Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South AfricaDrayson, Alfred W. (Alfred Wilks)
History
Sporting Scenes amongst the Kaffirs of South Africa
Drayson, Alfred W. (Alfred Wilks)
Hunting -- South Africa; South Africa -- Description and travel
female with smaller horns, otherwise similar. The steinbuck
(_Oreotragus tragulus_): about twenty-one inches high, and three feet in
length; horns four inches long, wrinkled at the base, slender and
pointed; colour brownish-red, with belly white: female hornless,
otherwise similar. Generally found in bushy ground along the hills.
The ourebi (_Oreotragus scoparius_): two feet high at shoulder, and four
in length; horns annulated, and about five inches long; colour pale
tawny, with white belly: female similar, but hornless and smaller.
Generally found in the plains in pairs. The reit-buck (_Eleotragus
reduncus_): three feet high, nearly five feet in length; horns one foot
long, and annulated near the base; ears six inches long; colour
ashy-grey, white beneath: female smaller, but hornless, otherwise
similar. Besides variously in reeds, grass, and near bushes. Generally
found in pairs. He frequently lies down in a small patch of grass, and,
from his colour, is overlooked by the sportsmen.
The leopard (_Felis leopardus_): male two feet six inches high at the
shoulder, and seven feet in extreme length; armed with long teeth and
retractile claws; colour tawny and reddish-brown; the chin, breast,
belly, and inside of extremities white, irregularly marked with spots of
black, which vary in size and colour at different ages and states of
condition; tail nearly four feet long: female similar, but smaller.
Found in thick coverts, either bush or reeds. Destructive to poultry,
cattle, and game; generally seizes its victim by the back of the neck.
The spotted hyaena (_Crocuta maculata_): height about two feet six
inches, sloping towards the rump; length about five feet ten inches;
colour brown, with blotches of circular black spots; white under; head
short and broad; feet like a dog's; common in bush and plain: female
similar. Destructive to sheep, calves, and foals; seizing them by the
flank, and holding on until the piece gives way or the animal falls.
This animal possesses a wonderful strength of jaw, grinding the bones of
the largest animals to powder: it is very cowardly. The _Crocuta
brunnea_ was also common, but did not very greatly differ in habits or
appearance from the spotted hyaena.
The wild hog (_Sus Scrofa_): height two feet six inches; extreme length
about five feet; canine teeth very strong, those in the upper jaw
projecting horizontally, those in the lower upwards; colour dirty brown;
bristles long; tail a foot long. Inhabits the forests (gregarious).
The African wild-boar (_Phacochaerus aethiopicus_): height two feet six
inches; extreme length six feet; colour reddish-brown; covered with
bristles; canine teeth, very large, curved upwards, forming a
semicircle; head very large, a large fleshy wen behind each eye, and an
excrescence on each side of the muzzle; tail tufted with bristles, two
feet long, straight. Gregarious; found in the plains; retreats into
holes in the ground when pursued; dangerous when wounded.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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