An elephant and her calf digging for water on the Tiva sand river in the Tsavo Royal National Park

W H Y NOT ADOPT AN ELEPHANT? 3,000 elephants in Tsavo need a drink

For 361- (or $5) you can keep an elephant in drinks for a year.

(Baby elephants half-price) Donations to: Royal National Parks of Kenya,

&*Water for Wild Animals Fund", P.O. Box 2076, Nairobi, Kenya.

Protect your Wild Life. Protect your Car: use GALTEX c LTpx @

The gaceful, gentle Impala seeking food and water and peace to roam in safety.

This page has been donated Today, through severe draught. grazing and water are scarce and danger lurks in every corner through the poisoned arrows and the traps of pachers.

for the support YOUR assistance is needed in preserving wild life by overcoming these difficulties all of which arc po~~ ih le . though costly.

of Hclp by joining the Kenya Wild Life Society today.

THE KENYA WILD LIFE SOCIETY

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(EAST AFRICA) LIMITED

WILD LIFE OFFICIALJOURNAL OF THE EAST AFRICA WILD LlFE SOClETY

Voluma 3 Nurnbar 3 SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER IPbI 3 S H I L L I N G S

C O N T E N T S

Game ranching in 5 . Rhodesia . . 6 The elusive ant-bear . . . . 30

The Society this quarter . . 15 Rook Reviews . . . . . . 34

Letters to the Editor . . .. 16 A farm sanctuary . . . . 35

Ri kki TIkki the mongoose . . 18 Public opinion in Tanganyika . . 40

The truth about Ufrti-Nyasa- land's mystery animal . . 21 Children's Section . . . . 46

Game preservation in Ethiopia . . 24 Masal Tribe takes over Ambaseli 48

Colour centre spread . . . . 28 Water for Wild Animals Fund 53

COLOUR COYER: VULTURE Phwtosraph by

Dcs Barrlett. Armand Denis Productions.

Cop~right in Kenya by the EAST AFRlCA WILD

LlFE $OCIElT. Pest Omce Box 20 1 10.

NAIROBI, Telephone 233BP. Mficer

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Pubtirhedi quarterly by k t Afriun Newspapem

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4 WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 1961

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WlCD LIFE, SEPTEMBER~QECEMBER 1961

I W T U R I A L OPINION

THE COMMERCIAL %--? - ,::,

~f never he OUTLOOK rorgottcn that in the modern world ir is nun~bers that count; secondly, wild lifc

.7!. -* will have to be preserved in places to whiclt

- 4 tourists will never penetrate so that these areas can act as rcscrvoirs for the places where the

HI-' APPEAL DF wild life to some people is an tourists will always congregate. ;testhetic appeal : lo others it is a cultural appeal. It is R ~ O ~ E ~ I I I : I ~ C I-act 111at wild lire only an absorbing subject for study and research; to resents the prescncc of man when man is Inany i r is he dclighi of observing lire as it recognisxhle as anothcr animal. When man is w n s i n thebeg inn inp . t l~cca l lo f t1 iewi ld : to disguised by association wit11 a nlacliine hc many more the appeal is j u s ~ healthy relaxation ccnscs to be a disturbing factor. Tf. therefore, I'rorn llic chores and cares nr daily life. tot~rists i n the mass are generally kcpt i n vchiclcs

But wl~ntcver tlic individual appeal may be, to delined routes and places-East ATric;i is big the suh.iir.ct o r i t is only going to survive on a enough f t ~ r plenty of tltenr-while zhe benefits wide enough scalc to retain its true charm i T that wild life itself most desircs. such as watcr those who are concerned with its preservation holes and salt licks. arc provided in sufficiency i n their daily work really set out tocommerciali<e close to tlicse routcs and places. there will t l ~ c nppcal. It may be said that it 15 aIrcady always be plenty 01' wild life in the right places con<idcrahly comrnerciallsed tlirough hunting for the tourists to see and phatogrsph. But and photograplirc safaris, through weekend equally there will still be places. Itss acccss~hlc tripstotl~es~artilrnssucl~nsAniboseli,Serengeti a n d l r s s d i r e c t I y a t t r a c t i v c t o m a n , w l ~ ~ r c ~ l i c and the Mt~rclrisoil Falls. and by a growing deep calm o f primcval Arrica will still brood number of package tours. ovcr the face ol' thc land, and where the pages

