushy, the hairs being nearly twice as long
as those of moholi, the basal 3-5 being drab-brown like
the body, and the terminal portion darkening to blackish
brown. Muzzle longer than that of G. mohols. Length
of head and body 158 mm., tail 237 mm.; habitat, Coguno
and Inhambane, Gorongoza Forest, Portuguese South-
Hast Africa (C. H. B. Grant). Common, inhabiting the
forests; nocturnal, sleeping during the day in hollow
trees.”
Order CHIROPTERA.
The Bats, which animals constitute the above order,
are mammals with the forelimbs greatly lengthened and
supporting a membrane which is modified for flight.
The bones of the arm and the four fingers are elon-
gated ; the thumb or pollux is short and bears a claw,
and is not connected with the flying membrane or
patagium, which is united to the fingers, forearm, sides
of the body, and tail. The teeth never number more
than 38. The skeleton is very light.
The name ‘‘ Chiroptera’? means ‘ handwinged,” from
the fact that the apparatus for flight is furnished mainly
by the fore limbs.
Bats vary considerably in their powers of flight—as
much, perhaps, as flying birds, and may be seen on the
wing during the evening and night, making sudden
dashes after insects. They possess a curious ‘“‘ second
sense,” which may be termed ‘“ tactile,’ although it
appears to be something more; they have the power of
avoiding objects without actually coming in contact with
them or being able to see them, which was once suf-
ficiently proved by cruelly blinding the poor creatures
and turning them out into a room across which a number
of threads had been stretched. Bats are helpless on a
flat surface, and can then only crawl very slowly.
_ They usually suspend themselves by the hind legs head
downwards from the rafters in ceilings, from ledges of
rock or branches of trees, and remain like that during the
day-time, sallying forth at night in quest of food.
We found the limestone caves on the Hennops River,
22 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
in the Pretoria district, full of bats—in fact, when we
penetrated into the intensely dark interior we disturbed
them by the score, and they left their perches in clouds
as we advanced, and we could feel the ‘‘swish”’ of their
wings as they continually dashed past us, repeatedly
putting out our candles.
The species obtained included the ‘‘ Horseshoe Bat”
(Rhinolophus augur), Petalia capensis, Mineopterus natal-
ensts, and Nyctinomus egyptiacus.
The large majority of bats feed upon insects, but
some live on fruit, while others—the Vampires of South
America—are blood-suckers.
South African Bats are of two sub-orders, the Mega-
chiroptera (containing the large fruit bats) and the
Micro-chiroptera (containing the smaller Serotine, Horse-
shoe and Nose-leaf Bats, which are mostly insect eating).
Family PTEROPODIDAE.
The members of this family constitute the largest of
the Chiroptera, and feed upon fruit.
The head is not short and skimpy, as in the other
families, but is long and dog-like. The ears are small.
There are two genera, distinguished mainly by the tail,
that of EHpomophorus being free from the interfemoral
membrane, while that of Rousettus is attached at its base
to this membrane. Both genera contain two species
found in South Africa.
Epauletted Fruit Bat. Hypomophorus wahlbergi.
Lips thick, having a swollen appearance. General
colour, above mouse-grey, paler below. There are tufts
of white hair on the inner margin of the ear, and also
on the shoulders, where the glands are situated. The
EPAULETTED FRUIT BAT 23
tail is very short, almost rudimentary, and concealed in
the fur. The length of the head and body is 6} inches
(male), 53 inches (female). This bat ranges from the
eastern portion of the Cape Province through Natal and
Zululand to the Equator. It was procured at Ngoye
Forest in Zululand by C. H. B. Grant, who says that
they do not fly until two hours after dusk, and that
during winter they feed upon the berries of the syringa
tree. Their usual food is figs, peaches, and any of the
softer wild fruits.
Epomophorus crypturus is a smaller species, closely
resembling the foregoing in most respects.
Common Fruit Bat. Rousetius collaris.
Lips not swollen. The general colour above is brown ;
paler below. The hair of the neck is long, and in the
male of a yellow colour. There are no white tufts, as in
the preceding species. Length of the head and body
54 inches, tail 4 inch. This bat is found throughout
South Africa, and is common in Capetown and at Knysna,
at which latter place Mr. C. H. B. Grant found it
plentiful in a cave on the “ heads.”’
It devours ripe fruit, and, according to Mr. W. L.
Sclater, is especially fond of loquats.
Mr. Layard asserts that it will devour insects when no
fruit is available.
Yellow Fruit Bat. Rousetius stramineus.
This species can be easily distinguished from the fore-
going by its pale yellow colour (almost lemon yellow)
It ranges pretty well all over the African continent, but
South African records are few. An example in the
Pretoria Zoo, from Durban, lived almost exclusively
24 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
upon bananas, but would also eat other soft fruits, such
as apricots, &c. It would crawl down from its perch or
branch (where it lay hidden all day) as soon as its food
was put in the cage at about 4.30 p.m., and devour as
many as three and four bananas at a time.
Family RHINOLOPHIDA:.
This family contains bats of small size with peculiar
membrane-like expansions on the muzzle, the so-called
“ nose-leaf”’ surrounding the nostrils, whence the ver-
nacular names of ‘‘ Horseshoe’ and ‘‘ Leaf-nosed”’ Bats.
Ears large and without an “inner-ear”’ or ‘‘ tragus.”
First finger without a phalanx. Tail distinct.
There are two genera of these insect-eating bats in
South Africa: (a) Rhinolophus, with a complicated nose-
leaf and the base of the lobe of the ear expanded ; teeth,
32. (b) Hipposiderus, in which the nose-leaf has the
upper and hinder portions not terminating in a point;
no expanded margin of the ear; teeth, 30.
Genus RHINOLOPHUS.
This genus contained in 1914 six South African
species: Rhinolophus ferrum-equinum, R. capensis, R.
hildebrandi, BR. augur, R. darling, and R. dent.
The first-mentioned is the common European Horse-
shoe Bat, characterized by the ears being very pointed
and attenuated at the tips, the colour above being of a
reddish-brown, and below of a pale yellow. Length of
head and body 3 inches, forearm 2,}, inches.
The Cape Horseshoe Bat (R. capensis) is smaller than
the European species (head and body 23 inches), and is
of a paler red.
The Augur Bat (A. augur) seems to be the common
bat of the Transvaal and Bechuanaland. It is recorded
n
NYCTERIDAS 95
from Barberton, Woodbush, and Wakkerstroom by Mr.
C. H. B. Grant, while Mr. R. B. Woosnam wrote that
he found some hundreds on the rocks in a shaft of an
old gold mine near Kuruman, and that they are common,
but only found in caves and similar localities.
I collected some in a deep underground cave at
Hennops River, in the Pretoria district, where this
species and several others were very common, and their
guano formed a layer on the floor from 18 inches to
3 feet thick.
Genus HIPPOSIDERUS.
This genus contains about four species, the best known
of which are H. caffra and H. commersoni. The former
is grey above and paler below, and the latter a reddish
brown above, grey on the sides, and whitish below.
‘The former is the larger, measuring, head and body,
nearly 43 inches, while the latter is only a little more
than 23 inches long.
Family NYCTERID..
Nostrils surrounded by a nose-leaf, or placed some-
times at the end of a long deep groove. Ears united and
very large, with well-developed tragi.
The genus Nycteris (also called Petalia) contains
several species commonly known as “ slit-faced’’ bats.
The Cape Shit-faced Bat (N. capensis) has the ears longer
than the head, and is grey-brown above and whitish
below. Length of head and body 22 inches, tail 2 inches.
It usually inhabits lofts and outhouses.
Family VESPERTILIONIDA.
The nostrils are simple openings at the extremity of
the snout. Ears moderate and usually separate, with a
stiff process arising from inside the conch—the tragus.
26 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
The tail is long and attached in the membrane, with only
the tip projecting.
This is a large family of insectivorous bats, containing
some half-score South African species, for a complete
account of which the reader must refer to the recent
papers of Mr. Knud Anderson and other mammalogists.
The Serotine Bats (Vespertilio) and the Long-winged
Bats (Miniopterus) are perhaps the best known of the
genera. Several of the species were obtained by us in
the caves of the Pretoria district.
The best known species are (a) the Cape Serotine
Bat (Vespertilio capensis), which has the tail enclosed in
the membrane, the ears of medium size and placed wide
apart. Colour light brown. Width, with outstretched
wings, 8% inches.
(b) The Long-winged Bat (Miniopterus natalensts)
resembles the preceding species, but is considerably
larger. Ears short and broader than the head. Width,
with outstretched wings, about one foot.
Family EMBALLONURIDZ.
The nostrils are simple, and situated at the end of the
muzzle, which is truncated. Ears large and generally
united. Tail partly free. There are two genera in
South Africa, Taphozous and Nyctinomus.
Of the latter there are several common species, of
which perhaps the most abundant is the Long-tailed Bat
(Nyctinomus egyptiacus); it has a thick tail, free from
the membrane for an inch or so. The ears are broad
and large, while the upper lip is wrinkled. Colour
brown. Length 24 inches. The Brown Wrinkle-lipped
Bat was also obtained by us in the caves at Hennops
River, Pretoria district. Peter's Wrinkle-lipped Bat
(N. limbatus) is dark brown above, with the throat and
abdomen white. Length of head and body, 24 inches.
Order INSECTIVORA.
This is a group of small, chiefly insect-eating animals,
often differing very materially from one another in
external appearance. The majority are characterized,
however, by the possession of a pointed snout (on the
upper lip) projecting beyond the lower jaw. Their
molar teeth are provided with projections, called cusps,
and their canines are weak and small. The feet are
usually provided with five toes furnished with claws.
The teeth number 40 to 42.
Family MACROSCELID.
Molar teeth broad, with the cusps forming a W shape.
The muzzle is long and tapering, with the nostrils
situated at the end of the snout. The fore limbs are short
and the hind legs are much longer, the tarsus being shorter
than the lower portion of the leg (or metatarsus), the
animal resting on this after the manner of a kangaroo.
The tail is long and almost devoid of hair.
In South Africa we have two genera of these strange
long-snouted little mammals, the first being Macroscelides.
Trouessart recognized four South African species, and
W.L. Sclater in his ‘“‘Mammatls: Fauna of South Africa ”’
mentions five ; since then several species and sub-species
have been added by Oldfield Thomas and his colleagues
of the British Museum from material collected for the
Rudd Survey cf South Africa. As it would be idle to
attempt a complete account of these little animals in a
work of this nature, it must suffice if we mention the
28 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
commoner and better known species. These are the
Common or Cape Elephant Shrew (M. proboscideus)
and the Rock Elephant Shrew (M. rupestris).
The former inhabits the plains or flats of the Cape
Colony—especially lightly wooded tracts—the latter,
rocky ridges or rocky patches or outcrops near water
courses. It ranges from the Northern Cape Colony to
the Transvaal. We have collected examples of the latter
species at Orange Grove, near Johannesburg, and along
the stony ridges of Pretoria. These belong to a sub-
species named after Dr. Lyster Jameson, one time of the
Transvaal University College.
Both these animals are of a light brown colour, tending
to a reddish tinge in some individuals. Below the colour
is white, the latter gradually merging into the brown of
the upper surface. The Rock Elephant Shrew is a little
larger than the Cape species, measuring from 5 to 6
inches to the latter’s 43? inches, and has reddish patches
behind the ears, a characteristic wanting in the other
species.
The Cape Elephant Shrew lives in burrows in the
earth, while the Rock species inhabits the cracks between
the rocks, or forms cavities and runs under overhanging
rocks. They both live upon insects of various kinds,
grasshoppers and beetles probably forming the bulk of
the fare. The mode of progression is kangaroo-like,
a slow ungainly walk when the animal is at its leisure,
or long rapid jumps on its hind legs when hurried or
disturbed.
The second genus, Petrodromus, has so far only been
recorded within our limits from Inhambane, in Portuguese
Hast Africa
SOUTH AFRICAN HEDGEHOG 29
Family ERINACEIDA.
This is a small family of little insectivorous and planti-
grade animals with a small brain case, and possessing—
with the exception of the single genus Gymnura from
Malaysia—a projecting coat of short, strong and sharp
spines. The claws are of simple structure, and the tail
is short.
There is only one other genus—EHrinaceus—inhabiting
the Palearctic, Oriental, and Ethiopean regions. In the
latter region six species are supposed to exist, only one
of which is found in South Africa.
Erinaceus frontalis, L. South African Hedgehog. Krimp
Ijzervarkie or Ijgeltje.
The upper portion of the body is covered with sharp
spines about ? inch long; these are white, with a sub-
terminal black or dark brown band anda paler tip. Head
dark brown or blackish, with a white band across the
face. Below coated with coarse hair, and of a mottled or
grizzled grey-brown or white and brown colour. Five
toes to both fore and hind feet, all of which are furnished
with light claws. Length of head and body from 6 inches
to 74 inches ; tail, 4 inch.
This little animal is said to be rare in Natal and
uncommon in the Karroo and south of the Orange River,
but I have found it common enough around Brandfort, in
the Orange Free State ; at Modderfontein, near Johannes-
burg ; and in the neighbourhood of Pretoria, where it
may be found amongst the plantations and scrub on the
ridges and in the valleys. It feeds upon insects, chiefly
grasshoppers and beetles, the larvae of various insects,
slugs, snails, worms, lizards, &c. It is amusing to listen
30 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
to the—in comparison to its size—loud sniffs which this
little creature emits when searching for its food. It is
mainly nocturnal in habit, becoming active at sundown,
and lying hidden amongst the undergrowth of a thick
bush during the day-time.
It rolls itself into a ball with great rapidity as soon as
danger threatens, and is then not a pleasant object to
handle. It is then immune to the attacks of dogs and
the smaller wild carnivorous animals. In the Zoo it
does not seem to thrive, and although the artificial diet of
minced meat and hard-boiled eggs is supplemented as
often as possible with meal-worms and other insect food
it does not live very long in captivity, at least not
in comparison with the majority of animals. Two years
is the longest we have been able to keep one alive. A
female was brought into the Zoo on one occasion with
four young ones, which she succeeded in successfully
rearing. On another occasion a female was brought in
with seven young ones, but I think this number is
exceptional.
Family SORICIDA.
This family is a fairly large one, containing the true
shrews. These are small animals of rat-like or mouse-
like form, with a long and pointed muzzle (snout-like),
the sides of which are swollen by the roots of the bristly
whiskers. The dentition is variable, but there are always
three molars, and in the lower jaw six teeth on either
side.
Eyes small and tail long and tapering. These little
animals have, as a rule, a peculiar musky odour, which
comes from a fluid which is secreted in glands opening
near the bases of the fore limbs.
There are two sub-families, Soricinge and Crocidurine ;
DWARF SHREW 31
only vepresentatives of the latter are found in South
Africa.
Genus CROCIDURA.
The members of this genus are usually of small size,
with pointed snout-like muzzles possessing swollen sides,
which are caused by the roots of the “ whiskers.” The
tail is tapering, and besides the clothing of short bristle-
like hair, it possesses a number of scattered long whitish
hairs. The mamme are six in number, and are inguinal.
There is no canine tooth in the lower jaw, and only one
premolar, the total number of teeth varying from 28 to
30. The Shrew Mice feed upon insects and their larve
and are thus true friends of the agriculturist.
Trouessart, in his ‘ Catalogus Mammalium,’’
enumerates seven species, while W. Li. Sclater, in his
““Mammials,” includes nine. A number of species have
been described since then, however, principally by
Oldfield Thomas, of the British Museum, and his
colleagues, from material collected for the Rudd
Zoological Survey of South Africa. As they are difficult
little animals to determine, being all of some shade of
grey—light, medium, slate and dark—it would serve no
good purpose to go into detail in a book of this nature.
I will merely mention one of the species with which
I have had a good deal of personal experience, and whose
breeding habits I have been fortunate enough to observe.
Crocidura varilla. Dwarf Shrew. Dwerg Langsnoet Muis.
This is one of the smallest of the Shrews, if not the
smallest, in South Africa. It is nearly mouse-grey in
colour, paler below, with the snout and pedal extremities
white. Length of head and body about 1? inches. Tail
nearly 14 inches.
32 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
I found this little Shrew fairly plentiful at Modder-
fontein Dynamite Factory, near Johannesburg, where
it inhabited the disused hollow antheaps on the veld,
Fia. 6.—Albino Shrew.
constructing as far into the centre of the mound as
possible a round nest of grass, where it gave birth to from
three to four blind and naked young ones. These little
DWARF SHREW 5 33
creatures were, however, unusually. active, and: when
exposed to the light would wriggle and crawl about in
an energetic endeavour to hide themselves.
I have tried to keep this little Shrew in the Zoological
Gardens, as well as one other species (Crocidura
silacea), but with not much success. The large Shrew
(C. flavescens) is of a light reddish brown above, with
long, soft fur, and whitish below. Length of head and
body nearly 4 inches, tail 2 inches.
The other genus (Myosorex) resembles Crocidura to
a large extent, differing only in certain anatomical
characters. It contains only a few species, the best
known perhaps being the Grey Shrew or Skearer Muis
(Alyosorez varius), which has a small pencil of hairs at
tip of the tail, and of which we append an illustration.
This little animal measures about 3} inches long with
the tail another 14 inches, and is brown above, finely
speckled with grey.
Family CHRYSOCHLORIDAL.
This family contains the beautiful Golden Moles of
South Africa, which are included in the two genera,
Chrysochloris and Amblyosomus,.and are characterized
by the iridescent colours of the fur, which change in
different lights. They are mole-like animals, differing,
however, from the true moles in certain well-marked
anatomical characters, such as the structure of the
manubrium and clavicles, and in that of the hand, which
bears but one exaggerated and lengthened claw for
digging, whereas that of the true moles bears five
strongly developed digging claws. They have very small
eyes, which are nearly concealed by the skin, and ears
devoid of conches, opening by a simple aperture almost
3
34 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
hidden by the fur. An external tail is absent. The
family is confined to Africa, south of the Sahara.
The genera are differentiated by the possession of 40
teeth in Chrysochloris and 36 in Amblyosomus, and the
Fig. 7.—Golden Mole at earthmound.
former by a swelling in the temporal fossa, of which the
latter has no trace. They live in underground burrows
or run close to the surface of the earth, and feed upon
worms, grubs, and the larve of insects. The commonest
species are Chrysochloris aurea, the Cape Golden Mole,
and C. hottentota, the Red Golden Mole,
Order CARNIVORA.
This is a large and varied group of chiefly flesh-eating
animals, and include, under the more modern classifica-
tion now in vogue, only the terrestrial forms (Fissipedia).
The feet possess four or five toes, usually provided
with sharp claws. The clavicles, or collar bones, are
absent, or when present are small or reduced. The
incisor teeth are small and sharp, three pairs in both
upper and lower jaw; while the canines are large and
projecting. The cheek teeth have cutting edges; the
first lower molar and the last upper premolar are modified
to form the so-called carnassial teeth.
Condyle of lower jaw transversely elongated, and fitted
into a transverse groove on the base.of the skull, which
limits the movement of the jaw to only an up-and-down
action.
Living Carnivores are divided into three sections, the
Aluroidea (Cats, Civets, Hyenas, &c.), the Cynoidea
(comprising the Dogs, Wolves, &c., Canid@), and the
Arctoidea (Bears, Raccoons and Badgers).
Family MUSTELID.
The Weasels, Badgers and Otters form a group of
long-bodied animals distinguished by the absence of an
alisphenoid canal to the skull, and by the number of the
molar teeth, which are either one above and two below,
on each side, or one above and one below. Dentition
usually : Incisors 3/3, canines 1/1, premolars 4/4, molars
1/2. Auditory bulla dilated.
36 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Genus MELLIVORA.
Body thickset; limbs and tail short. Soles of hind
feet naked to the heel. Claws powerful.
Mellivora ratel. The Ratel. Honing Das.
The Honey-badger, as it is sometimes called, is
greyish-brown above, some individuals being greyer than
others. Below black with a pure white line on the side
of the body sharply dividing the grey from the black.
Total length about 22 feet. Tail about 9 inches. It is
found all over South Africa, although seldom seen,
owing to its nocturnal habits. It lives in caves, in
hollows, or cavities amongst rocks, or in a hollow tree
Tt eats almost anything from a snake to a fowl, and is
inordinately fond of honey. It is a somewhat fierce
little animal, and will vigorously defend itself against
the attack of dogs. Its powerful jaws and persistent
nature make it no mean enemy when wounded.
The Zoo has not possessed many of these animals.
We had a fierce old male from the Sabi Game Reserves,
which lived in the gardens for more than a year, not-
withstanding a bad leg injured by the effects of the gin-
trap which deprived it of its freedom. In 1918, Mr. C.
Jones, of Nylstroom, sent us a young one, which is an
amusing and tame little animal. He is wonderfully
insistent, and on one occasion kept on clawing at a brass
padlock, which was an old one, until it dropped open,
whereupon the little brute pushed open the door of its
cage and climbed on to the roof, where it was found
perambulating about, uttering its plaintive little whining
call. Two fine adult specimens, captured in the Rusten-
burg district, were added to the collection in October, 1916.
One individual, presented by Mr. Fitzsimons of the Port
CAPE POLECAT 37
Elizabeth Museum, was of an extremely destructive
nature, gnawing his way out of several cages, and on
one occasion killing a number of white rats, guinea-pigs
and rabbits, but eating none.
Genus ZORILLA.
Zorilla striata (Ictonyx capensis). Cape Polecat.
Stink Muishond.
This animal is rather slender in form, with a long and
somewhat bushy tail. It is black in colour, with four
longitudinal white stripes from the back of the head to
the root of the tail. There is a white spot on the fore-
head, and one on each cheek. Length of head and body
about 15 inches; tail 12 inches.
The Muishond is fairly common all over South Africa
and is nocturnal in habits, spending its time during the
day in holes, clefts amongst rocks, &c., and feeding at
dusk and during the night upon birds and small
mammals, such as rats and mice, lizards and frogs; it is
also fond of stealing eggs and poultry from the farmyard.
It has a habit of emitting a disagreeable odour from the
anal glands when in any way disturbed, hence its in-
elegant but appropriate Boer cognomen.
I have often heard it said that dogs will not attack the
Polecat, but such is not strictly the truth. Many dogs,
especially sporting dogs, will not do so; but I have
known terriers—and on one occasion a pointer—make
short work of one of these animals. The dog is, how-
ever, not fit for human company for a day or two after
this, on account of the clinging nature of the odour.
Tame examples when undisturbed show no signs of this
smell, and I have had several of them as pets. They
were tame and harmless little animals, following me
388 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
about like a dog. They thrive well in captivity, living
on raw meat, dead birds, mice and rats.
Genus POECILOGALE.
Body very long and slender, and the legs short. The
teeth number from 28 to 30.
Poecilogale albinucha. Snake Weasel. Slang Muishond.
This little creature much resembles the Stink
Muishond in coloration, differing from this animal,
however, in that the whole of the top of the head (or
crown) is white. Sometimes this may have a greyish or
yellowish tinge. It is also a much smaller and lighter
animal, measuring only about a foot in length, with a
tail of 6 or 7 inches. It ranges from the Eastern
Cape Colony northwards to East Africa. The National
Zoo has so far only received examples from King-
williamstown, which have been kindly sent us from
time to time by Mr. F. A. O. Pym, of the local museum.
It is of a retiring nature, lying up in a lair or burrow
during the day. Its food consists of small mammals,
birds, insects, &c.
This, to me, is one of the most fascinating of the
smaller mammals, as, apart from its peculiar shape and
striking coloration, it is exceedingly plucky. We have
not been able to keep them in captivity for any length
of time, excepting the last pair, received by us in 1913;
these we turned out into a small cage made of wire-
netting and having a sandy floor. As soon as the door
of the cage was opened the male would approach in a
defiant manner, his back arched and his hair fairly
bristling with rage. These two animals lived well in
captivity upon chopped raw meat, hard boiled egg, and
CAPE OTTER 39
’ bread and milk, with an occasional small rat, mouse or
bird by way of a change. When in slow progression
over the ground, the Snake Weasel reminds one forcibly
of a caterpillar, the back being arched or humped up in
a similar manner to that affected by this insect.
Genus LUTRA.
Head rounded and ears small. Toes of hind feet
webbed ; soles of hind feet naked. Animals of aquatic
habit. Otters are found all over the world, except in
Australia. In Africa two species occur, both of which
are found in the southern half of the continent.
Lutra capensis. Cape Otter. Kaapsche Otter.
This is the larger of the two species, and is by far the
commoner. We have met with it in the Uitenhage,
Albany, Queenstown and Aliwal North divisions of Cape
Colony; at Brandfort, O.F.S.; and at Modderfontein,
Irene and Pretoria, Transvaal. It measures from 30 to
36 inches in length, with the tail another 16 to 22 inches.
It is of a dark brown colour, with the tip of the nose,
upper lip, cheeks, chin and throat white. There are no
claws on the fore feet, and only two small nails on the
hind feet. An example of this Otter lived in the Pretoria
Zoo for close upon three years, and was a tame and
intelligent creature, coming when he was called. He
slept in a box containing hay or grass, and was not very
regular in his habits, coming out to bathe at all hours
of the day and night. He devoured a large daily ration
of sea-fish, but accepted and ate with avidity an occasional
crab as a special dainty.
40 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Lutra maculicollis. Spotted-necked Oiter. Gevlekte Otter.
This is a much smaller animal than the foregoing,
being only about 21 inches in length. Besides being
easily distinguishable trom the preceding species. by its
small size, it has the toes of both fore and hind feet
Fic. 8.—Cape Otter,
armed with strong claws, and fully webbed. The throat
and chest are spotted with pale red.
Otters are essentially aquatic animals, living in streams,
dams, &c., where they feed upon fish, crabs and molluscs.
We have known of instances where they have ravished
poultry runs, devouring the eggs, and killing fowls and
ducks.
SADDLE-BACKED JACKAL 4}
Family CANIDA.
The members of the dog family are easily characterized
by their digitigrade feet (bearing four toes on the fore,
and ¢ither four or five on the hind feet, which are not
retractile), well-developed legs and lengthened muzzle.
There are four pre-molar teeth on each side above and
below, and from two to four molars (usually two above
and three below). They have more teeth than the
Felide, the number ranging from 42 to 48.
Genus CANIS.
Four toes on the front and five on the hind feet. Tail
less than half the length of the animal. Pupil round.
Dentition (on each side) : Incisors three above and three
below, canines one and one, premolars four and four,
molars two and three = 42 teeth, which are all strongly
developed.
Only two species of this genus are found in South
Africa—the Jackals—which are fox-like animals of mostly
nocturnal habits, lying hidden during the day-time in a
hole or lair under a thick bush. Jackals are fond of
decaying flesh, but when this is not available will kill and
devour poultry, lambs, game birds and small mammals.
The Black-backed Jackal is common all over South
Africa, whereas the side-striped species is scarce, and
its habits little known. Trouessart, in his ‘ Catalogus
Mammalium,” includes these Jackals under a separate
genus, which he calls “ Thos.”
Canis mesomelas. Saddle-backed Jackal. Root Jakhals.
(Also called the Black-backed Jackal, Silver Jackal, and
Golden Jackal by the colonists.)
This animal has the back of a mottled greyish black
colour, the sides of the body of a reddish hue, the two
42 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
colours being sharply divided by a black line. The
underparts are of a much paler tint than the sides.
The ears are of large size and of a reddish colour
behind. ;
The tail is bushy and has a conspicuous black tip ;
length about 13 to 14 inches. The length of the head
and body is about 3 to 3} feet. The animal is subject
to a good deal of colour variation, ranging from a pale
greyish fawn to a brilliant reddish chestnut, but this is
largely due to age, season, and possibly even to sex, as
I have never seen a female as brilliantly coloured as
some males we have possessed. The young pups are
of a drabbish brown colour, darker on the back and paler
below.
It is fairly evenly distributed over the whole sub-
continent, and latterly ‘‘ Jackal Clubs” have been
instituted, with the object of exterminating the animal.
It is especially common in the Transvaal Bushveld,
where its unearthly howl can be heard any night, the
creatures being bold enough at times to come fairly close
to the hunter’s camp fire. The skins are much prized
for karosses.
This animal is much execrated by the Cape farmers
on account of the destruction it causes amongst the
sheep flocks, especially at lambing time.
Canis lateralis. Side-striped Jackal. Vaal Jakhals.
This is a much more sombrely coloured animal than
the preceding, being of a silver or drabbish grey, darker
on the back. On each side of the body there is a diagonal
whitish stripe bordered on the lower edge by a black
stripe. The chin is pale brown; throat and chest
reddish brown. The tip of the tail is white, which
SIDE-STRIPED JACKAL 43
characteristic serves to distinguish it from the other
species, even in one-day-old puppies. Total length about
23 to 2% feet ; tail 12 to 14 inches.
This species has so far not been found further south
than the Magaliesberg Range in the Central Transvaal.
In Rhodesia it appears to be fairly common. The Zoo
has had examples from the following localities: Settlers
Fic. 9.—Side-striped Jackals.
(District Nylstroom), Sabi Game Reserves, Pretoria,
Belfast, Middelburg.
A female in the collection gave birth to two litters,
one of three and the other of seven pups; the period of
gestation was 57 days and 60 days respectively.
Genus VULPES.
Muzzle more pointed than in the Genus Canis ;
form more slender. ‘Tail long and bushy. Pupil
vertically elliptical. Ears large. Teeth similar to those
of the Genus Canis, but weaker.
