When first visited by Europeans, South-West Africa was swarmed with game in unusual number and variety, and the land was a veritable hunter’s paradise. Lions were a constant source of trouble to travellers even long after the middle of the last century. Elephants roamed the country in big herds, and for some years, in the ’seventies and ’eighties, the trade in ivory from Damaraland was considerable, many thousands of pounds worth being brought to the coast for export each year. The black rhinoceros was common. The rare animal known as the white rhinoceros, _R. simus_, was also found. As stated in a previous chapter, the first giraffe’s skin ever sent to Europe from South Africa came from Great Namaqualand in 1763. The buffalo, the quagga, and the zebra abounded, and the ungainly hippopotamus could often be seen plunging and splashing in the lower reaches of the Orange River. But the larger game has been steadily driven to the north and the north-east, where the elephant, the rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus may still be found among the nobler South African fauna, partly as a result of protective measures adopted by the Government authorities. The Caprivi territory may be regarded as the big game reserve of the country. Among the beasts of prey the lion is still found, but only on the lonely Kalahari border, in the Kaokoveld, and in the far north. The leopard, _felis pardus_, commonly called the “tiger,” exists in many parts of the country, and is not by any means a pleasant beast to encounter. The beautifully-marked cheetah, _Cynoelurus jubatus_, is sometimes found on the eastern slopes. The red lynx, _felis caracal_, the Dutch “rooikat,” with the typical tufted ears and short tail, is fairly numerous. Among the enemies of the stock farmer are several species of jackals; the powerful spotted hyena, _H. crocuta_, the Dutch tiger-wolf; and the destructive African wild dog. The wild dogs hunt in packs, and, as they will pull down anything from a lamb to an eland, they do a great deal of damage. The antelopes are well represented. The eland, the largest of all antelopes, roams the eastern border districts, with the noble koodoo, _strepsicerous kudu_; the sable antelope, _hippotragus niger_; the roan antelope, _hippotragus equinus_; the fierce blue wildebeest or brindled gnu, _connochoetes taurinus_; the handsome oryx, or gemsbok, _oryx gazella_; and occasionally the giraffe. The giraffe and the oryx have also been observed on the western plains, and the zebra exists in the Kaokoveld, north of the Namib.