I t i s ~ h e l a s t i t c m o n t l i e c u r r c n t p r o ~ s a m m e of l i feareturnedbacktothchcginningoft ime. rhal will have to be developed out of all pro- We must today face quite cloarly aird without portion to its existing scope i f tllc true corn- jllusion the Facts ol' n~odern Africn. and we tncrcial value of wild lire is to be proved to the must recognise equally clearly the ends towards people of' Africa and if the essential idea of which we are striving and the means wlicrchy preservationistobusoFdtotliem.Onlyjfitjs wecanbes~attainthem.Ti iehasisofaltsucccss proved heyond shadow of doubt that schools, is cfort and the file1 that turns elTort into piped water supplies. dispensaries and similar productive activity is money. iiigredients or herter living can he attained by We want to ask all our nicmhers to make Illcans of wild lire. exploited by laryc-scale renewed efTosts to support the Society at t111s tourism. will the idea really he sold. accepted very critical time whtn pnsl cfforw have paid and eagerly supported. off so l~andsornely and our Suture lines of action

11 is no good holding up hands in horror are showing u p so clearly. Can w t not try. s ~ l d saying t ha1 packaye tourists in thousands during the rest or 1961 and during I952. to rsiso imply empty hottlcs. crumpled cartons and our international membership from its presenl waste paper littering the precincts of beauty f i ~ u r c of nearly 5.000 to 25.U00a? spots and spoiling the frcshncss and the sense Roughly. out o i evety 301- membership of privacy that has had so muul~ appeal to thc subscription. 101- will pay for the magazine comparatively few who have known them in while 201- will increase our ahility to carry out ttlc past. 0$ course they will, but (his is tlrc our policy and to assist worth-while field price that has got to be paid For two inestimable objectives. We are not asking membrrs to put benefits. their hands any more deeply into their o w n

firstly. a n appi+eciab!e proportion of the pockets. We ask them. starting now, each to touri5i-s thcmselvcs will become ardent recruit another four members before the end or supporters o r wild life preservation, and il must 1962.

'JS!/BJOISD~ ayx 02 paddo 01 Afa~rl patuaas sluaurn3~o 3?uouom Xluo *a/11!1 JO~ poo2s SMDI aw~3 an!j3aloJ$ .au~B Aq pa!dnmo spuq uo y>o>salc!/ 3!lsaurop ampod 01 paluDM ot(~ asoyj uo paJa ajjj!/ pay sjuawn2~~ ~&luaps puo >rlar(jsav .alDJ Bu!~~~a/a33o uo JD palou!sur\a Bu!aq som awo3 spuo/lu~oj uoadoln3 ar(1 pun sanJasaJ aApou ayl rnoq8no~yl .aJJa>s awmaq JO pa~~addosrp p~q S~DUJLUDW awuS Xouno3 ar(3 Je soa~o aBm( lano -D!sapoyy( UJayJnOS L/[ ualqo~d JU~JJ~ ?SOW D Xpno!nqo so,^ S!yl 'S/DWLUDUI ~WDZ Jgj0 /~f~ual[ld J!wouoJa ayl A/y>!nb alorlsuowap ppoM y~y~ Apn>s o uo pappap aroja~aq? aM pua 'safpnzs a$( pjm u!8aq 01 D!sapoyu uJaylnos u! pan!rlr, aM uaym sn 02 a>uouodlu! Jo aJaM suop~~ap!suo> asayl

