INCIDENTAL VIEWS OF ANIMAL LIFE.
In some parts of Africa great numbers of different kinds of mice exist. The ground is often so pierced with their burrows that the foot sinks in at every step. Little haycocks two feet high, and more than that in breadth, are made by one variety of these little animals.
Wherever mice abound, serpents may be expected, for the one preys on the other. Some of these are venomous. They all require water, and come long distances to the rivers and pools in search of it.
Other serpents, according to Livingstone, are harmless, and even edible. Of the latter sort is the great python, the largest specimens of which are about fifteen or twenty feet in length. They are perfectly harmless, and live on small animals, chiefly the rodentia. The flesh is much relished by the Bakalahari and Bushmen. When one is killed, they carry away their portions, like logs of wood, over their shoulders.
The carrion-feeding hyenas may be called the vultures among the four-footed animals. Like the owl and the bat they are averse to light, and conceal themselves in dark ruins or burrows so long as the sun is above the horizon; but, as soon as the shades of night appear, they come forth from their gloomy retreats with a lamentable howl or a satanic laugh.
The striped hyena is found in North Africa as far as the Senegal, while the spotted hyena roams over South Africa from the Cape to Abyssinia. Both species are about the size of a wolf and have the same habits. The brown hyena, found in South Africa from the Cape to Mozambique and Senegambia, has a more shaggy fur than the preceding species. Its habits are widely different. It is exceedingly fond of the shellfish, which the waves at ebb tide leave upon the beach, or which are found there in great quantities after a severe storm.
It inhabits the coasts exclusively, and is known as the seashore wolf. One can trace its tracks plainly upon the strand; for night after night it prowls along the borders of the sea to examine the refuse left behind by the retreating waves of the restless waters.
Africa, as if to make up for the hideousness of the rhinoceros and hippopotamus, can lay claim to being the birthplace of the beautifully striped zebras. These are the most gorgeously attired members of the equine family.
The tawny quagga, with its irregularly banded body marked with dark-brown stripes, is one species. The peculiar appearance of the animal is enhanced by the arrangement of these stripes; for, though stronger on the head and neck, they gradually become fainter until lost behind the shoulders. Its high crest is surmounted by a standing mane, banded alternately in brown and white. Formerly it was found in great numbers within the confines of Cape Colony. It still roams in large herds in the open plains farther to the north.
One traveler states that in the desert of Meritsane, after crossing a park of magnificent camel-thorn trees, he perceived large herds of quaggas and brindled gnus. These continued to join each other, until the whole plain seemed alive. The clatter of their hoofs was perfectly astounding, resembling the din of a tremendous charge of cavalry, or the rushing of a mighty tempest. They numbered not less than fifteen thousand, a great extent of country being checkered black and white with their congregated masses.
Burchell's zebra does not differ materially from the common quagga, either in shape or size. The quagga is faintly striped only on the head and neck, but the zebra is adorned on every part of the body with broad black bands, which contrast beautifully with a pale yellow ground.
Major Harris remarks of this animal, "Beautifully clad by the hand of nature, possessing much of the graceful symmetry of the horse, with great bones and muscular power united to easy and stylish action, thus combining comeliness of figure with solidity of form, this species, if subjugated and domesticated, would assuredly make the best pony in the world. The senses of sight, hearing, and smell are delicate in the extreme. The slightest noise, the least motion, or the sight of any unfamiliar object, will at once rivet their attention and cause them to stop and listen with the greatest care. Any disagreeable odor in the air will as quickly attract their sense of smell.
"Instinct having taught these beautiful animals that in union consists their strength, they combine in a compact body when menaced by an attack either from man or beast; and, if overtaken by the foe, they unite for mutual defense, with their heads together in a close circular band, presenting their heels to the enemy, and dealing out kicks in equal force and abundance. Beset on all sides, or partially crippled, they rear on their hind legs, fly at their adversary with jaws distended, and use both teeth and heels with the greatest freedom. While the quagga roams over the plains, the zebra seeks only the high mountainous regions. The beauty of its light, symmetrical form is enhanced by the narrow black bands with which the whole of the white-colored body is covered."
The zebra is supposed to be the tiger horse of the ancients. This is the more probable as it has a much farther range to the north than the quagga; for it approaches the regions of Africa once comprised within the Roman Empire. It seeks the wildest and most secluded spots, hence it is extremely difficult of approach. The herds frequent the steep hillsides for their grazing grounds. A sentinel is always posted on some adjacent cliff, ready to give the alarm in case of danger. No sooner is the signal of alarm given than away they all scamper, with pricked-up ears, and seek shelter in places where few people would venture to follow them.