44 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Vulpes chama. Silver For. Zilver Jakhals.
The colour is of silvery grey above, becoming on the
lower portions of the body of a reddish yellow. The
fur is long, soft, and of a finely speckled appearance.
The skins of these handsome little foxes are in great
demand for karosses, muffs, furs, &c. The ears are
large and of a reddish brown colour behind, with a
yellowish patch at the bases. There is a black patch
on the hind leg between the knee and the hock. The
tail is almost a foot long, bushy, and of a yellow and
black colour with a black tip. The length of the head
and body is about two feet.
This animal is known in the Natural History books
as the Fennec, or the Asse Fox, and to the Boers as the
Zilver Jakhals, or Vaal Jakhals, although the latter
name is also applied to the Side-striped Jackal, and
the former shared by the Black-backed. It is, however,
a true fox. It is fairly evenly distributed over South
Africa, but is nowhere exactly common. I procured several
examples in the Eucalyptus Plantations near the Rand.
The Zoo has had examples from Springs, Machadodorp,
Middelburg, Klerksdorp, Brandfort, Standerton, Carolina,
Heidelberg, Warmbaths, and Pretoria.
Sclater gives its diet as insects and fruit, and says it.
has never been known to injure stock. We have had
some difficulty in keeping these animals alive in cages,
but since we have had them transferred to an open camp:
of fair size with the natural ground for a floor they have
done very much better. ‘heir food consists of raw
meat, and bread and milk, upon which they thrive faicly
well. We have now had one particular individual in
captivity for three years. He is very fond of climbing
up into the branches of a thick cypress tree growing
CAPE HUNTING DOG 45
in the camp, and it looks as if the wild birds which perch
in the topmost branches are the attraction. He has
escaped several times by climbing up the wire netting,
but does not wander far from the camp, and is soon
recaptured. Another individual, which had been the pet
of a little girl, was exceedingly tame, following one
about like a dog, and was fond of being petted.
-Genus LYCAON.
Closely resembling the Genus Canis, but differing in
the fact that both fore and hind feet possess only four
toes each. In addition the skull is more robust.
Lycaon pictus venaticus. Cape Hunting Dog. Wilde
Hond.
This creature is dog-like in general appearance, stand-
ing rather high on its legs. It is of a yellowish colour,
irregularly marked with dark brown, almost black
patches and blotches. Some examples also have white
markings diffused amongst the brown and yellow. The
ears are large and broad, and the tail is bushy with the
terminal half white. The Wild Dog, as it is commonly
called in South Africa, varies very much in coloration.
The Transvaal Museum contains a fine mounted pair
presented by Major Stevenson Hamilton, of the Sabi
Game Reserves, in one of which the black predominates,
and in the other the yellow. The length is about 24 feet.
Tail from 12 to 14 inches.
The Hunting Dog is found all over South Africa,
ranging as far north as Somaliland. The Zoo has had
examples from Rustenburg, Pietersburg, Lydenburg,
Sabi, Piet Retief, and Zululand. It hunts in packs,
moving about the country in search of food, seldom
remaining long in one place. It has a sharp bark,
46 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
besides its other cries. The farmers execrate this animal
in districts where it is prevalent, as a pack has been
known to kill from 60 to 100 sheep in a single night.
Smuts gives the number of pups at a birth as from ten
to twelve, but this seems rather high. Several litters
of four, one of six and one of seven, have been sent
to the National Zoological Gardens, which seems a more
Fre. 10.—Cape Hunting Dog.
likely average. They are brought forth in a hole or
burrow. A pair in the Zoo have had two litters, one
of four young ones and one of an unknown number.
Notwithstanding all precautions having been taken to
ensure quiet and isolation, the mother carried the first
Jot about in her mouth until they were all dead, and the
second litter she devoured before they were twenty-four
hours old. At one time considerable difficulty was
experienced in rearing the pups brought in, imost of
them dying of enteritis before they had reached the
Fic. 11.—Cape Long-eared Foxes.
Fic. 12.—Cape Long-eared Fox and Young (ten days old).
48 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
age of six months. The writer then had the young ones
placed in a large camp with the earth as a natural floor
and fed them sparsely, with the result that the exercise
and low feeding, with an occasional gorge (on tripe),
proved successful.
Genus OTOCYON.
Animals resembling the fox, but with very long ears ;
five toes on the hind and four on the fore feet. Teeth
A5 to 48 in number.
Otocyon megalotis. Cape Long-eared Fox. Draai Jakhals.
This animal is very much like the Silver Fox in its
general coloration and appearance ; itis however of a darker
grey, the upper parts being without any trace of yellow.
Fig. 18.—Cape Long-eared Foxes.
(Mother and cubs, three months old.)
The chin is dark brown, while the under parts are very
pale—almost white. There is a dark streak through the
eyes and one down the centre of the nose. Ears very
large, standing up like those of a clipped bull-terrier ; the
AARDWOLF 49
tail is thick and bushy, the terminal third being black.
Length about 2 feet, tail 1 foot.
It inhabits the western portion of the sub-continent,
ranging as far east as Uitenhage, in the Cape Province.
It is nocturnal in habit, going about in pairs as a rule ;
it is a fairly omnivorous feeder, small rodents and insects
forming the bulk of its fare. In the Zoological Gardens
they live principally on bread and milk and raw meat.
They are especially fond of monkey-nuts (ground nuts),
which are given to them several times a week. They
become very tame in captivity. A female possessed by
us for some years reared several litters of three, the period
of gestation being practically the same as that of the
Side-striped Jackal, namely sixty days.
This little animal has a lovely thick fur, and its pelt
is much prized for furs and muffs. It is known to
the furriers and curio-dealers by its native name of
** Macloutsie.”’
The Zoo has had examples from the Northern Cape
Colony, and from the Rustenburg, Bank, Zeerust and
Pretoria districts in the Transvaal.
Family HYAENIDA.
Digitigrade animals of carnivorous habit, with the
fore quarters higher than the hind ones, the back sloping
downwards.
Genus PROTELES.
Fore feet with five and hind feet with only four toes,
The claws are not retractile, and the mode of walking
is digitigrade. The dentition is weak. The form is
hyaena-like.
4
50 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Proteles cristatus. Aardwolf. Manhaar Jakhals.
This animal is hyaena-like in build, but smaller; of a
yellow-grey colour, banded by black stripes, which are
wide apart. Legs banded with black, the portion below
the knee and hock quite black. Tail short, bushy, and
black-tipped. The hair along the back is long and crest-
like, which gives to the animal its Boer vernacular name
of “Manhaar Jakhals”’ (Maned Jackal). Length about
24 feet, tail about 10 or 11 inches.
Fig. 14.—Young Aardwolves.
The Aardwolf is a cowardly, skulking, harmless animal,
ranging from the Cape to Somaliland. It is mostly
nocturnal in habit, passing the day in a burrow or lair
in a thick bush, and is found in bushy country, as well
as on the open veld. I have seen them prowling about
in search of food in the evening after sunset, and on one
occasion in broad daylight. Their food appears to
consist mainly of insects, especially ants and termites,
but probably includes small animals, birds, reptiles, &c.,
when procurable. I have not bred this animal yet, but
judging by the litters brought in for sale, the number
BROWN HYAENA 51
varies from two to four, the former being the more usual ;
it is a timid, retiring animal; we had one half-grown
specimen, which was very tame and would come for his
food when called. It is a difficult animal to rear and
keep in captivity.
Genus HYAENA.
Four toes on each foot, supplied with non-retractile
claws. Tail short. Teeth 84, which are powerful and
well adapted for crushing bones. There are two species
in South Africa. They are nocturnal animals, remaining
concealed during the day in holes, caves, or lairs in thick
bush, and issuing forth at night in search of dead animals,
which are their favourite food, although they will kill and
devour sheep, calves, donkeys, &c.
They are cowardly animals, as well as greedy, and
have excellent powers of scent and hearing. The dismal
howl of the Hyaena is proverbial, the spotted species
also emitting a maniac-like laugh, whence the name
‘‘Laughing Hyaena.”
Hyaena brunnea. Brown Hyaena. Strand Jut.
This is the Strand Jut or Strand Wolf of the colonial ;
it is of an ash-brown colour, the hair on the hinder
portion of the back being long. Throat, chin and cheeks
very dark—nearly black. Legs banded with dark brown.
Length of head and body about 4 feet, tail 1 foot.
This species is more or less confined to the south-
western portion of South Africa, ranging as far north
asthe Zambesi. It is still not uncommon in the Pretoria
and Rustenburg districts. We saw a fine old male
caught in a gin-trap on June 7, 1914, on the farm
Buffelsdraai, about 50 miles north of Pretoria.
52 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Hyaena crocuta. Spotted Hyaena. Gevlekte Wolf.
The Tiger Wolf, or “ Wolf” as the colonials usually
call this animal, is of a yellowish-grey colour, the body
being covered with round dark brown or black spots or
blotches. Tail tipped with long black hair. Length
about 4 feet 6 inches. Tail 14 inches. This species
seems to be distributed over the whole of South Africa,
and was at one time common in Cape Colony. The
Zoological Gardens had one of these animals for five
years, which had been obtained by Major Hamilton at
Sabi. This individual often emitted the unearthly
howling laugh characteristic of the species, more
especially towards sunset. It was destroyed after a
long course of fits, in which it got knocked about rather
badly. A second example, presented by Mr. Thys Uys,
of Groenvlei, Piet Retief, was exceedingly tame, would
come when called by name and allow hiniself to be patted
and stroked. This animal indulged in wonderful gambols
at sunset, racing round his cage, spinning round like a
top, and jumping about in the exuberance of good health
and spirits.
Trouessart, in his “Catalogus Mammalium,” enumerates
three species of Hyaena in South Africa, the third being
Hyaena capensis.
Family VIVERRIDAi.
This is a somewhat variable family of small carnivorous
animals confined to the Old World. Some of the mem-
bers of the group are plantigrade, while others are digiti-
grade. The body and head are both elongate in shape,
and the limbs fairly short, as compared with the Felidae.
The second pair of lower incisor teeth usually project
above the level of the first and third pairs, while the
ory ee
~ BERS SES
AFRICAN CIVET CAT 53
upper carnassial is without the anterior lobe characteristic
of the foregoing family. The premolars are three to four
and the molars one to two in number on either side, both
above and below. Well developed perineal scent-glands
are usually present. Alisphenoid canal generally present.
Genus VIVERRA.
Body somewhat stout; limbs fairly long and tail short
and tapering. The underside of the tarsus is quite
covered with hair and all four feet are furnished with
five claws.
Fic. 15.—African Civet Cat.
Viverra civetta. Civet Cat. Muskus Kat.
Ground colour yellowish to slaty-grey, marked with
dark brown spots and blotches, the markings arranged
more in the form of bars on the fore part of the body.
The ears are large, rounded in shape, and with white
tips: the hair along the back is fairly long, forming a
54 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
mane-like crest ; tail tapering and ringed with black and
white, tip black. Total length of animal about 4 feet.
This animal is found throughout the warmer parts of
Africa, extending as far south as the Central and Hastern
Transvaal. The Zoo has had examples from the Sabi
Game Reserves, the Rustenburg district, and from
Hectorspruit in the Eastern Transvaal. An individual
from the first-named locality, presented by Major J.
Stevenson Hamilton in May, 1908, is still alive. Its diet
consists of raw meat, bread and milk, and occasionally a
few raw eggs. Owing to its being largely a nocturnal
animal little was previously known of its habits, but
Major Hamilton, in his interesting book ‘‘ Animal Life
in Africa,” gives a fair account. He says: ‘‘It favours
thick bush and is solitary and nocturnal, lying hidden
during the daytime in the grass, under a bush or in a
hole in the earth. Its food consists of berries, ants,
locusts and other insects, lizards and frogs, as well as
rats and mice and other small rodents. Carrion is also
eaten. In addition to the foregoing varied bill of fare it
will devour the eggs and the young of game birds, and
will even steal poultry when opportunity offers.”
Genus GENETTA.
Small animals with long slender bodies, short limbs
and long tails. The ears are long and prominent. The
metatarsus has a narrow line of bare skin running up to
the heel, which characteristic is sufficient to distinguish
the members of this genus from Viverra. There are five
toes to each foot. These animals have the power of
emitting an evil-smelling fluid from the perineal glands.
South Africa possesses a number of species, ranging
pretty well over the whole country. They are nocturnal,
LARGE RUSTY-SPOTTED GENET 55
remaining concealed during the daytime under a bush, in
a tuft of grass, or in a tree. They feed upon insects,
birds, small mammals, and ravage the poultry yards
when they get an opportunity. To the Boers they are
known as Mosiliaat Katten. Thomas and Wroughton
give the following key to the two groups into which
these animals naturally fall (see P.Z.S. for October,
1908, ‘Mammals from Zambesi ”) :—
A. Forefeet black.
(a) Hairs of dorsal crest and tail long (at least 50 mm.
near base of tail) ; dorsal spots relatively small, with a
distinct tendency to coalesce into longitudinal stripes,
tail-tip white—felina group.
(b) Hairs of dorsal crest and tail short (not more than
35 mm. at base of tail) ; dorsal spots large, always distinct,
tail-tip black—tigrina group.
GROUP B.
Genetta rubiginosa. Large Rusty-spotted Genet.
Groote Roodgeviekte Mosiliaat Kat.
This species would appear to be the northern repre-
sentative of the Cape Colonial G. tigrina, as it resembles
this animal in the large size of the blotches and in the
absence of a pronounced dorsal crest (or mane) along the
back. The ground colour is a sandy-grey or yellowish-
drab, and the spots are of a rusty-red or chestnut-brown,
often surrounded by a blackish ring. This latter charac-
teristic was the main reason for the description of a new
species—G. letabe—by Messrs. Thomas and Schwann in
1906, from specimens collected in the Eastern and
Northern Transvaal by C. H. B. Grant, but which they
discarded at a later date upon the receipt of a larger
56 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
series of skins. As far as I can judge from the examples
which have passed through my hands in the Zoological
Gardens, the younger animals possess these dark edges
to the blotches, and the older the animal becomes the
paler the blotches get, and the fainter the rings appear.
I make this assertion as I have received several half-
grown animals with the blotches of a reddish-brown, and
the dark rings very pronounced, while others again—the
largest received, and seemingly old animals—were with
paler spots without the darker margins, or these but
faintly discernible. Legs pale greyish-fawn, only the
soles of the hind feet being dark brown. The spots of
the lower half of the hind legs are dark brown, as well as
the rings of the tail. This species is apparently not
found south of the Central Transvaal, except on the
east. The Zoo has had examples from the Pretoria
district, Tzaneen and Natal.
Genetta tigrina. Large Black-spotted Genet.
Groot Zwartgevlekte Mosiliaat Kat.
Ground colour grev, of a paler tint, shaded with yel-
lowish in some individuals. There is a black stripe along
the back. The sides of the body are spotted with large
squared blotches of black, arranged in three longitudinal
rows. Ears sparsely clothed with white hairs. Legs,
from above the elbow joints downwards, of a black
colour. Tail long and ringed with black and whitish,
the tip being black. Length of head and body about
23 inches, tail 17 to 18 inches. The animal is fairly
common in the Cape Province, but does not seem to be
found north of the Orange River. The Zoo has had
examples from Kingwilliamstown and Mowbray, C.C.
SMALL RUSTY-SPOTTED GENET 57
GROUP A.
Genetta felina, Small Black-spotted Genet.
Klein Zwarigevlekie Mosiliaat Kat.
Resembling the previous species, but the spots are
much smaller, and are arranged in five rows. The hair
of the back and tail is much longer than that of tigrina,
as already stated in the Key, and forms a crest or mane.
The upper portion of the forelimbs is of the same colour
as the body in front, the lower portion being black ;
the legs black behind. All five toes are white. The tip
of the tail is also white. Length of head and body
24 inches. Tail 174 inches. This species ranges from
the Cape, through Natal and Zululand, to the Eastern
Transvaal, where it seems to overlap with the succeeding
species (G. ludia). The Zoo has had examples from the
Pretoria district and the Sabi Reserve in the Transvaal,
and from various districts of the Cape.
Genetta ludia, Thomas and Schwann.
Small Rusty-spotted Genet. Klein Roodgevilekte Mostliaat Kat.
Similar to G. felina, but the spots on the body, especially
those on the lower portion, are of a dark rusty-brown,
often more or less coalescing into bars or stripes. The
forelimbs are of the greyish fawn or drabbish tint of the
body, and are without the black lower half characteristic
of felina, the rear margin only being black. The stripe
along the back is black, like that of G. felina.
I am not certain, with the paucity of literature at my
disposal, whether this is not Matschie’s zambesiana,
but pending further investigations I give it the name
chosen for it by Thomas and Schwann from specimens
collected in the North-Eastern Transvaal by C. H. B.
58 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Grant. This species puzzled me for a long time, and
I first considered it the young or immature form of
G. felina. The receipt, however, of a typical adult felina
female, with a litter of three young ones, followed shortly
afterwards by half-grown young ludia, captured in the
Pretoria district, caused me to reject this theory. Then
the Rudd Zoological Survey papers appeared, with the
result above mentioned. In the Pretoria district it is
the commonest species, and G. rubiginosa is also found
here, but so far tigrina has not been brought to me
from the district. The collection has had examples of
this Genet from the following localities: Pretoria, Rus-
tenburg and Pietersburg.
Genets remain fairly fierce and shy creatures in cap-
tivity, lying hidden in their beds of hay or crouched on
the trunk of a tree during the day. They are, moreover,
quarrelsome brutes, and we have lost a number of them
owing to free fights having taken place from time to time
amongst the inhabitants of a cage.
Genus HERPESTES.
Ears very short and broad, hardly projecting above
the level of the surrounding hair. There is a narrow
naked groove running down from the nose to the upper
lip. The hair of the body is of a grizzled appearance
owing to the individual hairs being ringed with two
different colours. They are from small to medium sized
animals, of chiefly carnivorous habits.
Herpestes caffer. Large Grey Mongoose.
Groot Vaal Musshond.
This is the largest species of the genus, measuring
some 26 inches in length, exclusive of the tail, which is
WATER MONGOOSE 59
another 18 inches. In colour it isa speckled grey, the
hairs being ringed with black and white. Tail tapering
towards the tip, which is black.
It is recorded from Knysna, C.P., whence the Trans-
vaal Museum has obtained specimens. Mr. C. H. B.
Grant says it is now rare in that locality owing to its
fondness for chickens, which has caused its destruction.
The Zoo has obtained examples from Natal and the
Eastern Cape Colony.
Herpestes galera. Water Mongoose.
Groot Zwarte Muishond or Kommetje Kat.
This animal is nearly as big as the preceding species,
being 24 inches in length, with a tail of 13 to 14 inches.
It is a somewhat thickset animal, dark brown in colour,
the hairs being ringed with blackish or dark brown and
pale yellow. The legs are darker brown, the hairs on
this region not being ringed.
The tail is tapering, being bushy at the base and
graduating towards the tip, which is a little darker than
the basal portion. The Water Mongoose is partly
aquatic, taking to the water when pursued. Its usual
haunt is a reed or rush-bed on the bank of a river,
stream, or vlei—or in the long grass bordering the vleis.
In captivity it is fond of lying in the water basin, or
splashing the water about until the receptacle is empty.
Mr. Woosnam procured it at Kuruman in Bechuanaland,
and says its food consists chiefly of fish, frogs and crabs.
The Transvaal Museum contains specimens from Knysna,
C.P., and the Zoo has obtained examples from Elizabeth-
ville (Belgian Congo), Bank, Brits, Pietersburg, Lichten-
burg, and Pretoria (Transvaal).
When captured young, it makes a tame and amusing
pet; indeed, we have possessed examples quite as tame
60 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
as the ordinary Mierkat. They thrive well upon bread,
milk, raw meat and hard-boiled eggs.
Herpestes pulverilentus. Small Grey Mongoose.
Klein Grys Kommetje Kat.
This is a small edition of the Grey Mongoose, and is
principally found in the Cape Province. It is about the
same size as the Slender Mongoose.
Herpestes albicauda (Ichneumia a.). White-tailed Mongoose.
Witstaart Kommetje Kat.
This is a larger animal than the Water Mongoose, but
with a more slender body. It is of a grey colour, with
the legs, from the elbow downwards, of a blackish hue,
The latter two-thirds of the tail 1s white. The length
of the animal varies from 22 inches to 24 inches. The
tail is another 16 inches. In Natal this species seem to
be common. The Zco has had examples from Natal.
Tzaneen (Northern Transvaal), Pretoria District and
Barberton.
In captivity it is the wildest and shyest of the Mon-
goose tribe, showing itself only at night. It will eat
raw meat, and bread and milk.
Little is known of its habits in a wild state.
Herpestes: gracilis. Slender Mongoose. Rooi Mierkat.
This is a small slender little creature, of a grizzled
yellowish or reddish brown colour, with the limbs and
underparts generally paler than the back and sides. It
has a long black-tipped tail. Total length of body,
12. inches. Tail, 11 inches.
This species has been split up by European naturalists
into several sub-species or geographical races, which
need not concern the beginner in Natural History nor
PIGMY MONGOOSE 61
the sportsman-naturalist. The sub-species usually found
in the collection of the Pretoria Zoo is ‘H. gracilis
typicus, and we have obtained examples from the Pretoria
district, where it may usually be found in stone walls or
rocky kopjes.
If captured young it makes a tame and amusing little
pet, but does not become so confiding nor so tame as
the Suricate. It is, like its congeners, practically a
carnivore, but it will devour insects such as grasshoppers,
locusts, &c., and birds’ eggs, whenever opportunity offers.
There are several: other species of Herpestes (or
Mongos, as they have also been called generically), viz.,
H. ruddi, H. punctatissimus, which we have so far not
met with.
Genus HELOGALE. .
Pigmy Mongoose. Dwerg Kommetje Kat.
Body slender and legs short; tail tapering. Naked
line between nose and upper lip. Tarsus naked; five
toes to each foot. Teeth 36 (i., 3; c.4+; p.m. 3; m. 2).
The Pigmy Mongoose (H. parvula), and its Eastern
representative, but recently described, H. brunnula, are
the smallest members of the Viverride, being only
8 to 9 inches long, with a tail another 54 inches.
The former is of a dark grizzly grey brown, and the
latter of a dark speckly brownish-slate colour. We have
possessed quite a number of the latter species from
Hectorspruit, in the Middleburg district of the Central
Transvaal, and from the Rustenburg and Pretoria Bush-
veld. At first they are of a wild, shy, and retiring nature,
dashing into their caves or grottoes at the least external
disturbance, or at the approach of anyone, but after
some months they become tamer, and will allow them-
selves to be seen. We have fed them upon finely chopped
62 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
raw meat, hard-boiled eggs, and bread and milk. The
egg seems to be necessary, and takes the place of the
insects they feed upon in their wild state. A female
gave birth in the Zoo to two litters—the first of two,
and the second of four young ones. It was a pretty
sight to watch the little ones, no larger than a mouse,
playing about in the bright sunlight like kittens.
Genus CROSSARCHUS.
No naked line from nose to lip. Other characters as
in Helogale.
C. faciatus. Banded Mongoose. Gestreepte Konumetje Kat.
This is the common species of the Natal coastal belt,
ranging westwards into Bechuanaland and northwards
to Rhodesia. It is of a grizzled grey, banded on the
hinder portion of the body with dirty white, reddish and
black, the hinder portion of each white stripe shading
from white, through reddish, to black. The tail is black
towards the tip. Length of head and body, 16 inches;
tail, 8 inches.
It lives in small communities, more resembling the
true Mierkat in habits than those of a Mongoose. It
feeds upon fruit, insects, &. Mr. C. H. B. Grant says
if is not common, and it frequents the thornbush and
thickly wooded sluits and river banks, usually in parties
of six. I found it fairly plentiful between Palapye Road
and Serowe in Bechuanaland, and its skins very often
adorned the karosses of the local natives. It becomes
very tame in confinement, and like its relative the true
Mierkat, makes a lovable pet. It will eat meat and
the usual articles of diet mentioned in regard to the
other species.
THICK-TAILED MONGOOSE 63
Genus CYNICTUS.
No naked line from nose to lip. Five toes on the fore
and four on the hind feet. Tarsus hairy.
Cynictus penicillata. Thick-tatled Mongoose. Geel Mierkat
(Yellow Meercat of the colonials.)
Colour yellowish, darker in some, paler in other indi-
viduals. The tail is bushy and has a white tip. Length
of head and body, 15 inches; tail, 9 inches.
The Yellow Mierkat. is found in the Eastern Cape
Colony, ranging as far north as Lake Ngami and
Southern Rhodesia. It is very common in the Orange
Free State, where the writer met with it in the Bloem-
fontein and Kroonstad districts, and in the Central
Transvaal about Johannesburg and Pretoria. I have
also come across them at Serowe in Bechuanaland, and
at Volksrust in the South-Eastern Transvaal.
They live in small colonies or family parties, construct-
ing burrows on the veld, at the edges of which they may
often be seen sitting up on their hind legs and looking
inquisitively round them, ready to pop into their holes
upon the approach of an intruder. I have often noticed
in the Orange Free State that they live cheek by jowl
with the Ground Squirrel, both species inhabiting
burrows in close proximity to one another. They are
fairly fast runners, and are adepts at the art of doubling ;
hence it is not such an easy matter to catch them with
a dog as is popularly supposed. They live on insects,
small rodents, and birds which they stalk in the grass
after the manner of a cat. Birds’ eggs are also a
favourite article of diet.
Although I have seen very tame individuals, it does
not become anything like the tame confiding pet the
64 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Common Suricate invariably makes, being naturally of
a much fiercer disposition. It is also of more carnivorous
habits than the Mierkat, and I would warn owners of a
tame Thick-tailed Mongoose to beware of their pet if any
young chickens should happen to be about. In captivity
they require little else than raw meat, but an occasional
rat or bird will help to keep them in condition.
A second species (Cynictus selowst) was described by
de Winton from a skull picked up in South Rhodesia.
Genus SURICATA.
Little animals with a slender snout, and without the
naked line from nose to lip. There are only four toes to
each foot; the claws of the fore limbs are very long.
The tarsus is naked and the tail is tapering and without
the bushy appearance so characteristic of the Mongoose
family. Ears small and rounded.
Suricata tetradactyla. True Muierkat. Graatje Mierkat
and Stokstaart Mierkat.
In general coloration this little animal varies from
grizzled grey to a tawny grey colour, banded on the back
with indistinct dark brown or reddish brown bars. The
tail is relatively short, has a black tip and is not bushy.
Length of head and body, 12 to 14 inches; tail, 6 to
8 inches.
It is one of the commonest and most sought after pets
in South Africa, as it becomes very tame and confiding,
running about the house loose, and following the inmates
like adog. It has one objectionable habit, to my mind,
and that is the little whining bark it emits, sometimes
for half an hour at a stretch, which is apt to become
irritating after a time. It is a courageous little animal,
and will walk up to a strange dog, no matter how big
HUNTING LEOPARD 65
the latter may be. This pluckiness, combined no doubt
with curiosity, has been the cause of the untimely death
of many a household pet. In captivity it will eat almost
anything, but raw, finely-chopped meat and hard-boiled
eggs should form the staple diet.
In the wild state it lives in colonies or family parties
in burrows like its near relation, the Thick-tailed Mon-
goose, and like it, is fond of lying basking in the sun or
sitting up on its hind legs near the burrows. It feeds
upon insects and their larve, bulbs, as well as small
mammals, such as mice, &c., reptiles, birds and their
eggs, when procurable. It ranges from the Western
Cape Colony through the Karoo, Orangé Free State, and
Namaqualand to the Southern Transvaal. It is especially
common in the Central Orange Free State where it may
often be found in fair-sized colonies on the open veld.
Generally two young ones are born at a time, which are
reared in a nest at the end of the burrow. A pair in
the Zoo gave birth to three half naked and blind young
in February, 1919. Unfortunately they did not live
long, as the mother insisted upon carrying them about
in her mouth until they were dead.
Family FELIDZ.
Feet digitigrade (viz., the animal walks on the tips.of
the toes) with five toes on the fore, and usually four on
the hind, feet ; toes armed with sharp claws, which are
quite retractile, except in the single case of the Hunting
Leopard or Cheetah. Skull, short and rounded; teeth,
twenty-eight to thirty, with the canines strong and well
developed.
66 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Cynailurus jubatus guttatus. Hunting Leopard.
Tier or Jacht Tier (Tiger).
Panther, of the colonials. Cheetah, of the Anglo-
Indian, which is the name generally given to it in the
Natural History works.
Fic. 16.—Hunting Leopard, or Cheetah.
This graceful creature is placed in a separate genus by
itself, mainly on account of its claws being only partially
retractile. In general coloration it is of an ochreous
yellow, more sandy in some individuals, profusely marked
with solid rounded black spots. As a rule, the upper
portions of the body are darker and more inclined to
reddish than the lower. The hair is thick on the nape
and shoulders, standing up in the form of a mane or
HUNTING LEOPARD 67
crest. The head is blunt in shape, and the ears short
and rounded. The tail is long, with the tip bushy. A
fine mounted example in the Transvaal Museum, which
lived for a long time in the Zoo, measures: Length,
34 feet exclusive of the tail, which is another 24 feet ;
height, 28 inches. The Hunting Leopard or Cheetah
Fic. 17.—Cheetah Cub.
stands higher on its legs than a true Leopard, being
more dog-like in build. Its geographical range resembles
that of the Caracal, but'in South Africa it is now seldom
seen, being commonest in Bechuanaland and the Sabi
Game Reserves of the Hastern Transvaal. The Zoo
has now a lovely example captured in the Waterberg
district of the Transvaal, and presented by Mr. and Mrs.