'~unoj P(!M aq Jo auaura8nuow puo uo?~onrasard ay1 u! jsala>u! ~azua~8 Q ayoz 01 paaadxa aq UD~ spaau aJu!paluur?

aaaw 01 sJ3npo~d Jaylo ro pooj a~npord puol Bu!y~ur ~J!M Alja!y~ pauJamo3 am oym asor(1 uayz 'yJolsan!( 3!2saurop yi!~ Allo>jutouo~a a~adura3 01 may2 ajqwa 01 anloA /o!>Jaurwo? ~uapgns anoy oy~jy 40 s~oru!u~ P/!M aql ID~J umoqs aq uo~ J! Jj -a]!/ pl!m v~>!ijv Jo anp ~!wouo~a ayz Bu!ysrjq~lsa JOJ A~!ssa>au ayj uo pa~~~d uaaq SD~ s!s~qd~lra r(Jnw -oun~J uoyrjv uo q3~0ar.a~ u! uaalu! pafiauai D 148nolq say s!q~ Jo uo!lus!par ayl

*/DA!AJIlS JO) a3UDy3 /fDUlS

soy luau!suo> a41 Jo ounoJ parrDn pu~ ~31~ a43 'saps q~oq 01 XJ~I~D~S!~DS JauuDur D u! paqosal aq UD~ 21 ssalun 'D~IJJV UI paymu Alr~ap sl ~qlu03 s!t(l -a$\ Jo sa!>!ssa~au aw!paww! aya Jo uo!~mpo~d ay3 JOJ z! asn 02 YS!M or(m asoyl pua 'suosoa~ >&~uaps JO >qay~sao JO~ o~o!q n~ tp!m puq anlasa~d 02 ys!~ oym asoyl uaaMlaq IsaJalu! Jo ~3!/&03 $1 alal(l P/JoM 343 J~OH~~~OHH~

'vappoH *>I -a -8 :oaoyd i D>!J~V Jo sarJjuno> aqt Jo rdauaq >!urouo3a a~nw!iln aql JO] ~~llua?od o ahoy day1 loql umoys aq louuol IrJ! sapads Jaqjo aql aAay aJnlnJ loqm

1ng maw JOJ Alrntxatl~iuo~ palrordxa aq 03 uJnooa uowwo7 IOU r(raooo~d ado 'mop amd o ur 8ulrrwt11lo adau mas 'adoralu~ urrou

of species with more evergreen trees and shrubs than in the uplands. In the river bed and on the banks tall reeds and very sparse green grass may be found throughout the dry season.

A distinctive vegetation is found on the kopjes. Thcsc tumbled piles of graniic arc protected from fire and have a more Favourablc water balance and consequently richer ve~etation khan the surrounding land. Tall fig trees and Crwnmiplrorns. RIiodcs~an mahogany, baobabs and other large troes are characteristic.

During summer. wIleil trecs arc in leaf, visibility is much restricted. During wintcr whm luaves are shed, visibility is s t i l l impeded in most p!accs by the network of stems and twigs. Consequc~ltly it is never easy to see animals.

Game is distributed throughout the ranch, but its abundance locally varies w ~ t h the seawn. The spatial relationship of fi)od and cilvor to surface water governs the distribution and abundance o f animals. Durirlg the wet season most species are widely scattered. I n the dry scason most cnnccntratc in a %trip within a few milts of the river.

GAME POPULATIONS

N order to determine the economic value of game in an area, it is necessary to

determine the n u rnbers of animals present or each species; to find out the extent to which thcy are resident on the area through the year: and to discover the rate at which young are produced and survive. From this anc can discover how large an annual crop may safely be removed from the game populations. I f provisions are tlrcn made for obtaining and marketing this annual crop the value of the game can be determined and comparisons made wit11 the annua! income that would be obtained if the tand were used, instead. for some other purpose.

