[7] “The Vegetation of the Southern Namib”—The South African Journal of Science, January, 1910.
[8] Schinz, “South-West Africa,” Leipzig, 1894.
[9] “The Flora of South Africa,” Vol. I. Rudolf Marloth.
[10] Pearson, “The Travels of a Botanist in South-West Africa”—The Geographical Journal, May, 1910.
Chapter IV
THE FAUNA OF THE COUNTRY
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.
Large herds of springbuck, gazella euchore, roam the inner plains of the Namib and the open, treeless country to the east. The Waterbuck, kobus ellipsiprimnus, is found in the vicinity of the northern rivers, while the little Damaraland antelope, nanotragus damarensis, may be seen at rare intervals in the mountain fastnesses near Omaruru. Among the smaller animals are the fecund steenbuck; the charming little klipspringer, oreotragus saltator, the “chamois of South Africa”; and the solitude-loving duiker, cephalolopus grimmi.
In the order Rodentia there are several hares. The Cape hare, lepus capensis, an animal a little smaller than the English hare, is found both in open and forest country; the rock hare, lepus saxatalis, is a little larger, and keeps to the hilly country; the spring hare, Pedetes capensis, is really a rodent, and this peculiar creature, which lives in burrows, has a queer kangaroo-like method of progression, using its long bushy tail with great skill. The flesh of all these hares makes good eating.