Bateman; ‘“Billy,’’ as he was named by his former
mistress, is—-like most Cheetahs—of a friendly and
amiable disposition, and answers fairly readily to his
name, purring loudly when called and spoken to, and
usually coming up to the bars of his cage for a caress.
68 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
He is so tame that he can be handled while he is at his
meal; which is a very unfeline-like trait. There was for
many months a tame true Leopard in the next cage to
Billy, and although to all intents and purposes of as
docile a nature as the Cheetah, the difference between
the two became immediately apparent at mealtimes, as
the Leopard’s nature changed at once, and she had to be
chained up to a stake in the ground before her meat was
brought into the cage, the smell thereof causing her to
become excited and obnoxious. As is well known to
naturalists and people living in India, the Cheetah is
tamed by the Hindoos to hunt the Blackbuck, and is
one of the fleetest creatures known.
It inhabits open grass country or grass veld dotted with
scattered bush, seldom resorting to heavily timbered
tracts. In South Africa its food consists mainly of the
smaller antelope, such as Duiker, Steenbuck, &c., and I
believe Baboons form, when available, a special delicacy.
Besides the Waterberg district, the Zoo has had examples
of the Cheetah from the following localities: Nyasaland,
ex-German South-West (‘‘ Bernard,”’ still living and pre-
sented by Lieutenant Wimble, 8.A.M.R.), and from
Malalane, astern Transvaal (Captain Atmore).
Felis leo. Lion. Leeuw.
This animal, called the ‘‘ King of the Forest’’ and the
“King of Beasts” in the story-books, needs but little
description. It is of a general tawny or sandy-yellow
colour, with a black patch at the base of the ears. The
males possess a mane, which in some examples is coloured
like the body, while in others the hairs are strongly
tipped with black. In some the mane may be very
scanty and restricted in area; in others it may be thick
and bushy, extending over the shoulders and along the
LION 69
belly. The tail is furnished with a tuft of long black
hair at the extremity, as well as a horny spur-like growth.
The length of the head and body varies from 6 to 7 feet,
with the tail about another 2} feet. The lion is now
extinct south of the Orange River, and is at present only
found—within the boundaries of South Africa—in South-
ae
Fie. 18.—Black-maned Lion: ‘ Prince.”
West Africa, the Northern Kalahari (Bechuanaland Pro-
tectorate), Rhodesia, and from Zululand through the
Eastern and North-Eastern Transvaal to Portuguese
territory on the east.
Lions go about in pairs or family parties, and generally
inhabit thickets in sandy or rocky localities, or dry reed
patches in river-beds, &c. They are chiefly nocturnal
in habit, prowling about after sunset in search of the
animals which form their food. This consists of the
70 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
larger game, mainly antelopes of all kinds, but also
includes zebras, giraffes, and buffaloes. They will kill
the donkeys and cattle belonging to prospecting and
hunting parties, and will raid Kaffir kraals when driven
to it by hunger. Man-eating lions are generally old
animals with bad teeth. They usually drink in the
evening between sunset and 10 p.m. Their call is the
well-known and awe-inspiring roar, but the lion also
emits a kind of coughing grunt. Two to four cubs are
born during the months of November to March. The
period of gestation, as first observed by Bartlett in the
London Zoo, and verified by me in the Pretoria Zoo, is
sixteen weeks. The lion is easily tamed, and forms,
with the Bengal tiger, one of the chief attractions of a
circus or menagerie. The lion has also been crossed with
the tiger, the cubs being very pretty animals.
Lions are, however—like most of the cat tribe—of
uncertain temper, although less treacherous than most
felines. Two cubs born in the Pretoria Zoo were, when
young, quite devoid of any fear for human beings, making
no attempt to run away when approached, and they had
finally to be lifted up and carried froin one cage to
another, refusing to be scared thither by sticks and
shouts. The eyes of the two cubs were open on the
sixth day. A fine lion in our collection is very tame, and
usually comes for a caress when called. The collection
also contains an interesting and much travelled old
lioness. This animal (‘‘ Beauty’ by name) was given by
the late Cecil John Rhodes to the President of the
South African Republic (the late Paul Kruger), but was
returned to the donor, who then sent her to the London
Zoo. After the Boer War the Zoological Society, upon
being informed of the existence of the then embryo Zoo
in Pretoria, kindly sent: ‘‘ Beauty” out again, and she
So es sl
Fic. 19.—Historical old Rhodes Lioness; ‘‘ Beauty.”
Fie. 21.—Six months old Lions (the same as above).
CAPE WILD CAT 73
has lived in the gardens for sixteen years, being one of
the pets of the staff. A few years ago her claws had
grown into the pads of the feet, owing to the incessant
walking on the concrete floors, and they had to be cut
off and extracted. This operation was performed without
chloroforming the animal, merely by putting her in a
large crate and fastening up her legs with ropes. Tame
as she was, she objected very much to the procedure and
growled, spat, and snarled like a freshly caught animal.
A fine pair of 3-year-old lions were obtained by purchase
from the Belgian Congo in 1916. The female has given
birth to two litters, the first of four (which she did not
rear) and the second of three, by a fine Black-maned
Somali Lion. It was then discovered that the mother
had no milk for her offspring, so they were removed
when only 18 hours old, and put on to a bull terrier
bitch, who—with the subsequent aid of an old pointer
bitch—successfully reared two of the cubs. Photographs
of the cubs, aged 6 weeks and 6 months respectively, are
appended.
Felis caffea. Cape Wild Cat. Wilde Kat or Vaal Boschkat.
(Also called Wild Cat, or Caffre Cat, by the colonials.)
General coloration resembling that of the tame ‘‘tabby”’
of the yellowish type—the ground colour varying from a
speckled grey-brown to a greyish yellow, marked with
more or less distinct dark horizontal stripes. Chin white.
Back of the ears reddish brown. Limbs darker than the
body and ringed with black. Tail ringed towards the
end with black and with a black tip. The kittens are
paler and yellower in tone than the adults, with the mark-
ings paler and less distinct. Length of head and body
of adult, 2 feet. Tail, 9 to 10 inches.
The Wild Cat is fairly common throughout the wooded
74 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
tracts of South Africa. It is nocturnal in habit, prowl-
ing about at night in search of food, and visiting poultry
yards whenever it gets the chance. It lies asleep during
the day in its lair in some reed bed, thicket or bush,
where it also brings forth its young, varying from two
to four or five in a litter. The usual number appears
to be four. It lives chiefly upon rats, mice, and other
rodents, and birds—especially the young of game birds.
It is a fierce and almost untameable animal, exhibiting
but little fear of man. I remember some years ago
coming suddenly upon a pair while shooting in the
mimosa scrub, near Brandfort, Orange Free State, and
they calmly stood and looked at me for a few seconds
before leisurely galloping off into the bush. This animal
often figured amongst the day’s bag of a shooting party
in the eucalyptus plantations north of Johannesburg,
where it no doubt played havoc amongst the young
guinea-fowl and francolin.
Mr. W. L. Sclater, in his ‘“ Mammals of South Africa,”
mentions the fact that some writers recognize two varie-
ties in South Africa, and when I sent him some skins
from Modderfontein, near Johannesburg, in 1904, he
thought they might be those of F. chaus, the Indian
Jungle Cat, or a closely allied species. The general tone
was yellower than that of the Common Wild Cat, and
the tail appeared to be shorter. The subject, however,
requires further consideration before any definite con-
clusion can be arrived at. In captivity the Wild Cat
remains a fierce, snarling creature. The kittens are very
difficult to rear in captivity, but latterly I have had more
success by giving them more room for exercise, fresh air
in plenty, and the natural earth as a floor for their cage
instead of concrete or wooden floors.
The Zoo has had examples from Kleinpoort, Grahams-
BLACKFOOTED CAT 75
town, Norvals Pont, Port Elizabeth, and Three Sisters,
in the Cape; Pretoria District, Rustenburg, Settlers,
Nijlstroom, and Sabi in the Transvaal; and Bethelem,
Orange Free State.
Felis nigripes. Blackfooted Cat. Klein Geviekte Kat.
Smaller than the Kaffir Cat; and of a sandy or tawny
colour, covered with round or oblong very dark brown or
black spots. ars slightly pointed, and of a speckly
brown colour. Legs ringed with black: tail indistinctly
ringed or spotted and tipped with black. The soles of
the feet are quite black, hence its name,
This species is very distinct from the preceding, both
in coloration and general appearance. In coloration
it is more like the Serval, but is shorter on its legs,
besides being a much smaller and more compactly built
animal. Length of head and body, 20 inches. Tail,
6 inches (Sclater). The largest the Zoo has ever pos-
sessed (a fine example ‘from Kimberley) measured 19
inches long, but the usual length seems to be about
16 inches.
Tt ranges from the Central Cape Colony to the Eastern
Transvaal. It is not uncommon in the Pretoria District.
We procured two half-grown young ones while shooting
at Jericho in the Bushveld in June, 1914—they were
hiding from the dogs in a low thick bush, and were
easily caught. The Gardens have had examples from
the following localities: Kimberley, Wolvehoek, Elands
River, and several other places in the Transvaal.
It is a very difficult animal to keep alive in captivity,
pining away and dying very suddenly. Old examples,
when captured, only sulk and refuse to feed. It is
also of a wild, retiring nature, and almost impossible to
76 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
tame, spitting and snarling at one after many months
of captivity.
Leopardus pardus. Leopard. Luipaard and Tiyger.
(Sometimes ‘ Tiger,” of the colonials.)
The Leopard is almost as well known an animal in
South Africa as the Lion, and its handsomely marked
skin is much prized by Europeans and Blacks alike.
Fic. 22.—Baby Leopards at play.
The ground colour of the fur is of a yellowish shade,
fading to white on the region of the belly, covered with
dark brown or black spots, those on the back, sides and
flanks being arranged so as to form incomplete rings
with light centres. The tail is ringed. Length of head
and body from 3 feet 6 inches to 5 feet. Tail, ¥ feet 6
inches to 3 feet. It is a shorter-legged, longer-bodied
animal than the Cheetah, from which it is further dis-
tinguished by its “ringed” spots. The Leopard is found
LEOPARD 77
all over Africa, and also inhabits a large portion of India.
In South Africa it is not uncommon in the more wooded
localities ; and is still fairly common in the Albany
Division of Cape Province, where a dark or melanistic
variety also occurs. The Zoo has had examples from
India, Ceylon, Mocambique, Rhodesia, Pietersburg, Belfast,
Sabi, and South-West Africa, The latter animals appear
of a more sandy tone than those from the Union.
Fie. 23,—Young Leopard (‘‘ Nora’).
The Leopard’s favourite haunts are on rocky hillsides
or amongst thick bush, but sometimes it may be found
on rocky or stony kopjes, where there is little or no bush.
It hunts singly or in pairs, and is more nocturnal in its
habits than the lion. Its food chiefly consists of Dassies,
Baboons, Monkeys, Cane-rats, Duikers, Bluebucks, and
other small Antelopes, and it will steal lambs, pigs and
poultry from the farmyard. The Leopard is an active
78 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
climber, and ascends large trees. We have seen one
descending from a tree and sliding down the trunk as
a cat would slide down a pole.
It gives birth in the spring to from three to six cubs,
the former being the more usual number.
Although not to be trusted with as much confidence as
a Lion, we have possessed one or two very tame examples,
notably a female called ‘‘Nora,”’ who lived in the gardens
for three years, until she was viciously done to death—
for no accountable reason—by a male leopard. Up to
the last she could be taken out of her cage and walked
about the grounds on a chain (when the public were
absent).
Several litters have been born in the gardens, three
being the usual number. The cubs are barely 6 inches
long when born, and are blind and helpless. At six
weeks they begin to play like kittens, and a prettier
sight can hardly be imagined than a dozing leopard with
her cubs gambolling around her. The period of gesta-
tion as observed here is from ninety-two to ninety-five
days.
Zibethailurus serval capensis. Serval. Tier (Tiger)
Bosch-kat.
(Tiger Cat of the colonials.)
This animal is a higher, ‘‘leggier’’ looking animal
than the common Wild Cat. It is of a reddish yellow
ground colour, varying individually—some being darker
and others lighter in shade—covered with solid black
spots, which take the form of bands on the nape and
sides of the neck and upper shoulder. Length of head
and body about 23 feet, tail9 inches. A fine example in
the Pretoria Zoo stands 18 inches high at the shoulders.
SOUTH ‘AFRICAN LYNX 79
The Serval ranges throughout the sub - continent,
although nowhere common. It inhabits the reed-beds
or thickets of bush, but prefers the neighbourhood of
streams. It lives chiefly on small mammals and birds.
oh
PPR ar ei,
Fig. 24.—Serval, or Tiger Bush-cat.
The Zoo has had examples from Griqualand East,
Sterkwater, Pisanghoek, and Rhodesia. A fine pair has
been recently received from Barotseland—a present from
His Excellency Lord Buxton.
Caracal nubica. South African Lynz. Rooikat.
(Caracal of the Natural Histories.)
This animal can at once be distinguished by its general
reddish colour and pencilled ears. The chin, upper throat,
and lower portion of the cheeks are white, while the
tufts of long hair on the ears are black. The tail is short.
80 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
and of the same colour as the body. Length of head and
body about 3 feet. Tail, 1 foot.
This handsome creature is an inhabitant of the entire
African continent, extending even to Arabia, Persia, and
India, although the Caracal of the latter regions bears
a different sub-specific name.
Fie. 25.—African Lynx, or Caracal.
We have found them not uncommon in the neighbour-
hood of Grahamstown, and in certain bushy tracts of the
Orange Free State. The Zoo has obtained examples
from Mafeking, Kimberley, Christiania, Van Rynsdorp,
Griqualand, and Serowe. It preys upon small mammals
and birds, especially game-birds and their young, and
has been known to ravage sheep kraals. It is of a some-
SOUTH AFRICAN LYNX 81
what fierce nature, and will even after some years of
captivity growl and spit at the approach of anyone. We
have, however, at present a female which has been hand-
reared, and which is as tame as a house cat; it will come
up to the bars of the cage when called, rubbing itself
against the sides and purring loudly in a similar manner
to the familiar “tabby.”
Order PINNIPEDIA.
A group of carnivorous animals specially adapted by
Nature for an aquatic life, including the Walrus, Seals,
and Sealions. The limbs are modified to form paddle-
like or fin-like appendages termed “flippers,” the digits
of which are united by a membrane. ‘Tail short.
Family OTARITD.%.
This family contains the Eared Seals, characterized by
the possession of a small external ear, and by the structure
of the hind hmbs, which project forward, and so enable
the animals to progress on land.
Arctocephalus capensis. The Cape Sealion. Zeeleeuw.
(Robbe or Seal of the Cape fisherman ; Seadog or Seabear of
the Natural Histories and Whalers.)
This animal is also called the Cape Fur Seal, although
it is not a true seal at all. Captain Woodward, of Sea-
lion fame, told me that he considered the Cape animal
not nearly so intelligent as the Californian species; at
any rate, when judged from the standpoint of the trainer.
Tn coloration it is of a rich dark brown, ruddier on the
neck. Old males have a fairly well developed mane all
round the neck. Length about 6 feet; tail, 3 inches.
It isan inhabitant of the sea, landing upon the small
islands along the south and south-west coasts of South
Africa to breed in the summer, when the females usually
give birth to two young—or to shed their fur in winter.
The skins form, on account of the fur, an article of
THE CAPE SEALION 83
commerce, fetching about 25s. each on the London
market.
The Zoo has possessed eight of these animals, living
for nearly three years in this altitude, and in fresh water.
They were fairly intelligent, coming when called, or at
feeding time, jumping out of the water and clambering
Fig. 26..—Cape Sealions.
up a rockery to dive off for their fish. Their speed in the
water was wonderful to see, and as their tank is 100 feet
long they could develop a good spurt. During the heat
of the day they would lie on the water only half sub-
merged, with the body in a peculiarly curved attitude,
not making a movement, except to blink an eye or scratch
themselves. They had voracious appetites, and would
swallow 10 lb. of fish each, when given them, and then
84 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
look for more. When we lost the last two through an
accident—the one overbalanced itself from the top of
the rockery, falling backwards and striking its head on
the rocks at the edge of the water—they were only about
three-quarters grown, so I presume full-grown animals
would easily devour 20 lb. of fish per diem, if it was
given to them.
Family PHOCID/E.
True or Earless Seals.
The chief external character which distinguishes the
members of this family from the eared Seals and Walruses,
is the backwardly directed nature of the hind limbs, being
more like a paddle or rudder. There is no external ear,
and the front limbs are smaller than the hind ones, and
have well developed claws. The under surfaces of the
feet are covered with fur.
Macrorhinus leoninus. lephant Seal or Sea Elephant.
Zee-Olufant.
This Seal, which is the largest of the pinniped
carnivora, takes its trivial name from the proboscis-like
appendage on the nose of the male, which can be expanded
at the will of the animal. The teeth are small, and the
cheek teeth are of simple structure. There are no claws
on the hind feet.
The colour is grey, with a blackish tinge, and is darker
above than below; fur coarse and short. Length from
15 to 20 feet (males), 9 to 10 feet (females).
This seal formerly inhabited the islands of the South
Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, but is becoming
scarcer and more restricted in range, owing to constant
ELEPHANT SEAL OR SEA ELEPHANT 85
persecution. It was common on the Falkland Islands and
Tristan da Cunha, but is now scarce on the former, and
has entirely disappeared from the latter.
As one or two examples have been procured off
Mozambique, I am including the species in my work.
The Transvaal Museum contains the skeleton of one from
Delagoa Bay.
Order RODENTIA.
This is a large group contaihing the so-called “gnawing’”’
animals, which are usually of small size and are
characterized by the possession of chisel-like incisor teeth
in both jaws, which are curved, rootless and extend far
back into the jaws: these teeth grow throughout the
life of the animal and are kept within bounds by the
gnawing of wood, &c. There are no canine teeth, and
the premolars are reduced. Their feet are plantigrade or
nearly so. Rodents are found all over the world, being
commonest in South America, and scarcest in Madagascar
and Australia. Most rodents are herbivorous, although
some are carnivorous feeders. Typical rodents first made
their appearance in the Upper and Lower Eocene periods.
There are two sub-orders, the Simplicidentata (with only
one pair of upper Incisors) and the Duplicidentata (with
six above and two below at birth; the outer pair of the
former is soon lost, the second pair being considerably
reduced in size, the third pair being large). The
Simplicidentata are divided into three “tribes’’: the
Sciuromorpha, containing the Squirrels and Beavers, the
Myomorpha, with the Rats, Mice, Jerboas, Mole-rats, &c.,
and the Hystricomorpha containing the Springhares,
Porcupines, Agouties, Pacas, Cavies, «Kc.
Family SCIURID-%.
This is a small family in South Africa, containing only
four species of Squirrels. The skull possesses post-orbital
processes, and the molars are tubercular and rooted. The
premolars number two above and one below.
YELLOW SQUIRREL 87
Paraxerus cepapi. Yellow Squirrel. Gele Eckhoorntje.
Grey-footed Squirrel of some authors.
General colour above of a grizzled yellowish colour,
owing to the hairs being black at the bases, and with a
subterminal black ring ; below much paler—almost white.
The ears are of moderate size and sparsely haired. The
tail is bushy and of a darker appearance than the body, the
yellow hairs bearing a double ring of black. Length of
head and body 6 inches, tail6} inches. This little squirrel
is the commonest and most widely distributed of the few
arboreal species in South Africa, and is found in the
Pretoria and Rustenburg bushveld, especially in the
more wooded valleys of water-courses. It feeds upon
the berries and seed-pods of various trees, principally the
fruit of the ‘‘ marula’’ when in season; and it descends
to the ground in search of bulbous roots of various kinds.
It is usually found singly or in pairs, and it can run up
the perpendicular trunk of a tree with great ease and
rapidity. 1 also met with this little animal at Serowe in
Bechuanaland, and while strolling round near the
magistrate’s house there I saw several scampering over
the ground, dashing from one tree to another; they
appeared to befairly tame. This species is said to inhabit
the whole of Rhodesia—in fact the first examples the
Zoo possessed came from Shesheke on the Zambesi River
—Damaraland and Nyasaland. It is a sprightly little
creature in captivity, making for itself a round nest of
grass, to which it retires for the hot part of the day,
issuing forth to feed towards sunset. During the morn-
ing it climbs and runs about with rapidity, and will come
up to be fed from the hand. A female in the collection
gave birth to two young ones. When captured young it
makes an interesting and tame little pet, but is not so
easily tamed as either the Mierkat or Ground Squirrel. ©
88 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
There are two other species found within our borders ;
of these the Red-headed Squirrel (Parazerus palliatus)
differs mainly from the previous animal by being of
a rufous colour below, and ranging from Zululand in
the east up through Mozambique and Nyasaland to
Central East Africa. The Striped Squirrel (Paraxerus
congicus) is browner above than either of the preceding
species and can be immediately recognized by the two
parallel stripes which run from the shoulder to the hind
limbs: a pale yellow one above, below which there is a
dark one. This is a West African form, coming as far
south as Ovamboland in South West territory.
The American Grey Squirrel (Sciuwrus carolinensis) was
introduced into Cape Town some years ago by the late
Cecil Rhodes and has multiplied to such an extent that it
has now overrun the Cape Peninsula and has become a
pest in gardens and orchards.
Geosciurus capensis. Ground Squirrel. Waaerstaart.
Although often called a Mierkat by the South Africans
and especially by the Boers, this animal is, needless to
say, not a Mierkat at all but a true rodent—a squirrel
adapted by nature for a life on the ground instead of
amongst the branches of trees, like its relations all over
the world.
Above and on the sides it is of a pale red-brown, or
greyish-brown colour slightly speckled with black, the
hairs being short and bristly; a narrow white stripe runs
from the shoulders to the haunches, and the underparts
of the body are also white; eyes fairly large, but an ear
conch is absent. The legs have four claws on the fore
and five on the hind feet. Tail bushy, laterally flattened,
greyish—with a pale line down the centre, darkening
GROUND SQUIRREL 89
towards the tip, where the hairs are banded with black
and white. The length of the head and body is 1 foot ;
the tail about 10 inches. The head is broad. The
Ground Squirrel ranges from the central portions of the
Cape Province (the Karroo-veld) northwards through the
Orange Free State and the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
Tt is purely a terrestrial animal, forming burrows or holes
in the earth, where numbers live together in colonies or
warrens ; several may often be seen sitting up on their
hind legs like Mierkats, watching with great interest and
curiosity any passer-by. Should the intruder approach
too closely, into their burrows they all scuttle, one or
two, more venturesome than the rest, popping their
heads out for a last peep. It has a peculiar habit of
flashing the tail up, and down (hence their Dutch name
of ‘‘ Waving-tail”), and has a weird whining shriek
when alarmed. When captured young this squirrel
makes a tame and charming pet, running about the house
with the freedom of a cat. It feeds chiefly upon bulbs,
such as the ’ and the roots of various plants,
grain and seeds. Numbers of these squirrels have been
bred in the National Zoological Gardens and the quota
of young at a birth apparently varies from two to six—
four being the usual number. They live well in captivity
upon maize, sunflower seed, monkey-nuts (ground-nuts),
acorns, &c. The genus Geosciurus with its single
species is peculiar to the African continent.
“ eentje ’
Family GLIRIDZ.
Dormice. Bos-staart Muisen or Zeven-slaper.
This is a group of small mouse-like animals with long
bushy tails, slender forelimbs, and large ears and eyes.
Their dentition is: 1 incisor above and 1 below, no
canines, 1 premolar, and 3 molars above and below
90 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
on either side = 20; the incisor teeth are grooved.
The Dormice are of arboreal habits and of a greyish
colour. Trouessart, in his “Catalogus Mammalium,”
only mentions three species for South Africa, while
Fic. 27.—Cape Dormouse.
Mr. W. L. Sclater describes five in his “ Fauna of South
Africa : Mammals,” vol. ii. Since the appearance of the
latter work a few more species have been described,
notably by Roberts of the Transvaal Museum, including
Graphiurus pretorie, from Pretoria, and Graphiurus
castwood@, from the Woodbush. The commoner species
are :—
RATS AND MICE OT
Large Grey Dormouse (Graphiurus ocularis), measur-
ing some 6 inches in length, with a tail of 4 inches with
no white tip. This Dormouse is said to range all over
Cape Colony, extending into Damaraland and the Central
Transvaal. It is easily distinguished by its prettily
marked black-and-white head.
Cape Dormouse (Graphiurus murinus), measuring only
slightly over 4 inches, and with a tail of 34 inches,
also without a white tip. It is found in the more
wooded districts, ranging from East Africa southwards
to Cape Colony, and is usually arboreal in habit, although
it may be found in old stone walls, &c.
There are three more species inhabiting Rhodesia and
South-West Africa which need not here concern us
further.
These little animals live in holes or hollows in trees,
under thatched roofs of houses or huts, or even in old
stone walls, where they build a nest of grass or other
suitable material. We have kept both species described
above in the Pretoria Zoo, where the Cape Dormouse
has even bred, bringing forth three naked and blind
young ones in a rounded nest of tow and grass, built
inside a small square box. They fed upon sunflower
seeds, ground-nuts, bread and milk, &c.; but insects and
their larvee, fruits, berries, and young shoots, &c., form
the bill of fare in the wild state. Like their Kuropean
relations they hibernate during our cold months.
Family MURIDA.
Rats and Mice. Rotten en Muizen.
A family of small to medium-sized rodents, without
premolars, a reduced pollex (first toe of the hind foot)
and, with few exceptions, a sparsely haired tail. The
skull is without post-orbital processes and has contracted
92 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
frontal bones. The dentition is: incisors 1-1, canines
nil, premolars nil, molars 3-3 on either side, making a
total of 16 teeth.
There are a fair number of South African species
referable to twelve genera, which I will not describe in
great detail, owing to the fact that the smaller rodents
are of a difficult group to work at, and require more
than the average knowledge of anatomy possessed by the
amateur zoologist or field naturalist.
Genus TATERA.
Gerbilles. Haarstaart Muizen.
Rat-hke in build with long hairy tails, pointed snouts
and moderate ears only slightly hairy; the hind feet are
long and possess four circular tarsal pads.
They reside in subterranean burrows and feed on seeds,
roots, &c. Trouessart recognized four species, Tatera
lobengula, Tatera afer, Tatera brantsi and Tatera paeba.
The latter is of a reddish orange colour above and white
below, whereas the first three are of a brownish fawn—
paler or darker according to the species.
Genus PACHYUROMYS.
Closely allied to the true Gerbilles, but with much
shorter tails and the tympanic bulle of the skull much
swollen and enlarged. One species is found in Namaqua-
land, Damaraland and Bechuanaland (Pachyuromys
auricularis), which is of a tawny brownish colour with
a darker mottling of the thick short fur.
Genus OTOMYS.
Water Rats, Vlei [otten.
Rat-like animals possessing short tails covered with
scales and bristles. Ears generally large, and hind feet
short. Trouessart recognized five species, but several]
TREE MICH 93
more have been described since the last edition of his
‘“‘Catalogus Mammalium.”’
This genus contains the ‘ Vlei” Rats, animais about
9 inches in length and of a dark brown colour, living in
the marshy spruits and vleis, or in the scrubby bush
localities of the veld. .
In the Pretoria District the Brown Vlei Rat (Otomys
trroratus) is found amongst the rushes and reed beds of
the Aapies River (being found even within the precincts
of the Zoo), where it makes runs or pathways for itself
through the undergrowth, and subsists upon bulbs,
roots, &c. It does not live very well in captivity, the
majority soon getting a species of dysentery which
speedily carries them off.
The other species are Otomys unisulcatus, Otomys
brantsi, Otomys sloggettt and Otomys broomi.
Genus DENDROMYS. Tree Mice. Boom Muizen.
This genus contains the small tree mice with long
scaly tails sparsely covered with hairs. They have
slender legs and large ears. Four species are found in
South Africa. There are two chestnut coloured species :
a larger with usually, though not invariably, a black
stripe down the centre of. the back (Dendromys meso-
melas), length 34 inches, tail 8} inches—ranging from
Nyasaland to Cape Colony; and a smaller (Dendromys
pumilto) scarcely 2 inches in length, with a tail of
24 inches, without a black dorsal stripe. Both species
are whitish on the underparts. The Chestnut Tree
Mouse (D. mesomelas) is fond of the reedbeds bordering
watercourses, vleis, &c., where they commandeer the
nests of weaver birds wherein to bring forth their young.
It may also be found in bushy localities, where it makes
a nest for itself in the branches of a tree or bush. The
94 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Small Tree Mouse (D. pumilio) is similar in habits to the
preceding species.
Both the above species have been kept in the Pretoria
Zoo, where they lived fairly well upon bread and milk,
bird seed, grain, &c. There is a third species, the Grey
Tree Mouse (Dendromys melanotis), easily distinguish-
able from the first two by its general greyish tinge. It
also possesses a black line down the centre of the back.
Length of head and body, 2? inches; tail nearly 3 inches.
It has so far only been recorded from the coastal tract
from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth and Durban.