One o f our first tasks on starting work was ti> determine the numbers and dis~ribut ion or animals on the rancli throughoul the various seasons, With the time and I'acilit its availabIe it was obviously impossible to determine exact numbers of animals. We sought instead to determine a safe minimum population figure. which would serve as a base from which to start a cropping programme. We atrcmpted also to determine whether or not this populat~on remained on the ranch during both wet and dry scasons.

To do this we made principal use of road strip-counts, with suppltmcnti~ry in formatior1

provided by arca-counts ~nadv l'rom kopjcs. spoor counls aird general observat~ons.

I n addition to obtaining a minimum pnpula- tion figure and information on distribution of game, we also sot~ght tn dclcrmine the productivity and potcnt~al yicld I'rum lie game populalinn<. This was done through regular sex and a_pc classiftcalion counts. ohqervations 01' bel~aviour. : ~ n d 111e collection of specimens Tor biolog~cal examination. The detail5 of tlrese methods must also he presentcd clsewhc.rc.

Ry these techniques wc werc tthle l o ohlain the informaticw cssenli:11 Lo star1 on iI

cornntcrcial game cropping programme. The hwrcs an population nu~nbers and density. and on productivity as deterniined by the nurnbcr OF young survivjng to yearling age, arc presentcd in Table 1 (page 101 arrd Table 3 [page 13).

GAME RANCHING

AS we were carrying out game studie.; on thc ranch, pIans for developing thc ranch Tor

cattlc were goiilg inexnrahly forward. It soon became obvious that iinlec.; WE C O L S I ~ demon- strate quickly not only thc pottn~ial ccona~liic vnluc of gan-tc, hlrt Ihc pr:tcticabilily of' mnrkrz- inr i t , tlicru would soon bc no arca left Ibr the wild animals. Our work would then have only some thcorclical value, fr:, be argued about in the Ciitlture :ts gamc popvlarions clsewhere continued to disappear.

By the start 01. the 19hl) dry season, we believed that we knew enough ahout ~Ele game on the ranch to start a t r ~ a l gamc-cropping programme. Admittedly our picture was incomplete. hut tlrc infnrmatiun rvcluircd Tor

Wnprepossess~ng os Iic may be, tlre warthog s t r l l 1105

commetciol rolue ns meat.

Zebra ond grrofe ore bat11 copoble of producing large quontrlies of meat. even rn d r y oreos where dornest~c flnirnols w l r l d not be likely to thrive. Plvoto: C. Akweru,

game ranching, could in many cases only be accltiircd through Fame ranching.

Wc kncw that nhc ranch supported a l a r~e . rcsident game population \\)lirch produced :thundant young. We relt wc could make a safe estimate about the potential suslained yield.

Accordin~ly, in May. 1460. we recommended a game-cropping propstmnle to tile ranch owners, and they agreed to try it out. A proposal was submitted to the Department or Wildlire Conservation. recommendins a harvest of

ovcr 1,100 game mammals, the bulk being impala and zcbta. A permit was issued, au~l~orising the: ranch owners to take these animafs.

I t was next necessary to a r r a n g for the marketing of rresh meat and hiltong, and to obtain permits for this. It was near ihe end o f July before arrangments would permit the openine sliots or the game harvest, and Aumst before the first truck-laad aS venison was on i t s way to tllc butchers. This was unfortunate, in that wc missed several months

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEM&ER (961

TABLE 1

Ungulate Populations an Study Area. Hendcmon Ranch, W-t N ichnlson, Soutliern Rhodesia, 1959-1 960

Esrjtnaied Extitnurerl Species E.~timuwd PoprrEurinn Percenrap

firmhers Dcr~sii.v itr of' Y e n r f i ~ l ~ s on 50 Squnre or~rrlru/s p ~ r irz poprrlorion

I . .\qrrrire nrlle. 1959-1 960.