Two genera—Steatomys, with one species (the short-
tailed Fat-mouse), and Melothriz with two species of
Mouse Gerbille—need not here concern us further.
Sub-Family MURINZ.
This sub-family embraces the true rats and mice.
Genus MUS.
Muzzle pointed, no cheek pouches. Eyes prominent.
Tail more than half the length of the body and covered
with scales, and generally also a few bristly hairs. The
incisor teeth are not grooved and usually fairly narrow.
This is a large genus, but so far only thirteen indigenous
South African species are enumerated by Trouessart. To
this were added a number recently described by Thomas
and Schwann, and others. To this genus belongs the two
domestic Rats—-Black and the Brown (Mus ratiwus and
M. decumanus) and the House-Mouse (M. muscles), both
of which have now overrun South Africa. The Black rat
has become very common in Pretoria during recent years
and together with its brown cousin has become a pest in
the Zoo, although constant war is waged on them.
WHITE-NOSED RAT 95
The commonest of the wild or indigenous species is
perhaps the White-nosed Rat (M. cowcha) which I have
located in the neighbourhood of Johannesburg and
Modderfontein, and in the Rustenburg and Pretoria
districts. I procured it at Modderfontein amongst the
mimosa scrub, where it constructed runs and burrows,
Fic. 28.—White-nosed Rat,
and in hollow antheaps on the veld not far from scrubby
or reedy localities. Here a rounded nest of grass is made
and the young brought forth and reared. This species
has bred in the Pretoria Zoo, and three would appear to
be the usual number of a litter. It feeds upon almost any
vegetable matter, and in captivity is fond of sunflower
seeds and bread and milk. It is of a dark slaty-brown
above and dirty white below, with the tip of the nose and
96 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
feet white. Length of head and body 44 inches; tail
3% inches. This species has the widest range of any rat
on the African continent, being found from Abyssinia and
the Congo, southwards to Cape Colony.
The small Field Mouse (Mus minutoides) (called by
Oldfield Thomas and Trouessart (Leggada minutotdes)
is a small fawn-coloured mouse with white underparts.
It measures some 2+ to 245 inches in length, with the
tail another 2 inches. I also took this little mouse at
Modderfontein from hollow antheaps, where—like its
larger congener, the White-nosed Rat—it makes a
small domed or rounded nest of grass. It doubtless also
makes nests amongst the cornfields and mealie lands
where it is also found. A closely allied form, more
chestnut in shade, inhabits the bushveld of the Central
Transvaal. Mr. A. Roberts calls this Leggada deserti.
Genus Cricetomys.
Much like Afws in external characters; size large;
cheek pouches present, for the storage of food.
Cricetomys gambianus, Waterh.
Giant Rat. Reuzen Rot or Groot Rot.
This animal looks like a large edition of the common
Brown Rat. It has, however, dark speckles on the dorsal
region and has a dark ring round the eye. The ears are
oval and nearly naked. Edges of upper lip white; nose
dark. Tail long and sparsely haired; the distal third
being white. Length of head and body from 13 to 15
inches ; tail 15 to 17 inches.
This enormous Rat was first described from Gambia in
West Africa, and has since been recorded from Central
and Hast Africa, a number of sub-species having been
GIANT RAT 97
described. Sclater records a pair in the South Africa
Museum obtained by the late Captain H. F. Francis at
Inhambane on the Mozambique coast.
The Zoo possesses two living examples received from
Miss Olive and Master J. Stevens of Stonehenge Estate,
Fic, 29.—Giant Rat.
Louis Trichardt, Northern Transvaal, which brings the
animal well within the Union of South Africa.
The sub-species is not yet clear and may even be new
to science.
In captivity it eats much the same food as other
rodents, and sleeps through the best part of the day,
becoming active toward sundown. These examples
measure, head and body, 15 inches; tail, 16} inches.
7
98 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Genus EOSACCOMYS.
There are four species of Pouched Rats, the commonest
of which is Hosaccomys campestria. They are rat-like
animals with cheek pouches and a short tail. They live
in cultivated fields, making their burrows with an
opening at both ends.
There are two other genera, Acomys and Dasymys,
both of which are but little known.
Genus ARVICANTHUS.
Striped Field Mice. Gestreepte Muizen.
Ears hairy. First and fifth digits sbort. The Striped
Field Mouse (Arvicanthus pumilio) has been divided into
a number of sub-species, the Bechuanaland form being
larger and of a more sandy tone, while the Rhodesian is
darker. The typical species has the body of a greyish
brown colour with four longitudinal black stripes running
down the back from the shoulders to the root of the tail.
The length of the head and body varies from 3} to
5 inches ; tail from 4 to 6 inches.
The Striped Mouse is found in reedbeds or bushy
patches near watercourses, or in bush country, although
my personal experience has been invariably to find them
on the banks of streams, vleis, &c., where they make
runs, like the Vlei Rats, and live upon vegetable matter
of all kinds, even devouring human excreta. This Mouse
has bred in the Pretoria Zoo, giving birth to two or three
young ones at a time.
A second species (4. dorsalis) differs from the foregoing
by the presence of only one stripe along the back.
SAND MOLE 99
Sub-family CRICHTIN Al,
Genus MYSTROMYS.
Fur soft and woolly. Ears large and broad. Tail short.
The White-tailed Mouse (Mystromys albipes = albi-
caudatus) is brownish grey above and paler below, the
tail, feet, nose, and chin being white. Body plump,
hence its name of “Fat Mouse” sometimes used by
authors. The Zoo possessed a pair from a cave near
Krugersdorp, presented by Dr. H. Lyster Jameson,
which bred freely and reared a number of litters. Four
appeared to be the usual number, and the young hung
on to their mother’s teats while she stalked about in a
most unconcerned manner.
Family BATHYERGIDAL.
Rodents with a short tail and legs, tiny eyes and no
ear conch. They are adapted for an underground ex-
istence. Two genera inhabit South Africa. Bathyergus
with the upper incisor teeth grooved; claws strong.
Georychus with the upper incisors smooth; claws smaller.
Bathyergus maritimus (= suillus). Sand Mole. Zand
Mol, and Duwinmol.
Colour greyish, browner on the back. Fur thick and
woolly. Head pointed, a bare flesh-coloured area round the
nostril, and reaching the upper lip. Ear-conches absent,
being mere circular apertures surrounded by bare skin.
Legs short, claws strong and well developed for digging.
The incisor teeth are white and prominent, the upyer
being also grooved; they are visible owing to their
length and the shortness of the lips. Tail short and
covered on the sides with white bristle-like hairs. Length
of head and body from 12 to 16 inches; tail 14 inches.
100 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
This animal is found in the sand-dunes and flats along
the coast where it forms burrows. It ranges from
Namaqualand past the Cape Peninsula to Knysna and
is not found inland. It feeds upon vegetable matter,
especially bulbs and roots.
Genus GEORYCHUS.
Resembling the previous genus, but the claws much
smaller.
Georychus capensis. Star Sand-Mole. Blesmol.
Colour brownish or red-brown above, paler on the
sides and greyish below. Head darker. On the top of
the head and round the face a series of pure white
spots. Head short and blunt in shape; the eyes very
small. No external ear. Tail short, thick, and covered
with white bristles. Incisors white and smooth. Length
of head and body 8 to 9 inches, tail finch. It ranges
from the Western Cape Colony to Southern Bechuana-
land in the north and Natal in the east. The Blesmol
burrows like the common Sandmole, throwing up mounds
of earth at intervals. It lives on bulbs and roots, and is
very fond of potatoes when these are available.
Georychus hottentotus. Mole Rat. Bruin Mol.
Colour similar to the preceding, slightly darker above.
Size much smaller, length of head and body only 5} 1n.
No sign of white on the head.
This is the cominon species of the eastern and
northern districts, ranging from the Eastern Cape
Colony and Natal through the Orange Free State and
Transvaal
There are three other less known species, G. damar-
SPRINGHARE, OR CAPE JUMPING HARE 101
ensis, G. darlingi, and G. nimrodt, besides a number of
recently created new forms of more or less validity.
Sand-moles are destructive to the agriculturist, as
they are fond of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and roots of
various kinds.
Family PEDETIDA.
Genus PEDETES.
This animal is kangaroo-like in form, with short fore-
limbs, and long well-developed hind legs, enabling it to
jump long distances. There are powerful claws on the
forelegs, which are formed for digging. Dentition:
incisors 1-1, canines 0-0, premolars 1-1, molars 2-3 = 20.
Pedetes caffer. Springhare, or Cape Jumping Hare.
Springhaas.
Colour yellowish or sandy brown above, paler along
the sides, and whitish below. The ears are long and
pointed. The tail is strongly tipped with black. Hind
feet with only four toes armed with straight, nail-like
claws. Length of head and body about 2 feet. Tail about
1 feet 9inches. This peculiar animal is found throughout
the higher and dryer regions of South Africa, where it
lives in colonies, forming deep burrows in the earth. It
feeds, after sunset, upon roots, bulbs, and green vege-
tation. Its flesh is white and palatable, although many
people will not eat it in South Africa, owing to prejudice.
A favourite method of hunting the animal is with a
bull’s-eye or acetelyene lantern at night, the animal being
blinded or fascinated by the light, at which it sits and
stares—or may be it does so from curiosity; the eyes
-gleam like coals of fire and offer an easy mark to the
sportsman. It progresses by leaps and bounds, after the
102 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
manner of a kangaroo, but it can also crawl along in
a more leisurely manner. When captured young it
becomes very tame and makes an interesting pet. The
natives catch them by means of a horsehair or wire
noose set in the mouth of the burrow. It is a des-
tructive animal in cultivated lands, devouring the growing
crops. Captive specimens have shown a partiality to
oats. It chews with rapidity.
Family OCTODONTIDA.
(Ctenodactylide.)
All four limbs provided with five claws. Clavicles
imperfect.
Petromys typicus. tock Rat. Noki Rot.
Colour grey brown or slaty, the hinder part of the
back and point of the muzzle bright chestnut. Below
dirty white. Whiskers long and black. Tail slightly
shorter than head and body and covered by long black
hairs. Length of head and body 5% inches. Tail
54 inches.
Dentition: Incisors 1-1, canines 0-0, premolars 1-1,
molars 8-3 = 20. This animal has so far only been
found in the rocky mountains of Namaqualand.
Thryonomys swinderianus. Cane Rat. Riet Rot.
This is a stout, rat-like animal with a short tail and
bristly fur of a speckled yellow and brown colour above ;
paler below. It is the largest rodent in South Africa
(excluding the Porcupine), being from 12 to 20 inches
in length, with a tail of 6 to 7 inches. It ranges from
the Eastern Cape Colony through Natal and the Eastern
Transvaal, northwards to the Congo and East Africa. It
CANE RAT 103
inhabits the cane thickets or reed beds, forming lairs in
the long grass or rushes, and feeding upon various roots,
bulbs and other vegetable matter. It swims well and
will take to the water when pursued. It lives fairly well
in captivity, and will breed if given suitable accommoda-
Fie. 30.—Cane Rats.
tion. It is fond of sugar-cane and is said to do con-
siderable damage to the plantations in Natal and
Zululand. The natives are fond of the flesh and hunt
the animal with dogs; they also snare them in wooden
traps. When down at Hectorspruit in the Eastern
Transvaal last June, our dogs killed one half way up a
rocky hillside, a peculiar locality for a Cane Rat.
Family HYSTRICIDA.
. Genus HYSTRIX.
Body: covered with quills. Tail short. Dentition
similar to the preceding genus, the number of teeth
being the same, but the molars are semi-rooted.
104 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Hystrix africe-australis. South African Porcupine.
Ljzer-vark.
Colour dark brownish-black, the fore and under parts
of the body being covered with long bristly hair; on the
rest of the upper portion the bristles become modified
into the true quills, which are stiff, sharp, and banded
with dark brown and white. Length of head and body
2 feet, tail about 5 inches.
Fic. 31.— Albino Porcupine.
The Porcupine is found all over Southern Africa. It
is nocturnal in habits, coming out at night to feed,
although this is not the case with animals in captivity,
who come out at all hours and will feed before sunset.
They are reported as good eating by those who have tried
it, but as they are very often infested with fleas and ticks,
I have never brought myself to attempt the delicacy.
SOUTH AFRICAN PORCUPINE 105
A pair in the Pretoria Zoo have regularly given birth to
two litters a year, the number being two at a birth, with
the exception of two occasions—once when three were
born and again only one youngone. The third young one
of the litter was not reared however. The male is a good
father, and if any interference with his family is attempted
Fie. 32.—Porcupines and Young.
he will fly out of his house and approach sideways, rattling
his quills in a threatening manner, the sound somewhat
resembling a motor car being started up. The young
when born are about the size of a three-quarter grown
hedgehog, the quills being about three-quarters of an inch
long and quite soft.
106 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Family LEPORIDAS.
Genus LEPUS.
Ears and hind legs, long. Fore legs medium. Tail
short and bushy. Five toes to the fore and four to the
hind legs. Dentition: incisors at birth 3-1, afterwards
2-1; canines 0-0; premolars 3-2; molars 3-3=28.
The Thick-tailed Hares have been separated into a new
genus, Pronolagus, by Thomas and Schwann (Trouessart
in his ‘‘Catalogus Mammalium” includes them under
the genus ‘“Oryctolagus’’), chiefly upon anatomical
characters, which need not further concern the readers of
this book, except that the ears are shorter and the body
more compact and rabbit-like.
Pronolagus crassicaudatus. Cape Rabbit. Kaapse Konijn
or Eoot-haas.
Fur thicker and softer than in the succeeding species,
speckly yellowish brown and black, giving a brownish hue
to the upper parts, and reddish white below. Chin white ;
a black stripe on the cheek on either side of the face.
Fars of moderate size and rounded at the edges. At the
back of the head and neck a reddish patch. The legs are
red-brown and the tail, which is short and bushy, is of the
same colour, with no trace of black or white, so character-
istic of the other species of South African Hares. Length
of head and body 20 inches, tail 35 inches
This Rabbit is only found in rocky hills or kranzes,
and is fairly well distributed over the sub-continent. It
lives in pairs or colonies amongst the rocks. I found it
fairly common in the hills around “ Orange Grove” to
the north of Johannesburg. The young—one or two—
are brought forth in a well-developed state, well covered
with fur, differing in this respect from tame Rabbits. I
CAPE HARE 107
have captured several on the rocky hillside to the north
of the Zoo, and one female so caught gave birth in
captivity to one young one, but did not survive the
birth of her youngster. A second species, C. ruddi, was
described by Thomas and Schwann in 1905 from Sibu-
deni in Zululand, which has a redder tail and browner
nape spot.
Lepus capensis. Cape Hare. Viak Haas.
General colour yellowish grey brown, mottled with
darker owing to the woolly hair being slate colour at the
base and tips yellowish or dun-brown with a subterminal
black band; the sides are ruddier and the underside
whitish. The back of the neck and head is grey. Ears
about 44 inches long ; tail 4 inches in length and black
above, white below. Length of head and body from
20 to 24 inches.
This Hare ranges all over Cape Colony, Natal and the
Orange Free State, and is found on the plains or amongst
scattered scrub or bush. It feeds at early morn and
towards sunset. It makes a ‘‘form”’ or lair in a tuft of
grass or under a small bush or weed, although when
pursued it will take to an Aardvark or Mierkat hole. Its
speed is not as poor as the natural histories want to make
out, as the writer has often had excellent sport with grey-
hounds on the Free State flats. We have shot females
with a well-developed foetus towards the end of July and
beginning of August, so that late winter or early spring
seems to be the breeding season, and two the usual
number at a birth. A highveld species, Lepus ochropus,
is distinguished from the above by its yellow throat and
nape.
A new species, Lepus monticularis, was described from
Deelfontein in the Cape Colony.
08 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Lepus saxatilis. Bush Hare. Kol Haas.
This animal is called the Rock Hare by Sclater, and
although it is found in stony kopjes in some localities—
like its relative the Vlak Haas—it is essentially a bush-
loving and bush-frequenting species. It is larger than
the Cape Hare and differs further from this species by the
fact that there is a rufous patch behind the neck on the
nape, by its relatively longer ears (length 54 inches) and
legs, and by a white spot on the forehead, which is,
however, not always present or conspicuous. Length of
head and body from 24 to 27 inches. Tail 4 inches. It
is found amongst the hills or bush from the Central Cape
Province northwards. It is quite common amongst the
eucalyptus plantations on the Rand, and I have found it
plentiful amongst the mimosa scrub in the valleys and at
the foot of the Free State hills, and in the Pretoria bush-
veld, where it is more common in the scattered thorn
bush with fair undergrowth than in the more heavily
timbered tracts. Itisagood runner and makes excellent
eating. It resembles the Vlak Haas in the fact that the
number of young at a birth appears to be two. Like the
preceding species it makes a lair in a tuft of grass or in
a small thick bush, where it lies very close until disturbed.
I have seen a pointer ‘“‘stand’’ on a Kol Haas in its
“form ’’ for fully five minutes, when the hare had to be
kicked out of its hiding place, from almost under the dog’s
nose.
A new form with smaller ears was described by Thomas
and Schwann under the name of zulwensis.
Order HYRACOIDEA.
This small order comprises the Rock Rabbits or Coneys
—small rodent-like animals with hoof-like nails to the
feet (excepting the second digit of the fore feet, which is
furnished with a curved claw). These little animals
have been classified with the rodents and also with the
ungulata (or hoofed animals). They are certainly not
rodents according to their dentition, and have not much
in common with the ungulata, so we prefer to follow
Huxley in his separation of them into a different order.
The number of teeth are: incisors 1-2, canines 1-0,
premolars 4-4, molars 3-3—the milk teeth differing in
that there are 3 incisors above and 2 below. There are
noclavicles. Certain other important internal anatomical
characters need not concern us in a work of this nature.
The ears are small, the fur is thick and the snout is
“split.” Tail reduced.
There is only one living family, Procavide, with one
genus, Procavia (Hyrax of Hermann), containing three
South African species.
Procavia capensis. tock Rabbit. Dassie, or Klip Das.
Colour a warm, speckly grey-brown, darker in the
centre of the back, with pale yellowish eyebrows. The
soles of the feet are naked and black in colour. Length
of head and body 18 inches.
This little animal inhabits the rocky krantzes or cliffs
and hills, where it lives in colonies amongst the cracks
or crevices, basking in the sun during the heat of the day
and feeding upon vegetable matter, such as leaves, roots,
110 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
bulbs, &c., in the evenings and early mornings. Its flesh
is edible, but according to some is not very palatable.
When captured young and tamed it becomes an interest-
ing pet, but is of an aggressive nature where other animals
are concerned. A pair in the Zoo attacked a Roe Deer
Stag and bit it so badly in the hip and forequarters that
it eventually died, the tendons being severely injured.
Fic. 33.— Rock Rabbits, or Dassies.
The bite of a Rock Rabbit is severe, as the little creature
has strong teeth and powerful jaws, with which it can
hold on with a grip like a vice.
From one to two young ones are born at a time, the
latter being the usual number. These are active from
shortly after birth.
Procavia brucei. Bruce's Rock Rabbit. Grijse Dassie.
General colour a grizzly grey—the hairs being slate
colour at the base and ringed with yellow, black and
white—under surface, including the insides of the legs,
TREE ROCK RABBIT 111
pure white. The spot in the middle of the back is yellow ;
this alone distinguishing it from the two other species.
It is found from Central Rhodesia through Nyasaland
and Mozambique to Abyssinia. *
Procavia arborea. Tree Rock Rabbit. Boom Dassie.
Coloration resembling that of the previous species, but
more grizzled, owing to the brown fur being tipped with
light grey; the spot in the centre of the back is pure
white instead of black or yellowish, and the ears are
margined with white hairs. Length of head and body
16 to 18 inches. It ranges from Eastern Cape Colony
through Natal to the Northern Transvaal, and possibly
Southern Rhodesia. It inhabits hollow trees, running
along the branches with ease and speed, but is also
found amongst the rocks. The Zoo has had examples
from the Woodbush in the Northern Transvaal.
Order PROBOSCIDEA.
This order contains besides the Mammoth, the Mas-
todon, the Dinotherium and other extinct forms, the
two existing species of Elephant—the Indian and the
f
Fic, 34.—Head of African Elephant.
African. The latter, has, however, in recent times been
subdivided into a number of local races or sub-species,
whereof the Cape animal is a separate variety. The
AFRICAN ELEPHANT 113
leading characteristics are that they are large pachy-
derms with a long “trunk” or proboscis, which is
prehensile and serves the animal in lieu of an arm and
hand; incisor teeth in the form of tusks situated in the
mandible or premaxille, and large grinding teeth or
molars, with transverse ridges. Canine teeth are absent.
The legs are not bent at the knee and elbow, which is
the reason for the peculiar walk of the Elephant. The
Fic. 35.—Young African Elephant (about 9 years old).
nails (five in number) are short and hoof-like and the
body is very sparsely haired. There are no clavicles and
the brain is fairly primitive and deeply set. The stomach
issimple. The mamme are thoracic and two in number.
Elephas africanus. African Elephant. Afrikaanse Olifant.
The African Elephant differs principally from its
Indian brother in the enormous size of the ears, the
shape of the forehead, which is convex (in opposition to
8
Fic. 87.—Head and skeleton of African Elephant.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT 115
that of the Indian Elephant, which is concave), and the
longer legs. General colour dark grey-brown or slate-
brown. The hairs of the tail are black, thick and wiry,
and from these bracelets are made by the natives of
Central and East Africa. Height at the shoulder from
9 to 12 feet. Length of tusks from 1 to 7 feet, the
Fig, 38.—Herd of Hlephants feeding in the marshes of Maputoland
males’ being usually from 2 to 5 feet, while females’
seldom reach a length of more than 3 or 4 feet. Selous
gives the average weight of those of South African males
at 50 lb., and of the females at 10 to 14 Ib.
The record pair known came from Kilimanjaro and
weighed 225 and 235 lbs. respectively, and were 10 feet
4 inches in length. A pair in the Transvaal Museum,
Fra, 39.—Winding the photographer. (Note all their trunks in the air.)
Fic. 40.—The flight back to the shelter of the forest.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT 117
presented by Sir A. Bailey, measures 7 feet 9 inches on
the outer curve. Two pairs in the South African Museum
measure 7 feet 3 inches and 7 feet 1 inch respectively.
Habits.—Elephants are fond of dark and thick forests
or open scattered bush in the neighbourhood of streams.
The males go about singly or in small herds during the
dry season. They travel preferably by night and stand
sleeping under a tree during the daytime. They drink
Fic. 41.—Roped up!
and bathe at sundown and feed during the night or in
the early morning.
They are herbivorous animals and by reason of their
enormous strength can in a single night do a large
amount of damage to fences and crops, although their
usual food consists of leaves, bark, roots, twigs, fruit and
grass. "ob
In South Africa Elephants are to-day only found in
the Knysna Forest and the Addo Bush of Cape Colony :
118 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
the Sabie Game Reserves in the Transvaal, and portions
of Portuguese South-East Africa, especially Gazaland
and Maputoland, where herds of varying size still exist,
but which the farmers in the neighbourhood seem
determined to exterminate. They were fairly common
in parts of Rhodesia, such as Gatooma and Gwaai, &c.,
until 1915, when they were considerably shot out. The
Hi
Fia. 42.—Ready for his New Home,
farmers of the Addo area are now doing their best to
obtain the extermination of the Addo herd. I think
some plan might be devised whereby such a calamity
can be avoided. Surely half a dozen individuals would
do no harm and would serve to perpetuate the herd.
It is a mystery to me why the African Elephant has
not long ere this been domesticated in this country. It
can be tamed, as was proved in the case of the famous
“Jumbo” of the London Zoo, and it must have been
the African species which was used by the Carthaginians.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT 119
We received a wild-caught half-grown female by pur-
chase, in 1913, from Southern Rhodesia and six months
after her arrival she could be ridden anywhere in the
grounds. Her intelligence is well developed and her
Fig. 44.—Driven to Captivity.
perceptions keen. A couple of months after her arrival
she picked up the art of begging from the public and
soon became an adept at it, pushing her companion—
a full-grown Indian Elephant—out:of the way in her
eagerness and anxiety to appropriate the “ tit-bits.”
120 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
We taught her to lie down for the saddle to be put on
in four lessons, in the first one of which she had to
be pulled down by force with her one fore and one hind
foot fastened up. She is now ready to do her share
of the work.
A young one, caught in Maputoland in 1917, was
trained to harness and works daily drawing a plough.
Her photograph is appended. This is an experiment
Fig. 45,—The Tiast Lap: into the Box,
conducted by the Portuguese Government at the instance
of Mr. Viana Rodrigues, Magistrate of Maputoland at
Bela Vista, whose praiseworthy efforts are much to be
commended. The Belgian Government has established
a training station at Api in the Belgian Congo, where
I understand a number of Elephants are in training after
the Indian plan. Why cannot we follow their example ?
Elephants rarely breed in captivity—even the domesti-
cated Indian animals—and in the wild state only one
young one is born. The period of gestation is from
twenty to twenty-three months. Their sight is not
AFRICAN ELEPHANT 121
good, but their scent excellent. Elephants are hunted
solely for the ivory of the tusks, although the meat
is much prized by the natives as food. They are not
easy to shoot, notwithstanding their large size, as vital
shots are not always possible. The late Capt. Selous
was a well-known Elephant hunter, and described in his
| Sa) RS
Sms
Fic. 46.—The Last Bid for Freedom.
delightful works on big game shooting in South Africa
many adventures with these huge pachyderms.
I append a photograph of a medium-sized male shot
near Bela Vista, Maputoland, also an enlargement of one
of the tiny film-pictures taken in August, 1918, by our
party, which had for its main object the filming of wild
Elephants in their natural state. This was undertaken
by the African Film Productions, Ltd., of Johannesburg—
whose guest I was for the trip—and which was, thanks
mainly to the Portuguese authorities, an unqualified
SUCCESS.
Fic, 48. —The training of a South African Elephant. Ploughing.
Fic. 49.—In their native wilds: Herd of African Elephants in the bush.
Order UNGULATA.
This is a large order containing the true ‘“ hoofed”’
animals, and excluding under the more modern and
generally accepted classification the Elephants and
Rock Rabbits. The digits of the forefeet never exceed
four in number, and the carpal and tarsal bones inter-
lock. There are no clavicles.
There are three sub-orders, the Perissodactyla, con-
taining the Tapirs, equine animals and Rhinoceri; the
Artiodactyla, containing the Pigs, Hippopotamide,
ruminant animals; and the Lipoterna, embracing certain
extinct forms which need not concern us further.
Sub-Order PERISSODACTYLA.
This group contains the Rhinoceri, equine animals
and Tapirs (which last are not found in Africa). Middle
toe larger than the others; this may be the only
functional digit, as in the case of the equines. Toes
of the hind foot never more than three in number.
Dorso-lumbar vertebree 23 or more in the living forms.
Premolar and molar teeth in a continuous series with
massive crowns. Dentition frequently complete, viz.,
incisors 3-3, canines 1-1, premolars 4-4, molars 3-3 = 44.
Stomach simple; gall-bladder not present.
Family RHINOCEROTID-%.
Genus DICEROS.
Large aud clumsy animals with thick skins almost
devoid of hairs, these being found only on the tail and
ears. Hyes extremely small for the size of the animal.
SQUARE-MOUTHED RHINOCEROS 125
There are two horns growing from the upper surface
of the face; these horns are not attached to the skull,
nor are they of bony growth.
The feet have three toes, each provided with a broad
hoof. The number of teeth varies considerably, ranging
from 28 to 38. Trouessart separates the two African
species into a genus of their own, Diceros, retaining
Rhinoceros for the Asiatic animals.
Diceros simus. Square-mouthed Rhinoceros.
Witte Rhenoster.
This animal—commonly known as the White Rhino—
is now very scarce, being at present only found in Zululand
(where it is even uncommon and where a special reserve
exists for its preservation), parts of Rhodesia and Central
Africa. Formerly it was common in Bechuanaland and
Mashonaland. This is by far the largest of the two
Bhinos found in South Africa, and is indeed the second
largest terrestrial mammal alive to-day; it is further
distinguished by its slightly paler (slaty) coloration and
square upper lip. The tail is provided with a tuft of stiff
bristly hair. There are two horns on the face which vary
much in size and shape. The total length of the head
and body is about 18 feet ; tail2 feet. Height at shoulder
5 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 6 inches. Length of front horn
35 to 50 inches. Record 624 inches; rear horn 17°8
inches. :
The White Rhino is found in open grass veld and is of
somewhat solitary habit. It feeds at night or during the
early mornings, and evenings after sunset, and sleeps
during the hot part of the day. Its pace is fair for the
bulk of the animal, but no match for a horse. The food
of this species consists entirely of grass. Its sight is bad
butits hearing and scent are correspondingly good. Only
one young one is born at a time.
126 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Diceros bicornis. Black or Prehensile-lipped Rhinoceros
Zwarte Rhenoster.
The common Rhinoceros at one time roamed the
country from Cape Town to the Zambesi. At present it
is not found south of the Zambesi except for a few in
the Eastern Transvaal, Zululand and the Portuguese
territory. Northwards it extends to Somaliland, being
still common in East Africa.
Fic. 50,—Head of Black Rhino.
It is smaller than the White Rhino and has the upper
lip attenuated in the middle, forming a flexible or pre-
hensile organ, wherewith to facilitate the grasping of the
reeds, leaves, plants, &c., which form its food. The
BLACK OR PREHENSILE-LIPPED RHINOCEROS 127
terminal two-thirds of the tail is provided with bristles.
It also has two horns, which are variable in length and
shape, but never apparently attaining anything like the
length of those of a White Rhino.
Length 10 feet. Height at shoulder about 5 feet.
Length of fore horn 18 to 20 inches on the average, the
record being 414 inches; rear horn 7 to 8 inches, record
19 inches.
wae Ce
Fic, 51.—Wounded Rhino—‘' German” East Africa.
Unlike the White Rhino, the Black Rhino is usually
found in bushy country, and is also of a solitary dis-
position. In habits it resembles the former, excepting
in its diet, which consists almost exclusively of leaves,
twigs, roots, &c., but seldom of grass. A great deal
has been written on the pugnacious nature of the Black
Rhino, most hunters saying it will charge without provo-
cation. Its small eyes are bound to give the creature
bad eyesight, but its hearing is well developed, and I
expect they vary individually as much as any other
animal. Mr. Dugmore, in his beautiful book on ‘‘Camera
Fig, 52.—Young Black Rhino, six years old (male). (Note the prehensile lip,)
Fie. 53.—Baby Rhinoceros from N. Rhodesia.
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA 129
Adventures in Hast Africa,” states that in one district
of Hast Africa the Rhinos were quiet and docile or
timid animals, in another quite the reverse, charging for
no apparent reason. The National Collection possesses
two of these animals, a bull from German East Africa
and a cow from South Central Rhodesia. The former is
becoming very troublesome now, although quiet enough
for the first eight years of his life in captivity ; the latter
is quiet and tractable, and will follow one about like
a dog.
Family EQUIDAL.
Head lengthened, neck adorned with a mane; tail
with long hairs; naked patches (chestnuts) on the insides
of the forelegs; mamme two in number. Feet encased
in a horny box or hoof. Dentition: Incisors 3-3, canines
1-1, premolars 4-4, molars 3-3 = 44. The first premolar
is small and drops out early in life, not being replaced,
go that the mature dentition totals 40.
The true Quagga was striped as far as the shoulders
only and has long been totally extinct.
Hippotigris burchelli, Gray. Burchell’s Zebra.
Bonte Quagga.
The main characteristics of the Burchell’s Zebra
(which has been split up into a number of varieties,
species or geographical races—call them what you will)
are i—
(1) A more equine appearance than that of the Cape
Mountain Zebra ; shorter ears, and no dewlap.
(2) The presence of the so-called shadow stripes—a
paler stripe in the white field dividing the black stripes.
(3) No gridiron pattern on the back, and the hair on
9
Cucog pay yaox Aq YqduexaBoj0qd vw utoazy poonposdorzy)
"essen? 9oulyxO— "PG “VILL
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA 131
the haunches and withers not reversed as in the Mountain
Zebra.
The sub-species mentioned in Sclater’s ‘“ Mammals of
South Africa,” are :—
Hippotigris burchelli typicus: Barrel stripes not meet-
ing the ventral line under the belly; legs unstriped.
Fig. 55.—Burchell’s Zebras: Chapman's and Trausvaal varieties and onc
Crawshay’s Zebra.
Hippotigris burchelli antiquorum : Same as above, but
legs lightly striped to hocks and knees.
Hippotigris burchelli transvaalensis: Barrel stripes
meeting the ventral (belly) stripe; shadow stripes ex-
tending to neck; lower portion of legs only slightly
marked.
Hippotigris burchelli wahlbergi: Barrel stripes as
“(CYOSONUE COFf AVZ sAoOlL OF UO sodrages og7 dn poTmonoy, sur ysrqas om GL ALON)
“pusleuunyqoog ‘vaqoz s,[jeqoang ypeordéy,— ‘9g “OI
BURCHELL’S ZEBRA 133
above; shadow stripes distinct only on the quarters ;
fetlocks and pasterns plain.
Hippotigris burchelli chapmanni: Barrel stripes as
above; shadow stripes on quarters faint and narrow;
stripes on lower part of legs indistinct; pastern not
altogether black.
Fic. 57.—Burchell’s Zebras from Zululand.
Hippotigris burchelle seloust: Barrel stripes as above ;
shadow stripes as in chapmanni; legs strongly striped
to the hoofs; fetlocks and pasterns quite black.
- ‘The writer has had the opportunity of studying some
hundreds of Zebras during the ten years he has been
connected with the Pretoria Zoological Gardens, and
can safely say that in his opinion the above series of sub-
species is quite wrong. Wehave, for instance, at present
in the collection two Zebras from Bechuanaland (Lake
134 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Ngami area), one of which, the stallion, is antiquorum in
allits details, while the mare is almost a typical burchelli;
she is intermediate between burchellt and antiquorum,
inasmuch that the hocks, knees and fetlocks are slightly
striped, but the lower half of the hips, the lower belly and
Fie. 58.—Burchell’s Zebras from Zululand.
most of the legs are unstriped. (See photo: this has,
however, been unfortunately retouched by the block
makers, and a number of stripes put in which do not exist
on the living animal.)
Two examples from Zululand are neither wahibergi
nor chapmannt, partaking of the characters of both, and
in these only the first two barrel stripes join the median
CHAPMAN’S ZEBRA 135
longitudinal line of the belly. We had lots of six, eight
and ten individuals, caught out of the same herd in the
Northern Transvaal, which contained typical selowsi (see
Fic. 59.—Heavily-marked Chapman’s Zebra (Northern Transvaal).
illustration), chapmanni and all the intermediate stages
between the two extremes. What then is the sense or use
of employing these sub-specific names as geographical
races when they do not exist as such, and when examples
136 SOUTH: AFRICAN MAMMALS
of almost every so-called race can be picked out of one
herd in the Northern Transvaal? So far as I can see
from our records, the heavily marked form (seloust) is
never found in Bechuanaland on the one side nor Zulu-
land on the other; and, if it cowld be proved that the
joining of the barrel stripe with the median belly line was
constant in both the dark and light forms (i.e., lightly and
heavily marked), as seems to be the case, then this might
Fic. 60,—Zebroid.
be used as the determining factor, and two species, or
sub-species, recognized, named burchelli and chapmanni.
The Zebras from the Rustenburg district of the Trans-
vaal are of the lightly-marked variety, so far as our
records go, and are therefore in this particular nearer
the Bechuanaland form. Only large series from the
various localities can settle ¢his question definitely, but
for me there is only one, or at most two, varieties of
Burchell’s Zebra.
The height of Burchell’s Zebra at the shoulder is
4 feet, and the total length of the head and body 8 feet
NORTHERN MOUNTAIN ZEBRA 137
(head and neck stretched out, and measured from the tip
of the nose to the root of the tail); tail, 2 feet 6 inches.
Hippotigris crawshayi. Northern Mountain Zebra.
Noordelike Berg Zebra. Kleine Wilde Paard.
Similar in build, size, &c., to the Burchell’s Zebra, to
which it is linked by some zoologists and treated as a
sub-species. As the animal is totally devoid of shadow
Fig. 61.—Crawshay’s Zebra.
stripes, I think it should be treated as a separate species,
along with Grant’s Zebra of Hast Africa,
This animal is striped all over with solid black and
white markings, the barrel stripes meeting the median
longitudinal belly line, and not as is the case with the
Cape Mountain Zebra, where the barrel stripes stop on
the sides of the body, leaving a pure white belly. It also
has no dewlap, and is, like the Buarchell’s Zebras, of
equine build. The legs are striped to the hoofs, the
138 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
pasterns being black. Muzzle, dark russet or tan colour.
Originally described as from the high country west of Lake
Nyassa, Mr. W. L. Sclater records this animal from Beira
in Portuguese East Africa. The Zoo obtained a stallion
from the north of Northern Rhodesia, which was said to
have beencaptured between Lakes Mweru and Bangweolo,
and which seems referable to Rothschild’s annectens, but
Fig. 62.—Crawshay’s Zebra,
the muzzle is tan-coloured. A mare received from the
southern portion of Northern Rhodesia, near the Kafue
River, resembles the stallion to a marked degree. The
Walker Brothers, of Choma, inform me that this animal
is common in this region, and inhabits the hilly country,
whereas the Burchell’s Zebra is found on the plains.
Photographs of the stallion are appended.
MOUNTAIN ZEBRA 139
Hippotigris zebra. Mountain Zebra.
Berg Zebra. Wilde Paard.
Striped black and white, the black stripes being broader
than the white; tips of the ears white; the markings on
the back are arranged in a sort of gridiron pattern; legs
Fic. 63.— Head of Cape Mountain Zebra,
(Mare, showing dewlap.)
ringed black and white, the lower portion, the pastern,
entirely black; the stripes on the hips very broad, much
broader than those of the previous species. The main
difference between this animal and the Burchell’s Zebra
is the solid black stripes alternating with the white; the
latter animal has what is known as shadow stripes in
between. The long ass-like ears and the peculiar
dewlap-like flap of skin under the throat, easily distin-
140 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
guishes this animal from any other species of Zebra
Length, about 8} feet; height, 4 to 4% feet, stallions
(the mares are smaller). The range of the Mountain
Zebra is restricted to a few mountainous districts of
the Cape Colony: Graaf Reinet, Oudtshoorn, Uitenhage,
Fie. 64.—Baby Cape Mountain Zebra,
Cradock and one or two more. It also occurs in South-
West Africa, which form has been separated under
another name, hartmanne. This sub-species is also
illustrated herein, and does not seem to be of much
validity. The Cape Mountain Zebra is found in the moun-
tain ranges in small herds, feeding on grass, herbs, small
bushes, &c., and is only still in existence owing to its rigid
Fic. 65.—Cape Mountain Zebras.
Fic. 66.—Mountain Zebra—South-West variety.
142 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
protection by the Cape Government. Probably not more
than five hundred are still in existence, and the National
Zoological Gardens has to pay a heavy price for a pair
nowadays. It is captured by being galloped down and
“cut out” of the herd with the aid of mounted men.
Owing to the mountainous and rocky nature of the
animal’s habitat, this method is both costly and dangerous,
men and horses becoming injured.
Sub-Order ARTIODACTYLA.
Dentition usually 44 teeth: Incisors 3-3, canines 1-1,
premolars 4-4, molars 3-3, molars and premolars dissimilar.
Nineteen dorso-lumbar vertebre. This is the largest
group of living Ungulates.
Family SUIDA.
This family includes the Pigs, whose chief character-
istic to the layman may be said to be the curious flat
dise-like extremity of the snout or nose. There are two
pairs of hoofs on each foot, the rearmost not touching
the ground.
Incisor and canine teeth presentin both jaws. Mamme
abdominal. Living species confined to the Old World.
Genus POTAMOCHGRUS.
Ears pointed and ornamented with tufts or pencils of
hair. Sides of body hairy; no warts on the face.
Potamocherus cheropotamus. Bushpig. Bosvark.
Ngulubi-e’-Tschlati (literally Pig of the Thickets), Swazi.
General colour varying from greyish to reddish brown,
- usually darker on the sides and paler along the back.
Snout whitish. Tail tufted with black hair. Body fairly
BUSHPIG 143
well covered with bristly hair. The young are striped.
Length 4} feet. Height about 2} feet.
This animal ranges from Swellendam in the Cape,
along the eastern portions of South Africa to Northern
Rhodesia ; and frequents bush-covered hills or flats where
there is plenty of water. It feeds upon roots, bulbs, wild
Fia. 67.—Bushpigs.
fruit, &c., and goes about in droves of from six to a dozen
individuals ; it is chiefly nocturnal in habits. In the
Eastern Transvaal Bushpigs are a source of much
annoyance to the farmers, devastating the cultivated lands
at night, devouring and digging upthecrops. Kirby says
the flesh is coarse, but many hunters have told me that
the meat is preferable to that of the Warthog.
Genus PHACOCHERUS.
The face is disfigured by two pairs of warty growths,
‘which are considerably more developed in the male than
in the female. Sides of the body nearly naked, being but
144 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
sparsely haired. Ears broad and more rounded than
those of the Bushpig. The upper canines grow outwards
and upwards, sometimes attaining in the male a length
of 10 inches. The lower canines project upwards and
form strong and sharp weapons.
Phacocherus xthiopicus. Warthog. Viakvark.
Colour of skin greyish-black, the sides of the body
being only sparsely clothed with bristles. There is a
Fie. 68.— Warthog Sow.
fairly long mane-like growth of hair along the back,
from between the ears, which is brown or black in colour.
Tail short, naked and tufted with black bristles. There
is @ prominent white whisker-like tuft of hair on each
cheek. Length of male about 43 feet; height 23 feet.
WARTHOG 145
The female is smaller and has much smaller warts. The
weight of a sow 7 years old in the Zoo is 100 lbs. At
present the Warthog ranges from Zululand through the
Hastern and Northern Transvaal, and Portuguese Hast
Africa, to Rhodesia and beyond. Ii inhabits somewhat
open weli-watered country, feeding on the plains in small
herds or family parties in the evenings and early morn-
ings, and retiring to thickets or other suitable cover
during the heat of the day. It is a peculiar fact that
the Warthog usually drinks about midday. When pur-
sued it has often been known to take refuge in an Aard-
vark or other convenient burrow. From three to eight
young ones are produced at a birth, although four would
appear to be the more usual number. When running
they hold the tail erect, presenting a somewhat comical
appearance. While feeding or rooting up the ground
they go down on their knees, which have in consequence
naked pad-like patches. They get very tame in cap-
tivity, although the writer once had an unpleasant experi-
ence with a half-grown Warthog. This animal had
broken out of its box while being conveyed from Living-
stone by rail, and for over an hour resisted all attempts
to return it to its cage, charging with malice afore-
thought time after time, when an undignified scramble
on to the side of the railway truck was our only defence.
The animal was eventually secured by the aid of several
sacks and the help of some white men.
Although writers and hunters state that the flesh is
unpalatable, we have eaten young Warthog and found it
quite tasty.
10
146 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Family HIPPOPOTAMIDA.
Bulky animals, with a broad head and square mouth,
four toes possessing nail-like hoofs, all of which rest on
the ground; and a thick skin almost devoid of hair.
Fic. 69.—Hippo Resting in the Water.
Canine teeth long and curved. Semi-aquatic, herbivorous
animals. Permanent dentition: Incisors 2-2, canines 1-I,
premolars 3-3, molars 3-3. Milk teeth: Incisors 3-3,
canines 1-1, molars 4-4. Mamme inguinal.
Genus HIPPOPOTAMUS.
Hippopotamus amphibius. Zce Koe.
Form heavy and rather pig-like. The head is large
with the mouth square and the nostrils situated on top of
the muzzle; skin smooth with hairs only on the mouth,
on the sides of the head and neck, on the short stumpy
ears, and at the end of the tail. Legs and tail short.
General colour black or slaty black, inclining to a fleshy
HIPPOPOTAMUS 147
tinge on the belly. There is a thick layer of fat between
the body and the skin.
Length from 10 to 12 feet. Height about 4? feet.
Although found throughout the sub-continent in the
early days, the Hippo is now practically extinct south of
the Eastern Transvaal and Zululand. In the Zambesi
region it is still fairly common. Several small herds still
Fie. 70.—Skeleton of Hippopotamus
(from a mounted example in the Transvaal Museum).
linger in the Komati and Sabi Rivers in the Hastern
Transvaal, where they are strictly preserved. They are
still fairly common in the Maputo and Inkomati Rivers
of Portuguese South-East Africa.
The Hippo, which is confined to the African continent,
lives for the most part in the water, landing only at
night to feed upon grass, branches, reeds and rushes.
Its call is a series of curious roaring grunts.
Only one young one is born at a time, which while in
148 SOUTH APRICAN MAMMALS
the water is carried on its mother’s back. It will lie in
the water with only the top of the head showing, or
Fig. 71.—Bull Hippopotamus,
very often only the eyes and nostrils, both of which can
be closed at will. It will sometimes lie on the bank of
a river or lake and bask in the sun, if undisturbed, but
the position in the water above described is the more
HIPPOPOTAMUS 149
usual; it will even lie on the bottom of a river-bed,
coming up now and then to breathe.
Accidents have occurred to boating parties in rivers
frequented by Hippo, on account of these animals
upsetting the boats.
The flesh is said to be good eating. The fat is much
prized by the natives. The whips or sjamboks valued so
Fia. 72.—Young Hippopotamus.
much in South Africa are made from the thick hides of
the Hippo or Rhinoceros.
There is a bull in the Pretoria Zoo which was presented
by the late Chief Lewanika of Barotseland to Lord
Selbourne—then Governor-General of South Africa—and
by His Excellency to the Gardens in 1907. This animal
has periodical fits of rage, not unlike the “must” period
of a bull elephant, when he attacks the door of his
house, and the iron rails of hiscamp until his mouth is
dripping with blood. He is, however, respectfully docile
150 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
with his own particular black ‘‘ Boy ’’ who feeds and looks
after him, although peculiarly enough, strange natives—
especially women—excite him. ‘‘Sigapo,”’ as he is named,
can be coaxed out of the water by his native keeper
almost at any time, by the offer of bread, or cakes of
mealie porridge of which he is inordinately fond. Should
these lures fail, as they sometimes do when he has a fit
of the blues, the forcible introduction of a strange Kaffir
Fic. 73.—Hippo Wading.
within his camp has the desired effect, much to the dismay
and terror of the said native. In his younger days shortly
after his arrival in the Zoo, he used to daily follow his
native attendant to the river for a bathe, until he chased
our blacksmith and nearly frightened the man out of his
wits. After this little escapade he was sentenced to
imprisonment for life and a concrete tank was built for
him instead. We nearly lost him twice, firstly when a
thoughtless individual threw a stone, nearly two inches
in diameter, down his throat, which he subsequently
Fia. 74.—Landing a dead Hippopotamus.
152 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
passed with great difficulty, after being a very sick hippo
for some days ; and secondly when another maniac threw
an empty soda water bottle into the back of his throat,
which his native attendant pluckily extracted before the
animal had a chance to chew or swallow it. It seems
incomprebensible that grown men can perpetrate such: |
idiotic—not to say cruel—acts against a defenceless
creature.
RUMINANTIA.
These are the Artiodactyle Mammals, more commonly
known as ruminant animals which ‘‘ chew the cud,” and
which are united under the above name. These possess
a complicated stomach consisting of four chambers—the
rumen, the reticulum, the psalterium and the abomasum.
The food taken in by the animal passes into the rumen
and reticulum, and remains there until it has eaten
enough, when it chews the cud, i.e.,it ‘‘ vomits ” portions
of the food into its mouth, where it is re-masticated and
again swallowed, passing this time along the grove of the
paunch, and entering the psalterium, through which it
passes into the abomasum, where it is properly digested.
The Pecora or Cotilophora is a group containing the
horned ruminants such as the Deer, Giratfe and Antelope,
and which have no incisor or “ front ” teeth in the upper
jaw.
Family GIRAFFIDZ.
Genus GIRAFFA.
Tall animals with long legs and enormously long necks ;
higher at the withers, i.e., with downward sloping backs.
On the head are a pair of erect horns (as they are usually
called) covered with skin. These havea bony core, which
are at first separate from the skull, but later in life
SOUTHERN GIRAFFE 153
become united to it. False hoofs absent. Dentition:
incisors 0-8, canines 0-1, premolars 3-3, molars 3-3,
total = 32.
Fia. 75.—Southern Giraffe.
Giraffa capensis. Southern Giraffe. Kameel.
Native names: uthla (Basuto); Ihuhla (Zulu) ;
Indhlubamiti (Swazi).
The colour is pale tawny yellow or pale yellowish brown,
marked with large irregularly-shaped blotches of yellowish
or dark-brown. The spots on the legs are smaller and
paler. There is a short upstanding mane on the neck,
which is of a chestnut-brown colour. The height of a
154 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
mounted male in the Transvaal Museum from the top of
the head to the hoof is 18 feet 6 inches, but Bryden gives
18 feet 114 inches as the largest measured by him.
Females seldom measure more than 16 feet. At present
the Giraffe is found in the Northern Kalahari, in adjacent
Fic. 76.—Southern Giraffes.
"
ex-German territory, and in North Western Rhodesia.
A few also inhabit the Sabi Game Reserves of the
Eastern Transvaal and Mozambique.
Giraffes are found in fairly dry country, inter-
spersed with sandy hills clothed with Kameel-doorn
bush and other dry land shrubs. They are found in troops
of from half a dozen to several dozen individuals, feeding
in the early part of the morning or in the evening. They
have no great pace, when compared with that of a good
Fig. 77.—Method of tying newly-captured Giraffes to trees.
Fig. 78.—Wild animal caravan: Giraffe trucks on right.
156 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
horse, although it takes some time to run them down.
They lift the front and hind legs of one side at the same
time, their gait therefore resembling that of the Camel.
Their food consists almost exclusively of the leaves of
the acacias, such as the Mimosa and Kameel-doorn.
One calf only is as a rule produced at a time, fourteen
months being the period of gestation. Old males have a
powerful odour. The giraffe is mute, but enjoys excellent
sight and hearing. It is a harmless, inoffensive animal.
These animals have bred well in the London Zoo, but
we have had no luck with them, losing them fairly
rapidly, probably on account of the “running down”’ to
which they are subjected in capturing. Several have
died of congested lungs, and others of debility—but these
latter were badly infested with cysticercus, which of
course saps the strength of the animal. We have at
present in the collection a bull nearly seven years old,
which was received in 1912 from Chief Khama of
Bechuanaland, when about a quarter grown. This animal
has been healthy and playful ever since he arrived and
was captured when young and hand-reared by the natives.
For a year after we got him he would drink a small pailful
of milk twice a day.
Family BOVID.-F.
>
Horns, when present, consisting of a bony ‘core’
attached to the skull, and covered by the “horn” or
sheath, which is a hard epidermal fibrous structure.
Dentition similar to that of the giraffe. This family
contains the true antelopes, which range from the
diminutive Bluebuck to the lordly Eland.
RED HARTEBEESY 157
Sub-Family BUBALINA.
Genus BUBALIS.
Large antelopes with a long narrow head, and sloping
back, standing higher at the withers than at the rump.
Gland below the eye small. Tail long and reaching to
below the hocks. Both sexes are horned.
The Hartebeests live in small herds on the open veld
and are suspicious and wary animals, with excellent
Fic. 79.—Red or Common Hartebeest.
Bubalis caama. Red Hartebeest. Root Hartebeest.
Native names: Khama (Bechuana); Igama (Makalaka).
powers of speed. The flesh is not considered very tasty.
As arule only one calf is born at a time. They are day
feeding animals.
Colour dark fulvous or rich brown, with black markings
on the front of the face; a dark line along the ridge of
the neck, down the front of thelegs and on the shoulders
Fic. 81.—Young Hartebeest suckled by a Goat.
(Vaal Rhebok in background.)
LICHTENSTEIN’S HARTEBEEST 159
and thighs. Considerably paler (almost white in some
individuals) on the rump and along the belly. Ears long
and pointed, whitish on the inner surface. Tail fringed
with black hairs. The female is smaller and often paler
than the male. Young animals possess straight horns,
and have no black markings, and look even more stupid
than the adults. Horns V-shaped as seen from the front,
bent slightly outwards, then inwards, forwards and the
terminal third backwards. Length about 7? feet. Tail
22 inches. Height at shoulder 4 feet. Horns 19-25
inches. Two records of 26 inches.
This animal once roamed over the whole of the Cape
Colony but is now only found in Little Namaqualand ;
north of the Orange River it is fairly common in
Bechuanaland from the Kimberley District to Lake
Ngami. It is also found in the north western corner of
the Orange Free State, Natal, the Western Transvaal,
and once inhabited Basutoland, although it is doubtful if
any survive to-day in that locality.
Bubalis lichtensteini. Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest, Mof or
Vaal Hartebeest.
Native names: Inkulando (Mashona) ; Kokotombini (Barotse) ;
Konzi (Chilala).
Size and form much like the Common or Red Harte-
beest, but the colour a brighter fulvous, with the sides of
the body paler, and almost white below. Chin and the
upper part of the head, before and between the horns,
black; no black on the face and behind the shoulder,
although the black edging on the cannon bones of the leg
is conspicuous. Rump and tail as in B. caama. The
horns are much flatter at the base, are much lower ‘‘set”’
than the common species, and only the flattened basal
portion is ringed. The older the animal the more the
160 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
points of the horns diverge. Length 15 to 20 inches.
Records 22} and 23 inches. Height at shoulder 50 to 52
inches. ‘Weight about 400 lb.
Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest is only found from the North-
eastern Transvaal’ and Central Rhodesia to the central
Fia, 82.— Lichtenstein Hartebeest.
coastal tract on the East, Nyasaland in the centre and
Barotseland and North-western Rhodesia on the West.
Although wary animals, when one is wounded or killed,
the others gather round and can then easily be shot. It
has a peculiar habit of standing on the tops of termite
heaps to look round the country.
Damaliscus pygargus. Bontebuck. Bontebok.
The Bontebok is of a rich purplish brown colour, paler
on the shoulders and the middle of the back, and darker
on the sides and on the upper portions of the limbs. The
11t is doubtful whether any exist in the Transvaal to-day.
Fic. 88.—Bontebuck Ram.
11
Fie. 84.— A pair of Bontebuck.
162 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
belly is white, sharply defined from the dark sides; the
rump is also white, as well as the insides of the limbs and
the outsides of the lower half. A white blaze commences
between the horns, and spreads over the face to the tip of
the nose. The horns are curved outwards and backwards,
the terminal third slightly inwards and forwards, and
ringed with twelve or thirteen transverse ridges. They
resemble those of the Blesbok, but are much darker in
coloration. Length 12 inches to 16 inches; record 162
inches. Length of the head and body 5 feet ; tail about
18 inches, including the tuft of hair. Height at shoulder
about 3 feet 3 inches. Weight about 200 lb.
This antelope may be said to be extinct as a truly wild
animal, existing only in a semi-domesticated condition on
some farms in the Bredasdoop district of the Cape
Province belonging to the Albertyns and Myburgs. The
young are born during the months of August and
September.
I think the least the Cape Provincial Government can
do is to proclaim a reserve for the preservation of this
animal, before it becomes totally extinct.
Damaliscus albifrons. Blesbuck. Blesbok.
(Nunni of the Bechuana.)
This species resembles the previous one, except that
the colour is slightly redder and the white rump patch is
smaller. Moreover, the outsides of the limbs below the
knees and hocks are not white, as in the Bontebok. The
white blaze on the forehead is divided by a brown line.
‘The horns are of a pale horn colour, or are brown with the
ridges of the rings horn colour, and not altogether black
as is the case with its almost extinct ally. Length, 12 to
BLESBUCK 163
18 inches (record, 183 inches for the male, 16} inches for
the female) ; height about 3} feet.
In days gone by the Blesbok roamed over the veld
in large herds, consorting with the Springbuck, although
now it only exists in flocks of from ten to a couple of
hundred individuals on certain farms in the Orange Free
State, Transvaal and Bechuanaland, and on one farm in
the Steynsburg District of Cape Colony.
Fic. 85.—Blesbuek in the Zoo,
I saw in May, 1918, on a farm in the Marquard District
of the Orange Free State, over.1,000 Blesbuck, which were
very wary and shy, and which were well preserved by
their owner, the late Mr. Dirk Uys. There is also a fine
herd of about 1,000 in the Pretoria district, preserved on
the farm of Mr. Hans Erasmus, of Rantjesfontein.
A number are captured every year for restocking other
farms, and the Zoo. The animals are driven into a
“drive” of wire-fencing on the veld, which gradually
narrows until the converging fences lead into the catching
pen.
The Blesbuck resembles the Bontebok in habits, roam-
ing about the open veld, feeding upon grass, herbs, &c.,
and being cf a wary nature. It is a very fast animal, bué
Fig, 87.—Blesbuck and Springbuck shoot in the O.F.8.
BASTARD HARTEBEEST 165
does not jump like the Springbuck. Only one young one
is born at a time, usually in early spring. ‘he flesh of
the Blesbuck is delicious eating. The method of shooting
them is much like that for the Springbuck.
Damaliscus lunatus. Sessaby or Tsessebi. Bastard
Hartebeest.
Native names: Mcolomo (Matabele) ; Kaboli (Barotse); Mzanzi
(Swazi and Zulu).
One other member of the genus remains to be men-
tioned, the Sessaby or Tsessebi. In colour it is of a
Fia. 88.—Sassaby or Tsessebi.
chocolate brown, changing to slatey brown in certain
lights, and appearing parti-coloured as a rule, the lustre in
the skin resembling that of shot silk or satin. The face,
upper portions of the legs and the tail are black. The
horns are short, almost U-shaped as seen from the front,
166 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
bent obliquely outwards, with an upward and _ back-
ward curve. Length, from 15 to 17 inches; record, male
174 inches, female 16 inches; height at shoulder, about
3 feet 9 inches.
The Sessaby replaces the Blesbok in Rhodesia, Northern
Transvaal and Kastern Transvaal and Portuguese East
Africa. The Zoo has had examples from the Sabi Game
Reserve. It has the reputation of being the fastest
antelope in South Africa.
Genus CONNOCHAETES.
The head is massive, with a broad muzzle, which is
clothed with bristles ; nostrils wide apart, large and hairy
inside. Neck adorned with a mane. Horns expanded
at the base, and without rings.
Connochaetes taurinus. Blue Wildebeest. Blaauw
Wildebeest.
Native names: Inkongont (Swazi and Zulu); Kokong (Barotse)
Ikokont (Basuto).
Colour bluish-grey or grey-brown, distinctly marked
with dark transverse stripes on the sides of the body.
Face nearly black. A mane of black hair, and tufts of
the same below the jaw and on the throat. Tail furnished
with a long black tuft of hairs. Length of head and
body, 7 to 74 feet; tail, 3 feet; height at shoulder, 4 to
43 feet. Horns of the male, 20 to 24 inches along the
front curve; females shorter ; record, 31 inches. Record
width, widest outside measurement, 324 inches (owners’
measurement, 333). Weight, 500 to 600 lb. A bull
weighed by Dr. Schoch was 515 |b.
It ranged formerly from the Northern Cape Colony to
the Zamtkesi, but is now only found as far south as the
Fic. 90.—Dead Blue Wildebeest.
168 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Kalahari and ex-German territory on the west and
Northern Zululand on the east. In North - West
Rhodesia and the Eastern and Northern Transvaal it is
still fairly common. It resembles the succeeding species
in habits, but is often found in the open glades of bush
country, and it seldom strays far from the vicinity of
water. It feeds during the daytime, and usually con-
gregates in herds of from thirty to fifty individuals,
although two or more herds may stay temporarily
together.
Its pace is fast, and the animal is said to have
excellent staying powers. Usually a single young one is
born during the months of November to January. Mr. E.
Atmore, of Hectorspruit, shot a pure albino near the
Lebombo Mountains in 1918.
The Zoo has had examples from Vryburg (Kalahari),
the Eastern Transvaal and Southern Rhodesia. The
skin, which is strong and tough, is much prized for
making reims.
Connochaetes gnu. White-tailed Gnu or Black Wildebeest.
Zwart Wildebeest.
The colour is dark brown. There is a patch of hair on
the face, which is directed upwards. There is also long
hair on the chin, throat and between the legs. The tail
reaches to the hocks, the longer white hairs sometimes
reaching to the ground. Horns bent downward and
forward and then upward. Length, 19 to 25 inches;
record, 264 inches (owner’s measurement, 30{ inches),
Length of the head and body, 6 feet; tail, about 23 to
3 feet; height about 3} feet.
It is at present only found in the Orange Free State
(where herds are, amongst other localities, still preserved
WHITE-TAILED GNU OR BLACK WILDEBEEST 169
in the Kroonstad and Winburg districts) and in the South-
Western Transvaal. Like the Blesbok, it inhabits the
open plains in herds of varying numbers. In May, 1918,
when out shooting with our hosts, Messrs. McKechnie
and H. P. Basson, we saw about 800 of these weird-
looking creatures on a farm near Marquard, in the Win-
burg district. They consorted in herds of from four-
Fic. 91.—White-tailed Gnu or Black Wildebeest.
teen to sixty individuals. One small herd consisted of
bulls (thirteen in number), from which I shot my speci-
men. They galloped round our cart in circles, at a
distance of about three hundred yards, and when fired at
indulged in the extraordinary antics which have been
commented upon by, amongst others, Mr. J.G. Millais,
who illustrates these queer capers in his beautiful book,
“A Breath from the Veld,” in a lifelike manner. The
female gives birth to a single young one in summer (from
November to January). It breeds freely in captivity, and
RED OR NATAL DUIKER 17t
the Pretoria Zoo possesses several examples born in the
Gardens. It is usually a treacherous and pugnacious
animal in captivity, both to human beings and its own
kind alike, and is ever ready with its curved horns. One
particular bull in the National collection was so bad-
tempered that he had to be kept isolated, and it was
afterwards impossible to breed from him, owing to his
having injured several cows. He had to be locked up in
his stable before his paddock could be cleaned out.
Genus CEPHALOPHUS.
Small to medium-sized antelopes, of rather stout build.
Glands are present, consisting of a row of pores on a
naked line, running along the side of the face below the
eye. A tuft of long hair on the crown between the horns.
Tail short or medium. Lateral hoofs present. Mamme,
four. Horns short and straight, and placed far back
on the skull, with bases usually ringed or roughened.
Female sometimes also horned in the first two species,
nearly always in the third.
Cephalophus natalensis. Red or Natal Duiker.
Foot Duiker or Root Bos-bokje.
Mkumbi (Zulu); Mzwmbi (Swazi).
This little animal, usually known to hunters by its
Swazi name of ‘‘mzumbi,” differs markedly in coloration
from the succeeding species, being of a pure rufous or
chestnut-red colour. Under parts brownish yellow. Tip
of tail white. The tuft of hair on the forehead is long
and partially black. Height at shoulder 16 inches to
19 inches. Weight 26 to 30 lb. Horns short, and
almost hidden by the tuft of hair, the bases stout and the
u
172 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
tips streaked. Length about 2 to 3 inches. Record in
the Transvaal Museum (Sir A. Bailey), 3 inches.
The Red Duiker extends from Natal, through Swazi-
land, Eastern Transvaal and Southern Portuguese East
Africa. From Mozambique northwards to Zanzibar, it is
replaced by the closely allied Cephalophus roberts: of
Rothschild. The Red Duiker differs in habits from
its greyer cousin in being essentially a denizen of the
forest, being fond of thickly-wooded and well-watered
kloofs. Its food is much the same as that of the Common
Duiker. A single young one is usually born at a time.
It is rather difficult to keep alive in captivity, not-
withstanding statements to the contrary, although the
exainples possessed by us may have had rough hand-
ling in capture. It is also possible that the climate of
Pretoria does not agree with them. The Zoo has had
specimens from Natal, Barberton and Delagoa Bay.
Cephalophus monticola. Blue Duiker. Blaauwbokkie.
Ipietie (Zulu).
This diminutive antelope is also known by its Zulu
name of Pietie (Pete’). It is about the size of a
“‘Kolhaas” or Larger African Hare, and is a dark slatey
colour or “smokey grey brown” with a black stripe on
the nose, and the insides of the legs and belly whitish.
The hoofs are pointed and narrow and the tail is fluffy
and black in the centre, bordered with white, and white
below. Height at the shoulder 12 to14 inches. Length
of horns 14 to 2inches. Record 2} inches. Both sexes
are horned.
It is an inhabitant of the bush country of the Coastal
belt, from George, eastwards through Cape Colony .and
Natal, to Zululand. In Albany Division it is very
common in the thickly wooded kloofs, where the pattering
COMMON DUIKER 173
of its tiny feet among the dead leaves may often be
heard when one is lying in wait for game or birds. It
usually goes about in pairs, feeding upon tender shoots,
fruits, &c. It has a shrill whistle-like bark, which it
emits when alarmed, and while walking along has a
Fic. 93.—Blue Duiker.
funny little habit of wagging its tail every now and then.
It is not an easy buck to keep alive in captivity, and
should not be fed upon any hard foods such as mealies or
oats. It thrives best upon green forage, leaves, lettuce
and carrots, bran and bread.
Cephalophus grimmia. Common Duiker. Duiker Bok.
Mpunzi (Zulu and Swazi); Xosa (Matabele) ; Iputi
(Basuto and Bechuana),
This is a medium sized antelope of a rather delicate
build. Colour a grizzled fawn-grey, or yellowish-drab,
the individual hairs being ringed with black and yellow
at the tips. The colour varies considerably in shade
174 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
from drab-grey to dark-grey, the latter being more often
found in the Cape. A black stripe on the middle of the
face; forehead and a tuft of hair between the horns,
rufous brown. Chin, belly and the inside of the legs
white, front of legs and all round at the fetlock, black.
Fic. 94.—A Pretoria Bush veld ‘‘ bag”: Duiker on the right.
The female is also sometimes horned ; if so the horns
are thin, pointed and often deformed; the author
possesses a pair measuring 24 inches.
The horns of the male are straight, sometimes divergent
to a more or less degree, ringed and roughened at the
base, smooth toward the tips and varying from 3 to
6 inches in length. Record 6? inches. Height at
COMMON DUIKER 175
‘shoulder about 23 inches. Weight about 40 lb. The
female is as a rule larger than the male and has larger
buttocks.
Duikers vary in size according to the locality, those of
the sandy parts of the Transvaal Bushveld being the
largest, while those of the Kafue Flats (Northern
Rhodesia) are small.
Fie. 95.—Albino Duiker.
There is a partial Albino in the Transvaal Museum
from the Pretoria district. It is not pure white, but of
a light strawberry roan, owing to a number of the hairs
being normal in coloration. The lower part of the legs
are normal. A photograph of a pure Albino from
Southern Rhodesia is also appended.
The Duiker seems to be distributed over the whole of
South Africa, and inhabits open bush country, or the
scrub on low kopjes. It is fast, and has a habit of
176 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
‘“‘diving’”’ into cover, hence its Dutch vernacular name.
One, sometimes two, kids are born in the spring. It
feeds in the early mornings and evenings, lying asleep in
the middle of the day. It is fond of tender shoots of
shrubs, fruit, and the young grass on the “ burns.”
Although independent of water, the Duiker will drink
when water is procurable. It is usually found singly or
in pairs and takes some straight shooting to bag with a
shot-gun, and the proportion of unrecovered wounded
animals is somewhat heavy. A fine example wounded
by the author was tracked by him and a friend for over
two hours, and had finally to be abandoned owing to the
absence of a well-trained dog. The Boer farmers shoot
this animal with the rifle, stalking it in the early morning,
when the animal is feeding.
The rams are sometimes pugnacious in captivity; one
particular individual in the Zoo gored a native in the leg
and injured him seriously. The Duiker breeds fairly well
in captivity.
Genus OREOTRAGUS.
Hair of a thick bristly nature, quite unlike that of any
other South African Antelope. Hoofs perpendicular,
blunt and cylindrical, long and well adapted for resting
on precarious positions on the cliffs. Horns only present
in the male. Antorbital glands large and situated in
front of the eye. Rhinarium large.
Oreotragus oreotragus. Alipspringer. Klipbok.
Ikumi (Basuto); Ligoka (Zulu and Swazi); Ingululu
(Makalaka).
Colour brown, thickly speckled with yellow, the thick
and coarse hair being whitish at the base, brown in the
middle and yellow at the tip, the general effect being
KLIPSPRINGER 177
almost golden in bright light. Body below whitish. Tail
extremely short (barely 1 inch). Horns straight, ringed
at the base and from 3 to 53 inchesin length. One in
Sir Abe Bailey’s collection, now in the Transvaal Museum,
measures 57% inches. A pair in the possession of Mr.
J. W. Chaney, Zandrivierspoort, near Nylstroom, measure
Fic. 96.—Klipspringer Ram.
72inches. Height from 1{}to2 feet ; weight 35 lb. It is
found in nearly all the rocky mountains of South Africa,
where it resides in small parties of from three to ten
individuals.
It is, however, becoming scarce in most localities and
has been rigorously protected in most of the districts in
the Transvaal of late years. It is very agile, resembling
the Alpine Chamois in its powers of leaping and
balancing itself on rocky pinnacles, where hardly a
foothold seems possible. It feeds on the bushes and
grass of the mountain slopes, and descends at night to
drink. Its breeding habits are unknown. We have
12
178 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
had only a few of these curious little antelope in
captivity, the first one of which did not live long, but
there are at present two males in the collection, one
presented by Lieut.-Col. van Velden and the other
purchased from Natal.
Genus OUREBIA.
Small antelopes with the normal hair of the African
Antelope. Hoofs pointed. False or accessory hoofs
small. A bare spot below the ear. The chief distin-
guishing characteristic of this genus is the tuft of long
hair on the knee. The male only carries horns, which
are ridged at the base, straight’ and slightly curved
forwards. Only a single member of the genus comes
within the geographical range of South Africa.
Ourebia ourebi. Oribi Antelope. Oribi.
Inia (Swazi and Zulu); Pudukudukameni (Basuto).
Colour a yellowish red or ochreous brown. Below and
the insides of the upper part of the legs whitish. A
broad white eyebrow. Lips white and the rhinarium
large. Ears fairly narrow, with a glandular bare spot
below the base on either side; tail with a conspicuous
black tip, which characteristic is alone sufficient to
distinguish it from the Steenbok. Horns slender, slightly
curved forwards and from 3 to 6 inches inlength. Record
7#; ches. Height about 20 inches. One weighed by
Dr. Schoch turned the scale at 36 1b.
This little antelope appears to be confined to the
eastern portion of the sub-continent, ranging from
Uitenhage C.P. to Mashonaland, extending, however, as
far north in Rhodesia as the region of the Barotse River
valley. It is usually found in open grass country, not far
Fic. 98.—‘‘ Fufwa,’’ near Monze, N. Rhodesia —the home of the Oribi.
180 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
from water, where it goes about in pairs—sometimes in
small troops of four or five. It is said to be a very fast
runner. The Zoo has had examples from the Standerton,
Middleburg and Pretoria districts; and from the Kafue
Flats, Northern Rhodesia, where Dr. A. A. Schoch found
them very common in August, 1919, and the author in
November of the same year.
Genus PEDIOTRAGUS.
Resembling the preceding, but being without the naked
glandular spot below the ear, and without the knee-tufts.
Males only with horns, which are short and vertical.
Pediotragus tragulus. Grysbuck. Grijsbok.
Isikwpt (Basuto).
Colour reddish-brown, with white hairs interspersed
amongst the reddish, giving a grizzled appearance to the
skin. Below, eyebrow, chin and throat whitish ; fur long
and coarse. Ears large and rounded; accessory hoofs
present, but very small. This animal is heavier and more
sturdily built than either of the two succeeding species.
Horns resembling those of the Steenbok, but somewhat
shorter and stouter; length 4 inches, record 4 inches.
Height at shoulder 20 to 22 inches. Length of head and
body about 2) feet. The Grysbuck ranges from Cape
Town in the West, along the coastal belt to the Eastern
Cape Colony. To the north of the Limpopo and in the
Zambesi valley it is common according to Selous, but this
must be an error and no doubt refers to Sharpe’s
Steenbok (Pediotragus sharpet). The National Zoo-
logical Gardens have had examples from Stellenboseh,
C.P. It inhabits open bush country where it prefers to
lie hidden all day, coming out to feed during the night or
STEENBUCK 181
early morning. It is fond of the young tendrils or shoots
of the vine, and is in consequence not loved by the wine
farmers.
Pediotragus horstocki. Steenbuck. Steenbok.
Iquint (Zulu); Impulupudi (Basuto); Ungwena (Matabele) ;
Ingaina (Swazi); Phuduhudu (Bechuana).
Colour a pale reddish-brown, varying in shade and
intensity according to age and locality ; below, including
the buttocks, white, or nearly so. A black mark on the
face from the naked skin of the nose, half-way towards
the eye. A whitestripeoverthe eye. There is generally
a Y-shaped black mark on the forehead. ‘The limbs are
slender and there are no knee tufts, nor false hoofs. The
true hoofs are narrow and pointed. The female is horn-
less. Horns hardly ridged at the base; from 3 to 54
inches in length. Record 75 inches. Length of head
and body 384 to 35 inches. Height 20 to 22 inches.
Weight 20 to 28 lb.
This is a graceful little animal, and is the most widely
distributed of the South African Antelopes. It is found
in open bush country or on rocky ridges. At Brandfort,
Orange Free State, we found it amongst the mimosa
scrub on the flats near hills, and in the Johannesburg
district on the open veld in the vicinity of the eucalyptus
plantations, to which it betakes itself when alarmed or
pursued. It shares with the Duiker in being the
commonest of the African Antelope in districts where
suitable cover exists, and is still fairly plentiful in parts
of the Bushveld of the Pretoria, Rustenburg and Water-
berg districts, wherever poaching and Kafr dogs have
given it achance. It is usually found singly or in pairs,
feeding during the early hours of the morning or towards
and after sunset. It is easily killed by means of a
182 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
shot-gun, and is delicious eating. One young one is
usually produced at birth.
Pediotragus sharpei. Grizzled or Sharpe’s Steenbuck.
Transvaal Grijsbokje or Schimmel. bokje.
This littl animal was confused with the Cape
Grijsbuck until some years ago, when specimens were
collected and it was seen that it was different, being
much smaller, lighter in build, and palerin colour. Itis
in size and build about on a par with the common
Steenbuck, and like it, has no accessory hoofs. It is,
however, much darker and redder in tone and has a
copious sprinkling of white hairs. Horns very short,
from 1} to 2} inches in length. It is fairly common in
the more hilly and bushy regions of the Central and
Eastern Transvaal. This variety, which Thomas has
separated under a new sub-specific name, extends north-
wards through Southern Rhodesia, being replaced in
Northern Rhodesia and Nyassaland, &c., by the typical
species.
Genus NESOTRAGUS.
Rhinarium practically surrounding the nostrils. No
false or accessory hoofs. No knee tufts. Males only
horned.
Nesotragus livingstonianus. Livingstone’s Antelope.
Livingstone Bokje.
Inklengana (Amatonga) ; Sithlengone (Swazi).
Colour rich red-brown ; hairs tipped with paler, giving
to the animal a slightly speckled appearance. Insides of
the legs and the lower parts from a pure to a dirty white
colour. Upper throat, chin, and a small eye-brow, white
or whitish. Legs with a black band just above the hoofs.
DAMARA DIKDIK 183
Horns thick, straight, and strongly ringed for about three-
quarters of their length ; length 34 to 4$inches. Record
5inches. Height atshoulder12 toldinches. Length 2}
feet. The southern form was given a separate sub-
specific name by Oldfield Thomas (zwlwensis) on account
of its “ grizzled fawn colour,” and the little black on the
fetlocks, but a specimen in the Transvaal Museum from
Delagoa Bay fits this description fairly well, while
examples in the Zoo from the same place are reddish-
brown.
This pretty little Antelope ranges from Zululand to
Nyasaland. It was very common in the neighbourhood
of Delagoa Bay, but is getting scarcer every year, owing
chiefly to native poachers. It inhabits the thick bush
and scrubby undergrowth. It is very fast, and dodges
well when pursued. It has a bark-like call, and a snort-
like whistle. It does not thrive well in captivity, being
like the Blue Duiker and the Steenbuck—of a shy retiring
nature, and seldom lives longer than a year, unless given
a large paddock and more or less natural conditions of life.
Genus MADOQUA.
Small Antelopes with pointed, lengthened and swollen
noses, well clothed with hair, only the skin of the nose
being bare. Tail very short. A tuft of long hair on the
crown. Horns straight and short and well ribbed at the
bases. Accessory hoofs small.
Madoqua damarensis. Damara Dikdik, Damara Dwergbokje.
Colour dark speckly grey, with the flanks, sides, neck,
and shoulders of a plain pale rufous. Below and inside
of legs, a ring round the eyes, and chin, white. Length
of head and body about 2 feet. Height about 16 inches.
Length of horns 3 inches.
184 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
Little is known of the habits of this quaint looking
little animal, as it inhabits barren dry and rocky hills,
where it is not easily procured owing to its agility. Its
range would appear to be from Omaruru in the South
Western Protectorate to Benguela in Portuguese West
Africa.
Sub-Family CERVICAPRID.
BRhinarium well developed. No antorbital glands, and
the females without horns. ‘Tail moderately long and
bushy.
Genus COBUS.
Large-sized Antelopes with coarse hair, naked muzzles
and moderately long tufted tails. False hoofs well
developed. The males only are horned. The face glands
are rudimentary or wanting altogether.
Cobus ellipsiprymnus. (Waterbuck. Waterbok or Kring-gat.
In-Tumoga (Matabili); Matut: (Barotse); Tumoga
(Bechuana) ; Piva (Swazi).
A rather stoutly built animal, of a grizzly grey-brown
colour, almost a roan, the individual bairs, which are
course and long, being paler at the bases, and darker
at the tips. The chin, and the region round the nose
is white. Forehead reddish, and the face browner than
the body. A white streak under each eye. There is
a white line on the throat and another one, broad and
conspicuous, round the rump. The hair of the neck
is long and reversed, forming a mane-like ruff. Horns
long, ringed and curved backwards and outwards for
about three quarters of their length, then upwards.
Length 28 to 36 inches. Record 36} inches. Height
at shoulder about 4 feet. Length 74 feet. Tail 151
LECHWE ANTELOPE 185
inches. A fine mounted male in the Transvaal Museum
possesses horns 32 inches long. Weight 400 to 550 lb.
The skin is thick, especially that of the neck. It is
much prized for whips.
The Waterbuck ranges from the northern portion of
South West Africa, and Lake Ngami to Rhodesia, and
on the east from Zululand to Nyasaland and Somaliland.
The example referred to in the Transvaal Museum
was procured by Major Hamilton in the Eastern Trans-
vaal, where this species is still fairly common, especially
in the Game Reserves. Waterbucks do not stray far
from water, consorting in herds of from five to fifteen
individuals, and inhabiting broken country in the vicinity
of rivers, where they hide in the reedbeds and thickets
when wounded or hard pressed, or during the heat of the
day. According to all hunters the flesh is unpalatable,
being coarse and strongly flavoured. It feeds almost
exclusively upon grass, young reeds and rushes. It isnot
an easy animal to kill, so the hunter should make pretty
sure of his aim before pulling trigger. It is a good
swimmer and isa fairly fast animal on flat country, and
an active climber in the rocky localities, to which latter
region old bulls are very partial.
Cobus leche. Lechwe Antelope. Lechwe-bok and Geel
Waterbok.
Lechwie (Bechuana) ; Liegwhi (Makololo) ; Narya
(Mashukulumbwi).
This animal is smaller than the Waterbuck and is
of a tawny rufous or yellow-brown colour ; below white.
Front portion of legs black. Tail long, tufted, and
reaching to the hocks. A feature which will easily
distinguish this Buck from its allies of the Cobus genus,
is the naked pastern, ie. the space between the false
186 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
and true hoofs. It has the hind quarters higher than
the fore, giving it rather an ungainly appearance. Horns
curved outwards for the lower half, and the tips bent
sharply forwards. They are ringed nearly to the tips.
Length about 28 inches. Record length 34% inches.
Length of head and body 6 feet ; tail 10 inches. Height
38 to 40 inches. The male has a thick bull-like neck
and a short podgy head.
Fic. §$9.—Lechwes feeding.
The Lechwe ranges from Lake Ngami northwards to
Lake Mweru and is a water-loving Antelope, inhabiting
those low-lying tracts of open grass country which are
often flooded from the low-banked rivers. Itis often found
half immersed in the water, feeding upon reeds, rushes
and other water plants in the lagoons, reedbeds, kc.
It swims well, and when hunted by the natives is driven
into deep water and assegaied. The skin of the female
Lechwe is the national dress of the Mashukulumbwi
women. It consorts in herds of varying number, and
Selous once counted fifty-two rams in one herd, with
not:a single ewe amongst them. It breeds in October
PUKU ANTELOPE 187
and November. It is fairly plentiful along the Kafue
River in Northern Rhodesia, but it is now getting wary.
It carries its head low, the nose almost touching the
Fie. 100.—Lechwe Ram (Kafue Flats, N.R.).
ground, and proceeds in this manner both while walking
and trotting, only lifting its head when stretched out in
full gallop.
Cobus vardoni. Puku Antelope. Puku Bok.
Muntinya (Barotse) Pukuw (Ngami natives).
Sitchisunu (Mashukulumbwi).
Colour a reddish or brownish orange yellow, paler on
the lower surface. Ears tipped with black, which
immediately distinguishes 1t from the adult Lechwe.
Fie, 102.—Bringing in a dead Puku.
REEDBUCK 189
Pasterns hairy. Tail short. It is a more lightly built
and more graceful animal than the Lechwe. Horns
curved slightly forwards and outwards and the tips bent
forwards. Length 15 to 20 inches; record 202 inches.
Length of head and body 52 feet; tail 7} inches.
Height about 3 feet. Weight about 200 lb.
This Antelope, like the Lechwe, was discovered by
Livingstone’s party. The Puku ranges from the
Zambesi Valley to Lake Mweru. It has a fairly wide
distribution in the Zambesi and Chobi Valleys (Barotse-
land), being common on the Kafue River about a hundred
miles from the railway line. It is not quite so aquatic
in its habits as the Lechwe, but is seldom found more
than 800 yards away from a river or lagoon. It lives
in small herds of from four to a dozen individuals, old
rams being found singly or a few consorting together.
They are more like Waterbuck in habits, feeding on
river banks, and lying under bushes or trees during the
heat of the day.
Trouessart puts these two last species in a separate
genus, Adenota of Gray.
Genus REDUNCA.
Resembling the preceding genus considerably. Tail
short and very bushy. A glandular bare spot below the
ears on the sides of the head. Horns only present in
the males.
Redunca arundinum. Leedbuck. Ruetbok.
Nhilango (Swazi) ; Mzikie (Matabele and Zulu); Mutubo
(Barotse). Imfele a naka (Bechuana); Nalufwa
(Mashukulumbwi).
General coloration a tawny or pale reddish-brown, the
hairs being yellow at the tip and dark at the base; of
‘a paler colour below and on the sides of the face. A
190 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
rounded swelling on the nose. Ear patch bare. Face
glands small. Fore legs with a black stripe down the
front and encircling the limb just above the hoof. Tail
bushy and white beneath, which shows conspicuously as
the tail bobs up and down when the animal is in flight.
Horns black, curved backwards and upwards with the
tips directed forwards, and ringed for about two-thirds
Fic. 103.—Dead Reedbuck (bottom) and Bushbuck (top).
of their length ; there is a soft pad at the bases. Length
about 12 to 16 inches; record 18 inches. Weight of
rams about 160 to 180 lb. Height at shoulder 23 to
8 feet. Length 4 to 4£ feet.
The Reedbuck ranges from Eastern Cape Colony, where
it is now very scarce, through Natal and Zululand to
Rhodesia, reappearing on the West Coast in South-West
Africa. It is still fairly common in certain parts of the
Northern and Eastern Transvaal, but owing to indis-
RED RHEBUCK 191
criminate shooting is becoming scarcer, and will have
to be wholly protected for a few years. It lives in
valleys in the neighbourhood of water courses and vleis
or on bushy ridges, consorting in pairs, or family parties
of three to seven individuals. It feeds at early morning
and evening or during the night, lying up in some
thicket or patch of scrub during the heat of the day.
It is a grass feeder and its flesh is of high quality. It
emits a shrill whistle when alarmed or excited.
Redunca fulvorufula. Red Rhebuck. Rosi Bhebok.
N'gla (Swazi); Infele (Bechuana).
Smaller than the Reedbuck, and of a greyish to
brownish tint; below and insides of the limbs pure
white. Head and upper neck pale reddish-brown or
fulvous. Limbs generally darker than the body. Tail
tufted and white beneath, which is conspicuous as the
animal bounds upwards in its rocky home. Hovrns short,
ringed for the lower half, with the terminal half curved
forward; length on the curve, 5 to 7 inches; record,
9, Inches. Height at shoulder, 27 to 30 inches.
Length, 4 feet.
The Red Rhebuck is found from the Central Cape
Colony, through the Eastern Province; Natal, Orange
Free State, Transvaal, Bechuanaland, and as far as the
Zambesi River in Rhodesia. We found it quite common
in parts of the Orange Free State, where it inhabits the
slopes and kloofs of rocky kopjes clothed with scattered
scrub, in small parties of from two to six individuals. The
male has a peculiar sharp, snorting whistle. Onthe Rhe-
boksberg, near Marquard, Orange Free State, where they —
are preserved by the farmers, I had the pleasure of counting
over twenty on one day during May, 1918, one small herd
of three and a fine solitary ram jumping out quite close
192 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
to me and cantering leisurely away. It is wonderful to
see the ease and grace with which this antelope bounds
up the steep sides of a rocky hill, the muscular develop-
ment of the hips and shoulders being immense. Young
animals are excellent eating, although the old ones are
somewhat coarse. This animal is easily killed, being
amongst the softest of the Antelope.
Genus PELEA.
Fur woolly and of a peculiar texture. Horns straight.
Otherwise much like the foregoing genus.
Pelea capreolus. Grey Rhebuck. Vaal Rhebok.
Shiatla (Basuto) ; Peelie (Bechuana) ; Ilieza (Swazi).
Colour greyish brown, almost pure grey in young
examples; head and limbs of a darker tint. Fur rabbit-
eo
“
a \
SON
Fig. 104.—Vaal Rhebuck.
like or woolly, thick and soft; ears very long, pointed
and narrow ; neck long and slender ; tail moderately long
and bushy; horns straight, pointed and ringed for about
half their length ; length, 7 to9 inches ; record, 114 inches.
IMPALA ANTELOPE 193
Height at shoulder about 24 feet. Although localized to a
great extent, this animal is found on nearly all the moun-
tain ranges of South Africa south of the Zambesi River.
We found it not uncommon at several points of the
Drakensberg Range. It inhabits mountains and hills,
where it is generally found near the top, in parties of six to
a dozen individuals. Its agility amongst the rocks is well
known, and, although its gallop is rather stilted and of
the rocking-horse type, it can cover the ground rapidly
enough in its mountain home, where it bounds upwards
with ease and grace. Its flesh is not of high quality. One
or two young ones are produced at a birth. A female in
the Zoo gave birth to a single young one. The National
Zoological Gardens have obtained on several occasions
examples from Basutoland, through the kind agency of
Mr. J. P. Murray, Sub-Commissioner of Mafeteng.
Genus AAPYCEROS.
Tail long and slender. No false hoofs. Tufts of hair
on the lower portion of the hind legs. Female hornless.
AZpyceros melampus. Impala Antelope. Rootbok.
Pala (Basuto and Bechuana) ; Impala (Swazi and Zulu).
This graceful Antelope is called the Rooibok by the
Boers, on account of its general reddish-chestnut or bay
colour ; below it is white, as is also the chin and throat.
There is a dark brown stripe on the buttocks on either
side of the tail, and another down the latter portion of the
back, nearly to the tip of the tail; this rather curious
marking looks like the broad arrow on the dress of con-
victs when viewed from behind. There are black tufts.
on the hind fetlocks, whence its German name of
“schwarzfersen antilope,” and its Latin name of melampus
(black-footed)
13
Fic. 106.—Dead Impala Ram,
SPRINGBUCK 195
Horns lyrate, bent upwards, outwards and forwards,
then inwards, and forwards towards the tip; length, 22
to 30 inches (record, 313 inches). Height at shoulder,
2} to 3 feet; length, 43 feet; weight, about 130 lb.
The Impala ranges from Zululand through the Eastern
Transvaal to Rhodesia and Portuguese East Africa. It
prefers the vicinity of well-wooded streams, consorting
in herds of from half a dozen animals up to several
hundred. It will on occasion stray far from water.
They leap wonderfully well, as Sir Percy Fitzpatrick
points out in his typical South African book, “ Jock of
the Bushveld.” A ram in the National Zoological
Gardens cleared a fence of 8 feet, and two ewes two
fences of 64 feet in quick succession. We have had
numbers from the Sabie Reserve, captured mostly
when full grown. They breed quite well in captivity,
and soon get tame. One young one at birth seems to be
the general rule; the young are born during the months
of October to January. The Impala feeds mostly on
grass, and during the daytime.
Genus ANTIDORCAS.
Antelopes of medium size and with false hoofs present.
The rhinarium is small and both sexes are horned. ©
There is a peculiar patch of long hair on the hinder
portion of the back which can be erected at the will of
the animal, and which opens like a fan.
Antidorcas euchore. Springbuck. Springbok.
Tsipi (Bechuana).
This animal is so well known as to need little descrip-
tion. Its characteristics amongst Antelopes is the
peculiar crest or fan of long white hairs along the back
196 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
contained in a fold or narrow pouch of skin; this can
be erected at the will of the animal. It is an ally
of the Gazelles, and is of an isabelline or pale reddish
colour above, and white below, the two colours being
separated by a broad band of bright reddish-chestnut.
There is another band or stripe of chestnut on the face,
Fic. 107.—A pair of Springbuck.
and the rump, like the face, is white. Height at the
shoulder 27 to 30 inches. Weight of rams 60 to 80 Ib.;
ewes 40 to 50 lb. Both sexes are horned, although
the female’s are smaller, shorter and straighter, and
only ringed at the base. Length 12 to 16} inches.
Record 19 inches (malformed).
In days gone by the Springbuck roamed over the veld
in countless thousands, but is now only found in the
Cape, South West Africa, Bechuanaland, Orange Free
State, and some parts of the Transvaal (notably the
SPRINGBUCK 197
Springbok Flats, where they have been protected for
a term of years). The huge immigrations, about which
we read so much in the tales of the old African travellers
Fic. 109.—Springbuck Rams sparring.
(Gordon Cumming, Baldwin, &c.), belong to the days
of the past. The last big “trek” took place in 1896,
although it is believed that there are still fairly large
(-yongBuradg on} jo ommory yeords4 ong ‘plea FEE oTAVIUAITEE JO YOIOA9s O49 OI0N)
‘ureyy yonqsuisdg euy y—'OIT “PI
SPRINGBUCK: 199:
herds of “trek-bokken,’ as the Boers termed these
migratory herds, in the Kalahari and North Western
Cape Colony. In the Orange Free State, there are still
many farms with large herds of Springbuck running
on them, and the farmers are now learning the value
of the venison as a lucrative article of trade, and their
buck as a splendid source of income (through the medium
of sportsmen and the market). It is often shot on the
run at anything from 200 to 600 yards, although chances.
of a standing shot at 300 or 400 yards should be awaited.
It consorts in herds of varying number, old rams, young
males, females and lambs of all ages being found together.
When disturbed they make off in a long line, and to me
amore beautiful sight than this cannot be found on the
veld. When pressed, or often when crossing a road,
they commence bounding into the air and the ease and
grace of their movements is unequalled.
Asa rule one young one is born at a time, the early
summer months of October and November being the
proper breeding season, although young ones may
be found in any month, even as late as- June or
July. This fact I have often noted when out shooting
with the late Mr. H. P. Basson, of Brandfort, a well-
known Orange Free State shot and sportsman. More
than one young one was captured by us during the
shooting season, which only opens in March and closes
in August. Springbuck venison is by many preferred to
the flesh of any other South African Antelope and is
fine eating.
Genus HIPPOTRAGUS.
Antelopes of fairly large size; tail long and tufted ;
mamme four in number. Horns long, curved backwards
and well ringed. The females are also horned, but
carry lighter and more slender horns. One member
200 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
of the genus, the true Blaauwbok (H. leucopheus) is
now extinct.
Hippotragus equinus. Roan Antelope. Bastard Eland.
Kwalata (Bechuana); Kwalata tsew (Barotsi); ’Mtagaisi
(Zulu); Takiaas: (Swazi).
Colour a grizzled pale or fawn brown, rather like what
is sometimes known as a roan chestnut (almost a straw-
Fig, 111.—Dead ‘Roan Antelope.
berry roan) in horses. Head dark brown; nose, lips,
chin, a patch in front of and one behind the eye, white
ears long, and tufted with long black hair. A fairly
SABLE ANTHLOPE 201
well developed mane extends to the middle of the back.
Tail tufted with long black hair. Horns fairly short for
the size of the head and not so heavily curved as in
the succeeding species, and rounder than those of the
Sable. Length of male about 30 to 36 inches; female
24 to 29 inches. Records 40} (male) 294 (female). Height
at the shoulder from 4} to 4} feet. Length of head and
body about 8 feet. It isa larger animal than the Sable.
Weight about 600 Ib.
It is now rare south of Rhodesia, though still found in
Bechuanaland and the Kastern Transvaal, in the South-
West Protectorate and Mashonaland. It inhabits open
or hilly country clothed with scattered bush, consorting
usually in small parties of from six to a dozen indi-
viduals. It will take to thick bush on occasion; it is a
grass feeder, and drinks regularly. The young ones
resemble those of the Sable, and are usually born in
January and February. It is a bad runner, but a spirited
animal when wounded, charging without fear. One ex-
ample lived in the National Zoo for fourteen years, and
‘was not young when received.
Hippotragus niger. Sable Antelope. Zwart Witpens.
Native names: Potoquani (Southern Bechuana); Kualata
tchumu (Ngami, Bechuanas); Kualata inchu (Bamang-
wato and Makololo); Kwalata nitso (Barotsi).
Colour, very dark brown, some of the bulls almost
black. There is a conspicuous white stripe on either side
of the face; chin and lower portion of jaw also white. It
has a mane on the neck similar to that of the Roan.
The rump, belly and insides of the hind legs above the
hocks are white. The horns are longer, laterally com-
pressed, and more curved than those of the Roan. Average
202 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
length, 3 feet to 4 feet. Record, 60 inches. Height at
shoulder, 4 feet to 44 feet; length, 7+ feet.
This beautiful and graceful looking Antelope is now
only found in the Northern and Eastern Transvaal,
Portuguese South-East Territory and Rhodesia, so far as
Fig. 112.— Sable Antelopes and Young.
our limits are concerned. In habits it somewhat re-
sembles the Roan, but seems to prefer sparsely-wooded
high veld, interspersed with thick groves wherein to take
shelter; it is, however, occasionally found in thickly
wooded country. Itis largely a grass feeder, and drinks.
regularly, so is never found very far from water. It is
Fic. 114.—Baby Sable Antélope (and baby Duikers).
204 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
more gregarious in habits than the Roan, being found in
herds of varying number up to forty or fifty individuals.
Old bulls are usually found alone, and young bulis in
small troops. The calves are born in late summer, and
Major Hamilton gives the period of gestation at 270 days,
which I am not able to verify, except that in captivity
Fic. 115.—Dead Sable Antelope Bull.
only one young one is born annually. They give vent to
a snort when alarmed or angered.
The Sable is a dangerous animal when wounded. A
male in the National Zoological Gardens, though tame
enough when unmolested, became very fierce when
meddled with. It breeds well in captivity, one young
one being produced at a birth.
GEMSBUCK 205
Genus ORYX.
Large antelopes with large tufted tails, false hoofs and
forwardly directed manes; horns ringed at the bases
long and, in the case of the only South African species,
almost straight.
Oryx gazella. Gemsbuck. Gemsbok.
Kukama (Bechuana).
Colour a tawny grey ; face brown, black, and white, the
white eye-stripe being cut off from the muzzle by the
joining of the dark nose streak with the black cheeks. A
dark brown line below the lower meridian line of the
neck, dividing at the base into a longitudinal band on
either side of the body, thence on to the hips. A tuft of
dark brown hair on the throat. The limbs are white,
with a broad dark patch about the knees and hocks.
Height, 3 feet 9 inches to 4 feet; length, 5 feet 3 inches ‘
tail, 1 foot 3 inches. Horns long, straight, sharp and
spear-like, those of the females being as a rule longer and
finer; length, 40 to 45 inches (record, 48 inches).
The Gemsbuck is fond of open sandy desert country,
being found in the dry districts of North-Western Cape
Colony, the Kalahari and the South-West African Pro-
tectorate to Western Matabeland as far as the Chobi
River. It lives in pairs or small herds, feeding upon
bulbs, wild melons, small bushes and such-like. It can,
in consequence, go for a long time without water, and is
more or less independent of this, to us, necessary com-
modity. It is of a wary nature, and very fleet. This is
to me one of our finest Antelopes, the graceful, compact
build and beautiful head making it a regal-looking animal.
One pair in the National collection bred very well, the
female giving birth to a calf for three successive years,
Fic, 117.—Freshly-caught young Gemsbuck and Eland being brought into camp.
CAPE BUSHBUCK 207
.when unfortunately both parents were carried off by
stomach troubles, following bad cysticercus infection.
.The bull was most pugnacious, refusing to make way for
anyone. He had to be caught and thrown periodically,
as his hoofs grew extremely long, which had in con-
sequence to be regularly cut. The cow was, on the
other hand, very docile and tame. All our Gemsbuck
came from Bechuanaland, either from Kuruman, Vryburg
or Khama’s country.
Genus TRAGELAPHUS.
Medium sized Antelopes, with fairly short, bushy tails.
The males only are horned ; the horns are slightly ridged
and spirally twisted upwards and outwards.
Tragelaphus sylvaticus. Cape Bushbuck. Bosbok.
Inkonka, male, Imbabala, female (Swazi and Zulu); M'babala
(Barotse) ; Ibawara (Lower Zambesi).
The male is dark slatey brown, forehead reddish. Lips
and chin, a spot below the eye, crossbars on the throat,
patches on the insides of the legs and a few scattered
spots on the body, chiefly on the flanks, all white. A
short upstanding mane runs along the back. ‘Tail white
below. The female is of a more reddish colour than the
male, and usually striped. I append a photograph of an
authentic pair of horns taken from a female Bushbuck.
Such cases are rare however. Horns 12 to 16 inches long,
straight and black, forming one or one and a quarter
spiral curves. The record for the South African variety,
so far as Ican make out from Rowland Ward’s “ Records
of Great Game,” is 18} inches; height, not quite 3 feet ;
length, 4 feet 9 inches; weight, from 100 Ib. to 150 Ib.
The Transvaal specimens seem to be paler and redder
208 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
than those from the Cape, and may require a new sub-
specific name. .
This buck, of which the male is a noble-looking
animal, is an inhabitant of thick forest or bushy
kloofs, feeding as a rule only at night or during the early
morning. It is only found singly, in pairs, or with the
season’s kid in attendance. The male gives vent to a
Fig. 118.—Cape Bushbuck,
hoarse, barking note, and is a vicious animal when
wounded. The Bushbuck feeds upon leaves, grass, &c.
It ranges through the southern and eastern districts of
the Cape, Natal, Zululand, Portuguese Hast Africa and
Eastern Transvaal. In Northern Rhodesia and Central
Africa it is replaced by a closely allied form, the
Harnessed Antelope (Tragelaphus scriptus), which is of
a paler and redder colour, and is, as its name implies,
prettily marked with white stripes upon the body and
spots upon the throat and hips.
In captivity the male Bushbuck is usually a most
’NYALA 209
aggressive animal, butting human beings and other
animals with impartiality. In fact, it is difficult to breed
them, as, unless they are paired up when young, the rams
kill or severely injure the ewes. Several rams in the
collection absolutely refused to have a mate, and, after
they had killed and injured several females, were left
in solitary confinement. A few have been bred in the
Gardens, one young one being born at a time.
Fig. 119.—Horns of female Bushbuck.
TRAGELAPHUS ANGASI.
(Genus BOOCEROS, Trouessart.) ‘Nyala. Bastard Koedoe. ,
"Nyala (Zulu and Swazi).
Male of a grey-brown colour, inclining to chocolate
brown on the neck, face, and above the knees and hocks.
Forehead and legs below the knees tawny-chestnut.
(Selater describes it as sienna-brown). There is a white
chevron on the nose, and several white spots on the
cheeks; chin, front of upper lip and lower throat, white ;
ears reddish with black tips. The neck is covered with
14
‘(yooyog ‘y ‘y ‘Aq Aq yous sttrey ouy 04) gunz BredN, WY —‘OZT ‘PLA
"NYALA 211
long, dark hair, which extends along the belly and
haunches to the knees. There is a white tuft on the
dewlap (which is arranged in the shape of a whorl or
crown), another under the belly, and one on the flanks
L
5 3
6 4
2
Fig. 121.—A fine series of "Nyala horns.
Curve Straight Tip to tip Circumference
ins. ins. ins. ins,
1 (Reeord) 323 ie 243 is 163 2 83
2 at 284 Be 24% a 163 asa 72
3 a 302 oe 254 fs 163 ae 83
4 oe 29% i> 24 ae 12 a fs
5 30 253 114 84
6 31 25 103 8
No. 1.—Record length over curves.
Nos. 3 and 5.—Longer in straight line.
and thighs. A black mane extends as far as the shoulders,
and from thence to the rump, is replaced by a white
mane. The body is marked by twelve to fourteen some-
what indistinct white bars running round the barrel.
212 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
The hips are adorned with a few white spots. The
fetlocks and feet are black. The tail is bushy, black above
and white below, and reaches to the hocks. Length
of head and body, 40 inches (Sclater); 51 to 60 inches
(F. O. Noome) ; height at shoulder, 42 inches ; length of
horns from 22 to 30 inches. Record 32% (Lourengo
Marques, F. O. Noome). The horns are much larger,
‘wider, and thicker than that of the Bushbuck’s, and are
brown in colour with conspicuous pale yellow tips. The
female is much smaller than the male, has no horns, and
is of a bright, reddish, tawny colour, almost an orange;
paler below and on the insides of the legs. A distinct
black dorsal line runs along the back from the crown of
the head to the root of the tail. She has usually more
white stripes on the sides, which are also more distinct
than those of the male. There is a black line on the face
but no white chevron. Mr. F. O. Noome of the Trans-
vaal Museum possesses a pair of horns which adorned a
female Nyala, which is the only case so far known.
The head of an Nyala, with its manes of long hair
both above and below the neck, its grand carriage and
fine horns, is to my nuind, one of the finest trophies of
the hunter. It is, however, very local in habit, being
found only in the more well-watered and thickly wooded
and low lying tracts of Zululand, Portuguese Hast Africa
(north and south of Delagoa Bay) and north of the
Zambesi on the western bank of the Shire River. The
Transvaal Museum obtained a number of fine specimens
in the M’Kuzi Game Reserve of Zululand, and at Matopi
on the Maputo River, and Mr. F. O. Noome of that
Institution possesses the record pair of horns, of which
I append a photograph. These animals are becoming
very scarce in some of their old haunts, as the writer
found to his cost in August, 1918, when he spent a few
’NYALA 213
days in the bush at Port Henrigue on the Tembe River
in Maputoland south of Lourenco Marques, without
procuring a specimen. I heard them snorting once or
twice, and saw a fair amount of spoor, but time was too
limited to spend more days in the bush.
The ’Nyala feeds most during the night, and hides in
some dense thicket during the day, and if you want to
Fig, 122.—Record pair of "Nyala horns.
catch him on his way back from the feeding grounds or
watering place you must be up with early cock-crow.
Your best chance of a shot is between dawn and sunrise.
The ‘Nyala goes about in small herds of from five to
. fifteen individuals, consisting either of both sexes, a few
females accompanied by an old ram, or a few rams
together. It feeds upon leaves, grass and roots, and has
a similar snorting bark to that of the Bushbuck, only
deeper and louder. The female gives birth to a single
214 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
young one during the spring and summer months. Mr.
Wm. Campbell of Mount Edgecombe, Durban, informed
me that he caught a young one in Zululand in early
August, which is now in the Durban Zoo.
TRAGELAPHUS SELOUSI.
(Genus LYMNOTRAGUS, Trouessart.) Sitatunga. Water
Koedoe.
Sitatunga (Barotse) ; Nakong (Lake Ngami).
This Antelope is a geographical race or sub-species of
the Hast African Marsh Antelope (Tragelaphus speket).
Fic. 123.—Sitatunga Ram.
It is mouse-brown or dark grey-brown in colour, the
hair being fairly long and woolly, which together with
its awkward figure and stupid-looking face, gives the
animal an untidy appearance. There is a white V-shaped
mark on the face, a white spot on the chin, and one
“SITATUNGA 215
‘below the eye; two indistinct transverse white marks on
the neck, and the same on the insides of the legs about
half-way down. The ears are short and broad, with a
white patch at the base, and a tuft of white hair along
the inner margin. The tail is short and slender, brown
above and white below. The feet are very elongated, the
space between the false and true hoofs being devoid of
Fic. 124.—Young Sitatunga Ewe.
hair. The ungainly looking feet of these Antelopes are
well placed, as it is an inhabitant of marshy ground.
Length of head and body 5 feet 3 inches. Height at
shoulder 42 inches. Horns rather more twisted than
that of the "Nyala, and about 28 inches in length along
the curve (22 inches in a straight line). Records:
32 inches along the curve, 27 inches straight (I. C.
Selous); 35% inches on the curve (Lord Rothschild).
The sexes are alike, except that the female is horniless.
216 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
It inhabits the swamps and marshy river banks of
Lake Ngami and Chobi River areas within our limits,
and beyond Zambesia, the regions of Lake Mweru and
Bangweolo. Dr. Livingstone first met with this antelope
on the Zambesi in 1852, but it was not until 1864 that
the northern form was described, and in 1898 the
southern form was separated and named after Selous by
Rothschild.
The Sitatunga lives in pairs or small parties amongst
the reedbeds of the lakes, swamps and rivers, hiding
during the heat of the day, and feeding upon the young
shoots of reeds, grass, &c., at night. Owing to the
peculiar structure of its feet it can walk easily on the
tangle of aquatic weeds and grass in its favourite haunts,
but is very clumsy on dry land. When pursued it takes
to the water and swims well. Its flesh is said to be
highly flavoured and not very palatable.
We have posesssed two rams of this species in the
National collection, one that lived for five years, and died
of an abscess in the pelvis, and a second which un-
fortunately arrived with a broken hip and had to be
destroyed. Both came from near Livingstone, Northern
Rhodesia. A ewe now in the collection came from the
Kafue River and was presented by Mr. Ben Woest of
Mazabuka.
Genus STREPSICEROS.
Large antelopes resembling the last genus in general
characters, but the horns, which the male alone carries,
are enormously long and form several complete spirals.
Fars large. Antorbital gland small.
KOODOO 217
Strepsiceros capensis. Koodoo or Kudu. Koedoe.
Itolo (Basuto); Nschlongololo (Swazi and Zulu); Noro
(Mashona); Tolo (Bechuana and Barotse).
Colour, a pale drab- or ash-brown, greyer in old males,
owing to the skin showing through the thin hair. A
Fig. 125.—Koodoo Bull surprised in his home!
V-shaped mark on the face, spots on the cheeks, lips
and chin, white. The breast and front half of the belly
Fic. 127.—Young Koodoo Bull.
- KOODOO : 219
is dark brown. The body is marked with six or seven
transverse white stripes. The tail is bushy, grey above
and white below. Length about 8 feet. Height 54 to
60 inches. Horns from 40 to 48 inches in a straight
eee. J
Fria. 128.—Series of heads from N. Transvaal to show variation in
face markings.
line; 50 to 64 inches along the curve (Rowland Ward’s
Records). Records: 674 inches, R. M. of Lydenbarg
(author’s measurements); 714 inches over the curve
and 522 inches in a straight line, Mr. Cole-Rous,
Johannesburg (J..R. Ivy). This last magnificent pair
of horns was obtained in Secucuniland, Lydenburg
district, in August 1916. A fine bull weighed by Dr.
Schoch was 705 lb.
220 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
The Koodoo inhabits most territories of South Africa
where there is a forest or thick bush, as it is essentially
a bush-loving buck, like the members of the preceding
genus, although it often seems as partial to the bush
of rocky hills, as to that of the wooded river banks. It
is found in small herds of from half-a-dozen to a score
of animals. Old rams may be found alone, or in parties
of two or three consorting together. It is essentially
a browser, feeding upon the shoots and leaves of shrubs
Fic. 129.—Albino Koodoo (South West Prot.).
and bushes, and their fruit; also seeds. It is of a some-
what timid nature, with no great turn of speed in flat
open country, where however it seldom allows itself to
be caught. It is still fairly common in the Addo
Bush and other wooded portions of the Albany and
Uitenhage districts, and is plentiful in the Eastern and
Northern Transvaal, especially in the Sabi Reserve and
some parts of Zoutpansberg. The call is a hoarse bark
resembling that of a Bushbuck, but is much louder and
deeper. The young ones are hidden by the mother in
long grass or dense thicket. This animal has bred in the
National Zoo last year for the first time. One calf was
born on the 30th November, and is doing well.
ELAND 221
Genus TAUROTRAGUS.
Both sexes horned. A large dewlap present. The
largest Antelopes in Africa. Tail ox-like and tufted.
Taurotragus oryx. Eland. Eland.
*Mpofu (Barotsi and Ngami) ; Jfofo (Mashona) ; Pofo
(Bechuana) ; Muzefu (Mashukulumbwi).
Colour tawny or drabbish brown; on the forehead
there is a bunch of upstanding hairs. The neck is
Fic. 180.—Unstriped Eland Bull.
thick. There isa dark line along the back, and ten or
twelve transverse white stripes on the sides of the body.
The female has lighter horns, is smaller than the male,
and is without the brush on the face, and has not such
Fic. 132.—Striped Eland (Northern variety).
ELAND : 223
a heavy neck. The horns are short and stout, with a
twist in the lower half. Length 2 feet to 3 feet. Record
37 inches. Height 4 feet 9 inches to 5 feet’ 10 inches.
Length of head and body about-10 feet.
The Southern Race (Tauwrotragus oryx oryx), which
is now only found in a wild state in the Giant’s Castle
Reserve of Natal and the Northern parts of the Kala-:
Fic. 133,—Pair of Eland Heads—striped variety. , .
hari and Southern, Rhodesia, is without .the white , body.
stripes described above, while the. striped northern race.
from the Zambesi northwards is called. Taurotragus oryx'
livingstonet ; this is the largest of the varieties and: the;
bull is truly an enormous animal, weighing. .about,
2,000 lbs. In Mashonaland the Elands,. have. an , in-.
distinct white chevron on the face and.a large..brown
tuft on the forehead (Taurotragus oryx seloust). These.
294 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
are merely geographical races, and they freely interbreed
with one another in captivity. One young one is born
annually. The young of the unstriped variety are dis-
tinctly striped for the first six or eight months of their
lives.
As the Eland breeds well in captivity, and is as a rule
of a mild docile nature, it is mysterious why no attempt
Fic, 134.—Young Eland just tamed (striped variety),
was made by our earlier settlers to domesticate this fine
animal, even if only as a fresh item for the bill of fare.
The Elands in the National Zoological Gardens breed
regularly every year. The female Eland calls her young
one by a soft bleating note, ridiculously inadequate for
such a large animal.
It is a tough animal to kill and requires a well-placed
shot to bring it down.
CAPE BUFFALO 225
Sub-Family BOVINA,
Genus BOS.
Cattle-like animals of large size and stout build. Both
sexes horned. Horns not ringed, but corrugated at the
base and directed outwards. Female with four mamme.
No antorbital fosse in the skull. Rhinarium wide.
Bos caffer. Cape Buffalo. Buffel.
"Nyati (Swazi and Zulu); Nadi (Bechuana and Barotse) ;
Nari (Baguto).
Colour a dull black, the skin showing through the sparse
black hairs. Fars fairly large and drooping, hairy behind.
Fic. 185.—Young African Buffalo eight months old.
SS
Hoofs round and broad. False hoofs well developed and
pointed. Tail long, reaching to the hocks, and furnished
with a fairly large brush at the end. The female is
generally of a paler tinge, smaller, and with smaller
horns than the male. Young reddish brown, becoming
browner and then black at about 3 years old. The
16
Fic. 137.—Young African Buffalo, two years old.
Fic. 140.—Cape Buffalo (Addo Bush, Cape Prov.). (Note the deep dcewnward:
sweep of the horns of the Cape animal as compared with the Rhodesian.)
CAPE BUFFALO 229
horns of the calf grow straight out like those of the
young Wildebeest, then downwards and finally outwards.
I append three photographs of a young African Buffalo
at the ages of 8and 14 months. Horns of the male
very broad at the base, massive and corrugated, curved
outwards and downwards, then upwards and inwards.
Length about 24 feet along the curve for bulls, and about
2 feet for cows. Record 41 inches; greatest width,
outside 523 inches.
» At present the Buffalo is only found in the bushy and
» forest-clad districts of Albany, Alexandria, Bathurst and ’
Uitenhage in Cape Colony, Zululand, South-West Africa,
Rhodesia and Portuguese Kast Africa. There are still a
few in the Sabi Game Reserves, and there is a large herd
on Marianna Island in the Inkomati River near Delagoa
Bay. It prefers thorny bush-clad well-watered country,
where there are open glades. Although solitary bulls are
not uncommon, the Buffalo usually congregates in herds
of a dozen to as many as several hundred individuals. It
is usually a dangerons animal to wound, and many lives
have been lost in hunting Buffalo.
Tt is seldom found far from water, drinking at sunrise,
and retiring to the bush or a reed thicket to sleep during
the heat of the day. It drinks again at sunset, and loves
to wallow in the mud. One calf is born at a time, during
February or March, which remains hidden until it is
about a fortnight old, after which it is strong enough
to run with the herd.
Order SIRENTA.
This is a small order of aquatic mammals containing
only the two living forms—the Manatis andthe Dugong,
and the extinct Northern Sea Cow.
Like the Cetaceans, the Sirenians have the fore-limbs
in the shape of flippers, have no hind limbs, and the tail
is expanded horizontally into a steering paddle.
Unlike the Cetaceans however, the Manatis and
Dugongs have depressed bodies, instead of as in the former
where the body is compressed from side to side.
The muzzle is short, and the head more like those
of ordinary mammals, being in proportion to the size
of the body. There is no dorsal fin as in the whales.
The females have two teats situated on the breast. The
eyes are small and the ear orifice minute.
There is no Manati in South Africa, but as the Dugong
has been repeatedly captured off the Mozambique coast it
comes within the scope of this work.
Genus HALICORE.
The tail is crescent shaped, and there are no traces of
nails on the flippers. The nostrils are situated on the top
of the snout and can be closed at will.
The skullis thick and has a massive beak-like projection
at the extremity of the jaws, both the upper and lower
of which are bent downwards. There are twenty-two
teeth, consisting of a pair of incisors in the upper jaw, and
five molars on either side of both jaws. The incisors in
the male form downward projecting tusks, but those of
the female are small.
DUGONG 931
Halicore dugong. Dugong. Duyong.
Colour bluish grey, often inclining to whitish on the
under parts. Length from 5 to 9 feet.
The Dugong inhabits the shores of the Indian Ocean to
about 20° south of the Equator and 15° north.
It is purely a marine animal and never ascends rivers
like the Manatis of America and West Africa.
Owing to their being constantly persecuted for the
valuable oil which is obtained from their bodies, they are
now getting scarce and wary and are only found in ones,
twos or threes, whereas formerly herds of large size—up
to a hundred or more, was a common occurrence.
Fishing for Dugongs is a. regular industry on the
Australian Coast. Its flesh is said to be quite tasty.
There is a skeleton of one in the Transvaal Museum
presented by Capt. H. de Lacerda of Lourenco Marques.
Order CETACEHA.
This order embraces those mammals which have been
modified for a wholly aquatic life, and include the Whales,
Dolphins and Porpoises.
The head is long, with usually a wide mouth ; the body
is fish-like, and there is no apparent neck.
At the posterior end of the body there are two
horizontally placed fins resembling the tail of a fish, and
which are known as flukes. There are no hairs on the
body, which is smooth, and there are only a few bristles
round about the mouth. In place of the hairy covering
of the terrestrial mammals, these animals have a thick
layer of fatty material under the epidermis; this is known
as the blubber, and forms a lucrative article of commerce,
for which the unfortunate whales are continually being
hunted.
The skull has a rounded brain-case, with a beak-like
rostrum ; the teeth, when present, are simple and uniform
and are not preceded by milk teeth.
Sub-Order MYSTACOCETI.
Whales with the palate provided with a large number
of plates of baleen (so-called whalebone), and with teeth
never developed after the birth of the animal.
Sternum or breastbone composed of a single piece, and
connected to only one pair of ribs.
Family BALASNIDZ.
Genus BALASNA.
The skin of the throat is smooth, and there is no dorsal
fin.
HUMPBACK WHALE 233
Balena australis. Southern Right Whale. Zuidlik Opregte
Walvis.
The head is large, and the upper lip is acutely arched.
Colour, black throughout. Length, 60 to 70 feet ; head,
16 feet; width of tail, 154 to 16 feet.
This. whale wanders into the Cape bays during the
winter months to calve. It feeds upon the minute
crustacea and mollusca which are found floating on the
surface of the sea in large numbers.
Genus MEGAPTERA.
Head moderate and flat, with the jaws almost straight.
There is a long dorsal fin situated on a small hump on
the back. Flippers, long and narrow. Ventral surface
of body ridged and furrowed.
Megaptera longimana. Humpback Whale. Bockelrug
Walvis.
Upper surface and sides of body black; front portion
of lower surface white; rear portion mottled black and
white. Pectoral fins scalloped along the bottom edge;
white below and black above. Length of head and body,
35 feet. Length of pectoral fins, 9 feet.
This Whale ranges from the Northern Atlantic to the
North and South Pacific Oceans. It is found nearly all
over the world. This species also comes into Table and
False Bays to breed in the winter months, and, as the
blubber is not thick, while the whalebone is short, it is not
often hunted by the whalers of the Cape.
Genus BALASNOPTERA.
Head small and flat, pointed anteriorly; skin of the
throat plicated. A strong dorsal fin is present, and the
pectoral fin is small and narrow.
234 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
The species of fin whale inhabiting the Cape coastal
seas is stil] uncertain.
Sub-Order ODONTOCETI.
Teeth always present, but no baleen; breastbone in
several pieces and joined to several pairs of ribs.
Family PHYSETERIDA:.
No actual teeth in upper jaw. Four genera.
Genus PHYSETER.
Large massive animals, with an enormous head. Upper
teeth rudimentary and of no practical use.
Physeter macrocephalus. Sperm Whale or Cachelot.
Head blunt and square in front (truncate. Colour
blackish with green reflections; below, greyish. Abdomen
and tail sometimes marked with white. The head con-
tains an oily substance known as spermaceti, hence the
popular name of this whale. Length, 55 to 60 feet.
The Sperm Whale ranges throughout the oceans,
excepting the Polar Seas, being commonest in the
warmer climes.
It feeds upon Cuttle and other Jelly-fish, besides scale-
fish of the Rock Cod type, &c. The young are born out
at sea.
There are three other genera inhabiting the Cape seas:
Kogia(with one species), Ziphius (one species), Mesoplodon
(two species). Of the latter, Layard’s Beaked Whale
(M. layardi) was described from a specimen (the type)
obtained by Mr. Layard in the Cape. Colour, black
above and white below. Length 18 feet.
COMMON DOLPHIN 235
Family DELPHINIDAS.
This family is the largest of the Order, and is charac-
terized chiefly by the large number of teeth in both jaws.
There are eleven genera: Grampus, Globicephalus Neo-
phocena, Orcinus, Lagenorhynchus, Cephalorhynchus,
Dephinus, Tursiops, Prodelphinus, Steno and Sotalia.
Of the above, the following are the best known :—
Orcinus orca. The Killer Whale.
Of a black colour above and white below, and with a
stripe over the eye. Dorsal fin large and pointed, and
pectoral fin broad and short. Length, 19 or 20 feet.
This is a fairly cosmopolitan species, and is of a rapacious
nature, devouring seals, porpoises, young whales, &c.,
being the only Whale or member of the Cetacea which
preys upon other warm-blooded animals, although it also
devours fish.
Delphinus delphis. Common Dolphin.
Slate-colour above, grey below, a yellowish grey stripe
from behind the eye to the level of the dorsal fin. An
elongated, beak-like snout. Total length, 7 to 8 feet.
This animal is pretty generally distributed throughout
the warmer seas, and associates in herds or shoals of
from six individuals upwards. They are playful, energetic
animals, rising to the surface of the sea every now and
then, playing and gambolling round ships, &c. Only a
single young one is born at a time.
The members of the other genera are rare.
Order EDENTATA.
This is a small order, containing the degenerate rem-
nants of a former age which were common, especially in
South America.
The teeth are never rooted, but grow from persistent
pulps, and consist of dentine and enamel only. There
are no incisor teeth. There are five families, only two of
which are found in the Old World.
Family MANID-E.
Genus MANIS.
Manis temmincki. Scaly Ant-eater or Pangolin.
Yzer Magaauw.
A medium-sized animal with a rather elongated form.
Body covered above and on the sides with a series of
horny scales or plates overlapping each other. Limbs
short and also covered with scales, the forefeet supplied
with long claws, both fore and hind feet with five toes.
The head is very small, and without an external ear ;
mouth small and devoid of teeth, and the tongue is long
and extensile. Tail broad and paddle-like, also covered
with scales. Length of head and body, 2 feet; tail, 14 feet.
This peculiar animal extends from the region of the
Orange River northwards to Somaliland.
It burrows in the ground, and prefers the drier parts of
the country. Its chief food is ants and termites, which it
obtains by digging into anthills and termite nests. When
alarmed, it rolls itself into a ball, trusting to its horny
covering to protect it.
ANTPIG OR ANTBEAR 237
A number of examples have been sent to the National
Zoological Gardens, chiefly from the Rustenburg and
Marico districts of the Transvaal, and several females
with a young one. As TI have never seen more than one
young one with a female, I presume this is the full comple-
ment. The mother protects the youngster, when small,
by rolling herself round it, ie., embracing it between her
feet.
We have not managed to keep this animal for any
length of time in captivity, even when efforts were made
to keep it supplied with its natural food of ants. It
seems to mope badly.
Family ORYCTEROPODID.
Genus Orycteropus.
Orycteropus afer. Antpig or Antbear. Aardvark.
A plump, pig-like animal, with short legs and thick tail.
Head elongated, and with a pig-like snout. The tongue
is viscid. The ears are long and erect. The body, which
is not well covered with hairs, varies from a dim yellow to
a yellowish brown colour. The legs are provided with
strong claws, and are clothed on the outer surface with
long brown hair. Length of the head and body, from
4 to 44 feet ; tail, 17 to 24 inches.
This animal is not at all uncommon in certain dis-
tricts, but, on account of its nocturnal habits, is seldom
seen. It excavates large burrows in the earth, in which
it lives. These are usually to be seen in the more open
and flat country where antheaps abound, as the in-
habitants thereof and their larve are its chief food. An
opening is made in the sides of the antheap, and the
inmates abstracted by means of its long and sticky tongue.
238 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS
It is a timid animal, with excellent powers of hearing.
Its flesh is said to be good eating, although the author
has never brought himself to try it.
It is a very difficult animal to keep alive in captivity,
but, when captured young, can be trained to subsist on a
Fic. 141.—Antbear or Aardvark.
gruel made of mealie meal porridge, milk and raw eggs.
The first one we got to do so went to the London Zoo
with the King’s collection, after we had it for a year.
I never heard how long it survived its sea voyage. The
second individual which took kindly to its captivity
escaped from its cage through the carelessness of the
native keeper, after we had had it over six months. In
ANTPIG OR ANTBEAR 239
the subsequent exciting chase and final recapture the
animal must have been injured, as it refused nourishment
and died a few days later. I append a photograph of the
second one. There is a picture of the first one in Major
Stevenson Hamilton’s book, ‘‘ Animal Life in Africa.”
240
NAME INDEX.
Aap, Bosch, 17
Aardvark, 237
Aardwolf, 50
Acomys, 98 ‘
Aspyceros melampus, 193
African elephant, 112, 113
Afrikaanse olifant, 113
Amblyosomus, 33
American grey squirrel, 88
Animals, classification of, 1, 2
Antbear, 237
Ant-eater, scaly, 236
Antelope, 171
— harnessed, 208
— impala, 193
— Lechwe, 185
— Livingstone’s, 182
— oribi, 178
— puku, 187
— roan, 200
— sable, 201
Antidorcas euchore, 195
Antpig, 237
Apes, 4
Arctocephalus capensis, 83
Arvicanthus dorsalis, 98
— pumilio, 98
Augur bat, 24
Baboon, chacma, 11
— Rhodesian, 14
— yellow, 9
Badgers, 35
Balena australis, 233
Balenoptera, 233
Banded mongoose, 62
Bastard eland, 200
— hartebeest, 165
— koedoe, 209
Bat, 21, 26
— fruit, common, 23
— — epauletted, 22
-— — yellow, 23
Bathyergus maritimus, 99
Baviaan, 11
— geele, 9
— Rhodesies, 14
Berg zebra, 139
Blaauwaap, 4
Blaauwbokkie, 172
Blaauw wildebeest, 166
Black-backed jackal, 41
Blackfooted cat, 75
Black or prehensile-lipped rhinoceros,
126
Black rat, 94
Black-spotted genet, 56, 57
Black wildebeest, 168
Blesbuck, i62
Blesniol, 100
Blue duiker, 172
— wildebeest, 166
Boekelrug walvis, 233
Bokje, Livingtone, 182
Bontebuck, 160
Bonte quagga, 129
Booceros, 209
Boom dassie, 111
— muizen, 93
Bosbok, 207
Bos caffer, 225
Bosch aap, 17
— kat, tier (tijger), 78
— staart muisen, 89
Bosvark, 142
Brown hyaena, 51
— rat, 94
— vilei rat, 93
Bruce’s rock rabbit, 110
Bruin mol, 100
Bubalis caama, 157
— lichtensteine, 159
Bufialo, Cape, 225
Buffel, 225
Burchell’s Zebra, 129
Bushbaby, 17, 18
NAME INDEX
Bushbuck, Cape, 207 Cobus leche, 185
Bush hare, 108 — vardoni, 187
Bushpig, 142 Common dolphin, 235
— duiker, 178
Cachalot, 234 Coneys, 109
Caffre cat, 73 Connochaetes gnu, 168
Cane rat, 102 — taurinus, 166
Canis, 41 Cotilophora, 152
— lateralis, 42 Crawshay’s zebra, 137
— mesomelas, 41 Cricetomys gambianus, 96
Cape buffalo, 225 Crocidura, 31
— bushbuck, 207 -— flavescens, 33
— dormouse, 91 — stlacea, 33
— elephant shrew, 28 — varilla, 31
— fur seal, 82 Crossarchus faciatus, 62
— golden mole, 34 Ctenodactylide, 102
— hare, 107 Cynailurus jubatus guitatus, 66
— horseshoe bat, 24 Cynictus penicillata, 63
— hunting dog, 45 — seloust, 64
—- jumping hare, 101
— long-eared fox, 48 Damara dikdik, 183
— otter, 39 — dwergbokje, 183
— polecat, 37 Damiliscus albifrons, 162
— rabbit, 106 — lunatus, 165
— sea lion, 82 — pygargus, 160
— slit-faced bat, 25 Dassie, 109
— wild cat, 73 Dasymys, 98
Caracal, 79 Delphinide, 235
Caracal nubica, 79 Delphinus delphis, 235
Cat, blackfooted, 75 Dendromys, 93
—, civet, 53 — melanotis, 94
—, tiger, 78 — mesomelas, 93
Cephalophus grimmia, 173 — pumilo, 98
— monticola, 172 Diceros, 124
— natalensis, 171 -— bicornis, 126
—- robertsi, 172 — simus, 125
Cercopithecus lalandei, 5 - Dolphin, coramon, 23
— pygerythrus, 4 Dormouse, 89
‘— — rufoviridis, 5 -- Cape, 91
Chacma haboon, 11 — grey, large, 91
Cheetah, 66 Draai jakhals, 48
Chestnut tree mouse, 93 Dugong, 231
Choiropithecus porcarius, 11 Duiker, blue, 172
— rhodesia, 14 — bok, 173
‘Chrysochloris, 33 — common, 173
—- awrea, 34 — red or Natal, 171
— hottentota, 34 Duinmol, 99
Civet cat, 53 Duplicidentata, 86
Cobus ellipsiprymnus, 184 Dwarf shrew, 31
16
242, NAME INDEX
Dwerg kommetje kat, 61 Geosciurus capensis, 88
— langsnoet muis, 31 Gerbilles, 92
Gestreepte kommetje kat, 62
Eland, 221 — muizen, 98
— bastard, 200 Gevlekte otter, 40
Elephant, African, 112, 113 — wolf, 52
— seal, 84 Giant rat, 96
Elephas africanus, 113 Giraffa, 152
Eosaccomys campestria, 98 — capensis, 183
Epauletted fruit bat, 22 Giraffe, Southern, 153
Epomophorus, 22 Gnu, white-tailed, 168
— erypturus, 23 Golden jackal, 41
— wahilbergi, 22 — moles, 33
Erinaceus, 29 Graatje mierkat, 64
— frontalis, L., 29 Grant's moholi lemur, 20
— nachtaapje, 20
“Fat mouse,” 99 Graphiurus eastwoode, 90
Felis caffra, 73 — murinus, 91
— chaius, 74 — ocularis, 91
— leo, 68 —- pretorie, 90
— nigripes, 75 Grey dormouse, large, 91
Field mouse, 96 — footed squirrel, 87
— striped, 98 — mongoose, 58, 60
Fissipedia, 35 — monkey, 4
Fox, long-eared, Cape, 48 — rhebuck, 192
— silver, 44 — shrew, 33
Fruit bat, 22, 23 — tree mouse, 94
Grijsbok, 180
Galago granti, 19, 20 Grijse dassie, 110
— moholi, 18 Grizzled steenbuck, 182
— mossambicus, 19 Groot roodgevlekte mosiliaat kat, 55
Geel mierkat, 63 — rot, 96
— waterbok, 185 — vaal muishond, 58
Geele caviaan, 9 — zwarte muishond, 59
Gele eckhoorntje, 87 — awartgevlekte mosiliaat kat, 56
Gemsbuck, 205 Ground squirrel, 88
Genet, black-spotted, 56, 57 Grysbuck, 180
— rusty-spotted, 53, 57 Gymnura, 29
Genetta, 54
-— felina, 57 Haarstaart muizen, 92
— letabea, 55 Halicore, 230
— ludia, 57 Halicore dugong, 231
— rubiginosa, 55 Hare, bush, 108
— tigrina, 56 — Cape, 107
Georychus capensis, 100 — thick-tailed, 106
— damarensis, 101 Harnessed antelope, 208
— darling, 101. Hartebeest, bastard, 165
— hottentotus, 100 — Lichtenstein’s, 159
— nimrodi, 101 — red, 157
Hartmanne, 140
Hedgehog, South African, 29
Helogale, 61
Herpestes albicauda, 60
— brunnula, 61
— caffer, 58
-- galera, 59
— gracilis, 60
— parvula, 61
— pulverilentus, 60
— punctatissimus, 61
— ruddi, 61
Hippopotamus amphibsus, 146
Hipposiderus caffra, 25
— commersonti, 25
Hippotigris burchelli, 129
— — antiquorum, 131
—— chapmanni, 133
— — selowsi, 133
— — transvaalensis, 131
— — typicus, 1381
— — wahlbergi, 131
— crawshayt, 137
— zebra, 139
Hippotragus equinus, 200
— niger, 201
Honey-badger, 36,
Honing das, 36
Horseshoe bat, European, 24
House-mouse, 94
Humpback whale, 233
Hunting dog, 45
—- leopard, 66
HAyaena, 51
— brunnea, 51
— capensis, 52
— crocuta, 52
Hyaena, brown, 51
— spotted, 52
Hystricomorpha, 86
Hystrix, 103
— africe-australis, 104
Ibawara (Lower Zambesi), 207
Ictonyx capensis, 37
Igama (Makalaka), 157
Thuhla (Zulu), 153
Tjzer-vark, 104
Ikokoni (Basuto), 166
NAME INDEX
243
Ikumi (Basuto), 176
Tlieza (Swazi), 192
Imfele a naka (Bechuana), 189
Impala antelope, 193
Impulupudi (Basuto), 181
Indhlubamiti (Swazi), 153
Infele (Bechuana), 191
Ingaina (Swazi), 181
Ingululu (Makalaka), 176
Inklengana (Amatonga), 182
Inkongoni (Swazi and Zulu), 166
Inkonka and Imbabala (Swazi and
Zulu), 207
Inkulando (Mashona), 159
Inla (Swazi and Zulu), 178
Ipietie (Zulu), 172
Iputi (Basuto and Bechuana), 173
Iquini (Zulu), 181
Isikupi (Basuto), 180
Itolo (Basuto), 217
Jacht tier, 66
Jackals, 41
Kaapse konijn, 106
Kaapsche otter, 39
Kaboli (Barotse), 165
Kameel, 153
Khama (Bechuana), 157
Killer whale, 235
Klein gevlekte kat, 75
— grys kommetje kat, 60
— roodgevlekte mosiliaat kat, 57
— wilde paard, 137
— awartgevlekte mosiliaat kat, 57
Klipbok, 176
Klip das, 109
Klipspringer, 176
Koedoe, 217
— bastard, 209
— water, 214
Kogia, 234
Kokong (Barotse), 166
Kokotombini (Barotse), 159
Kol haas, 108
Kommetje kat, 59
Konzi (Chilala), 159
Koodoo, 217
Krimp ijzervarkie or ijgeltje, 29
244
Kring-gat, 184
Kualata tchumu (Ngami, Bechuana),
201
Kudu, 217
Kukama, (Bechuana), 205
Kwalata (Bechuana), 200
Lechwe antelope, 185
Leeuw, 68
Leggada deserti, 96
— minutoides, 96
Lemur, 17-20
— moholi, 18
— thick-tailed, 17
Leopard, 76
— hunting, 66
Leopardus pardus, 76
Lepus, 106
— capensis, 107
— monticularis, 107
— ochropus, 107
— saxatilis, 108
Lichtenstein’s hartebeest, 159
Liegwhi (Makololo), 185
Ligoka (Zulu and Swazi), 176
Lion, 68
Li-Tumago (Matabili), 184
Livingstone’s antelope, 182
Long-eared fox, Cape, 48
Long-tailed bat, 26
Long-winged bats, 26
Luipaard, 76
Lutra capensis, 39
— maculicollis, 40
Lycaon pictus venaticus, 45
Lymnotragus, 214
Lynx, South African, 79
‘ Macloutsie,'’ 49
Macrorhinus leoninus, 84
Macroscelides, 27
— proboscideus, 28
— rupestris, 28
Madoqua damarensis, 183
Manhaar jakhals, 50
Manis temminckt, 236
Matschie’s zambesiana, 57
Matuti (Barotse), 184
M’babala (Barotse), 207
NAME INDEX
Mcolomo (Matabele), 165
Meercat, yellow
Megaptera longimana, 233
Mellivora ratel, 36
Melothrix, 94
Mesoplodon, 234
Mice, 91
— field, 96, 98
— tree, 93
— white-tailed, 99
Mierkat, true, 64
Miniopterus, 26
— natalensis, 26
Mkumbi (Zulu), 171
Mof or Vaal hartebeest, 159
Mofo (Mashona), 221
Moholi lemur, 18
— Grant’s, 20
— Peter's, 19
Mole, golden, 33
— rat, 100
— sand, 99
— — star, 100
Mongoose, banded, 62
— grey, 58,°60
— pigmy, 61
— slender, 60
— thick-tailed, 63
— water, 59
— white-tailed, 60
Mongos, 61
Monkey, 4-17
— grey, 4
— Mozambique, 7
— Natal, 4
— samango, 8
— vervet, 4
Mona albigularis, var. beirensis, 7
— samango, 8
Mosiliaat katten, 55
Mountain zebra, 189
Mouse, see Mice
Mozambik aap, 7
Mozambique monkey, 7
*Mpofu (Barotse and Ngami), 221
Mpunzi (Zulu and Swazi), 173
*Mtagaisi (Zulu), 200
Muishond, 87, 38
Muizen, 91
NAME INDEX
Muntinya (Barotse), 187
Mus, 94
— coucha, 95
— decumanus, 94
— minutoides, 96
— musculus, 94
— rattus, 94
Muskus kat, 53
Mutubo (Barotse), 189
Muzefu (Mashukulumbwi}, 221
Myomorpha, 86
Myosorex, 33
— varius, 33
Mystromys albipes, 99
Mzanzi (Swazi and Zulu), 165
Mzikie (Matabele and Zulu), 189
Mzumbi (Swazi), 171
Nachtaapje, 18
-- Peter’s, 19
Nadi (Bechuana and Barotse), 225
Nakong (Lake Ngami), 214
Nalufwa (Mashukulumbwi), 189
Nari (Basuto), 225
Narja (Mashukulumbwi), 185
Natal duiker, 171
— monkey, 4
Nesotragus livingstonianus, 182
N’gla (Swazi), 191
Ngulubi-e’-Tschlati (Swazi), 142
Nhlango (Swazi), 189
Night ape, 18
Noki rot, 102
Noordelike berg zebra, 137
Noro (Mashona), 217
Northern mountain zebra, 1387
Nschlongololo (Swazi and Zulu), 217
Nunni (Bechuana), 162
Nyala (Zulu and Swazi), 209
*Nyati (Swazi and Zulu), 225
Nycteris, 25
— capensis, 25
Nyctinomus, 26
— egytiacus, 26
—- limbatus, 26
Orcinus orca, 235
Oreotragus oreotragus, 176
Oribi antelope, 178
245
Orycteropus afer, 237
Oryx gazella, 205
Otocyon megalotis, 48
Otolemur crassicaudatus, 17
— garnetti, 18
Otomys, 92
— brantsi, 93
— broomi, 98
— irroratus, 93
— sloggetti, 98
— unisulcatus, 93
Otter, 35
— Cape, 39
—- spotted-necked, 40
Ourebia ourebi, 178
Pachyuromys auricularis, 92
Pala (Basuto and Bechuana), 193
Pangolin, 236
Panther, 66
Papio cynocephalus, 9
Paraxerus cepapi, 87
— congicus, 88
— palliatus, 88
Pecora, 152
Pedetes caffer, 101
Pediotragus horstocki, 181
— sharpei, 180, 182
— tragulus, 180
Peelie (Bechuana), 192
Pelea capreolus, 192
Petalia, 25
Peter’s Moholi lemur, 19
— nachtaapje, 19
-—- wrinkle-lipped bat, 26
Petrodromus, 28
Petromys typicus, 102
Phacocherus, 143
— e@ethiopicus, 144
Phuduhudu (Bechuana), 181
Physeter macrocephalus, 234
‘* Pietie,” 172
Pigmy mongoose, 61
Pigs, 142
— bush, 143
Piva (Swazi), 184
Poecilogale albinucha, 38
Pofo (Bechuana), 221
Polecat, Cape, 37
246
Porcupine, South African, 104
Potamocheerus cheropotamus, 142
Potoquani (Southern Bechuana), 201
Procavia arborea, 111
— brucei, 110
— capensis, 109
Pronolagus, 106
— crassicaudatus, 106
Proteles, 49
— cristatus, 50
Puku antelope, 187
-—- bok, 187
Pudukudukameni (Basuto), 178
Rabbit, Cape, 106
— rock, 109
— — Bruce's, 110
— — tree, 111
Ratel, the, 36
Rats, 91
—. black, 94
—, brown, 94
—, cane, 102
—, giant, 96
—, mole, 100
—, rock, 102
—, water, 92
—, white-nosed, 95
Red duiker, 171
~- golden mole, 34
— hartebeest, 157
— -headed squirrel, 88
— rhebuck, 191
Redunca arundinum, 189
— fulvorufula, 191
Reedbuck, 189
Reuzen rot, 96
Rietbok, 189
Riet rot, 102
Rhebuck, grey, 192
—, red, 191
Rhinoceros, black or prehensile, 126
— square-mouthed, 125
Rhinolophus augur, 24
— capensis, 24
— darlingi, 24
—— dents, 24
— ferrum-equinum, 24
— hildebrandi, 24
NAME INDEX
Rhodesian baboon, 14
— — skull of, measurements of, 16
Rhodesies baviaan, 14
Roan antelope, 200
Robbe, 82
Rock elephant shrew, 28
— hare, 108
—- rabbits, 109
— rat, 102
Rooibok, 193
Rooi bos-bokje, 171
— chebok, 191
— duiker, 171
— haas, 106
— hartebeest, 157
— jakhals, 41
— kat, 79
— mierkat, 60
Rotten, 91
Rousettus, 22
— collaris, 23
— stramineus, 23
Rusty-spotted genet, 55, 57
Sable antelope, 201
Saddle-backed jackal, 41
Samango aap, 8
— monkey, 8
Sand mole, 99
— star, 100
Scaly ant-eater, 236
Schimmel bokje, 162
Scituromorpha, 86
Sciurus carolinensis, 88
Seabear, 82
Seadog, 82
Sea elephant, 84
Sealion, Cape, 82
Seal, 82
—, elephant, 84
—, true, or earless, 84
Serotine bats, 26
Serval, 78
Sessaby, 165
Sharpe’s steenbuck, 182
Shiatla (Basuto), 192
Shrew, dwarf, 31
— large, 33
Side-striped jackal, 42
NAME INDEX
Silver fox, 44
— jackal, 41
Simplicidentata, 86
Sitatunga (Barotse), 214
Sitchisunu (Mashukulumbwi), 187
Sithlengone (Swazi), 182
Skearer muis, 33
Slang muishond, 38
Slender mongoose, 60
Slit-faced bats, 25
Snake weasel, 38
Soricine, 30
South African hedgehog, 29
— — lynx, 79
— — porcupine, 104
Southern giraffe, 153
— right whale, 233
Sperm whale, 234
Spotted hyaena, 52
Spotted-necked otter, 40
Springbuck, 195
Springhare, 101
Square-mouthed rhinoceros, 125
Squirrel, grey, American, 88
—, grey-footed, 87
-—, ground, 88
—, red-headed, 88
—, striped, 88
—-, yellow, 87
Star sand mole, 100
Steatomys, 94
Steenbuck, 181
—, grizzled or Sharpe’s, 182
Stink muishond, 37
Stokstaart mierkat, 64
Strand jut or wolf, 51
Strepsiceros capensis, 217
Striped field mice, 98
— squirrel, 88
Sukwe (Zulu), 17
Suricata tetradactyla, 64
Takiaasi (Swazi), 200
Taphozous, 26
Tatera, 92
— afer, 92
— brantsi, 92
— lobengula, 92
— paeba, 92
247
Taurotragus oryx, 221
— — lwingstonei, 223
— — oryx, 223
— — selousi, 223
Thick-tailed lemur, 17
— mongoose, 63
“ Thos,” 41
Thryonomys swinderianus, 102
Tier, 66
—- bosch kat, 78
“ Tiger,’’ 76
— cat, 78
— wolf, 52
Tijger, 66, 76
Tolo (Bechuana and Barotse), 217
Tragelaphus angasi, 209
— scriptus, 208
— selousi, 214
— spekei, 214
— sylvaticus, 207
Transvaal Grijsbokje, 182
Tree mice, 93
— rock rabbit, 111
True mierkat, 64
Tsessebi, 165
Tsipi (Bechuana), 195
Tumoga (Bechuana), 184
Tuthla (Basuto), 153
Ungwena (Matabele), 181
Vaal boschkat, 73
— jakhals, 42
— rhebok, 192
Vertebrate animals, 2
Vervet monkey, 4
Vesper tilio, 26
— capensis, 26
Viverra civetta, 53
Viak haas, 107
Viakvark, 144
Vlei rotten, 92
Vulpes, 43
— chama, 44
Waaierstraart, 88
Warthog, 144
Waterbuck, 184
Water koedoe, 214
248
Water mongoose, 59
— rats, 92
Weasel, 35
—, snake, 38
Whale, humpback, 233
—- killer, 235
— southern right, 233
— sperm, 234
“White rhino,” 125
White-nosed rat, 95
White-tailed gnu, 168
— mongoose, 60
— mouse, 99
Wild cat, Cape, 73
Wildebeest, 168
—, blue, 166
Wilde kat, 73
— hond, 45
— paard, 139
Witstaart kommetje kat, 60
Witte rhenoster, 125
“ Wolf,” 52
Wrinkle-lipped bat, brown, 26
Xosa (Matabele), 173
Yellow baboon, 9
NAME INDEX
Yellow fruit bat, 23
— meercat, 63
— squirrel, 87
Yzer magaauw, 236
Zambeziana, Matschie’s, 57
Zand mol, 99
Zebra, Burchell’s, 129
— Crawshay's, 137
— mountain, 139
— northern mountain, 137
Zebroid, 136
Zee koe, 146
Zeeleeuw, 82
Zee-olifant, 84
Zeven-slaper, 89
Zibethailurus serval capensis, 78
Zilver jakhals, 44
Ziphius, 234
Zoology, general principles of, 1
Zorilla striata, 37
Zuidlik opregte walvis, 233
Zuluensis, 108, 183
Zwarte rhenoster, 126
— wildebeest, 168
— witpens, 201
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