Tmpala . . . . 2.100 42.0 28 Zebra . . 730 15.0 20 ~tccnhuck . . 200 4.0 35*

Giraffe . . . . 90 1.8 20 nuiker . . . . HO 1.6 42' Wntcrlmck .. 3 5 0 .7 20

Eland . . .. 10 0 . 2 24 Kl~pspringer . . I0 0 .2 Hush pig . . 10 0.2 Sharp's grysbuck '' Huslibuck . . 3

* Total immatures.

of dry, cold weatl~er. and began the harvest at a time when thc days were getting warm.

We undertook game cropping with consider- ahlc trepidation. We were concerned that shooting might make some species so wary that i t would be impossible to obtain a good Iiarvest. and might make other species move out or the area. Consequently, we decided against using traditional sport-hunting methods, which create much disturbance, and looked to poachers and market hunters Tor our techniques.

Becrtuse this was to be an experimental commercia1 opcration. carried out in the interests of lons-term game conservation, tech- niques which wcre hot11 efficient and inexpensive, Iiowever. unorthodox, were authorised by the Director of Wildlifc Conservation.

Chief hunting methods

We ruled out day-time hunting under conditions where the hunter would be seen or his scent detected by the animals being hunted. Evcry ~Foi-1 was made to dissociate tlie sight and scent of man and vehicles from the noise and disturbance of shooting. Consequently, rhe two chief hunting methods that were used were day-time shooting Rom blinds, and night-lmnting wit11 a spot1 i&t.

Bliilds were constructed at waterholes, downwind from where the game would drink. These werc entered only wlicn no game was present. and once establisllcd the hunter was

not permitted to leave the blind while gamc was in the vicinity.

Night lmnting was done from n Land-Rover, using a powerful spotli_phl. In addition to hunting, we experimented with the deadly weapon of the African poacher. the snare. Snares, as employed by most poachers, are both inhumane and ineficient. Through samc experimenting, however. it was possihle to devise a type of snare that was cffccr~ve and reasonably humane. During the 1960 yanie cropping it did not prove ncccssary [to make much use of snares.

With t l ~ e two hunting tccliniclues it was possible to obtain all o f thc game that we required for trial marketing. The remaining animals were not disturbed when these method? were used. Following: a heavy day's shooting at a waterhole, we could return on the following day in a vehicle or on foot and have laryc numbers of animals stand to stare at w. not asso- ciating the previous day's disturbance with man at aI1.

Game meat was marketed through hutchurics in Bulawayo at the following priceq:

Duiker, Sttenbuck : Is. lid. per pound; Impala: Is. 3d. pcr pound: Wildcbce~t, Kudu, Warthog: 1s. 0d. per pnund; BulTaIo: 1 Dd. per pound ; Game biltnng, First grade: 4s. 6d. per pound; Game biltong, Second grade: Is. Od, per prmnd.

At these prices an adult animal of the various game specie5 on the ranch had the fibIlawing value for meat alone:

lmpala : Zebra : Kudu : Wildebeest: RulTalo: Duiker: Steenbuck : Warthog:

65 I b. Riltnng 225 lh. 2M) Ih. 570 Ib. 20 Ib. 12 Ib. 70 I b.

Althovgli we have not marketed ot hcr species. wc bclicvc that a bushpig would he worth as much as a warthog. and that a klipsprinper would be worth sli_phtly morc than a stecnbuck. Eland have hecn marketed by John Posselz. of the Department nf Native Affairs, at f30 for a 3+-year ox. Waterbuck. sold at a shilling a pound. would be worth about f 10. These values are for body meat alone. We were not able to arrange Ibr tlre marketing of hides during 1960, althouyh these have considerable value. Othcr prices were : tripe,

I2 WILD L I F E , SEPTEMBEREDECEMBER 1961

H. H. Fraser and Associates (Rhod.) (Pvt.) Ltd. and published in a private report.

These ligures will be uscd. Such an area, stocked a t one beast per 30 acres, would support 1,000 ai~iinal units, or I ,I 55 head of cattle, if dcveloped. In this region a 60 per ccnt calving rate can he expec~ed, and an annual nrortality of 2.9 per cent. This herd would therefore produce an annual crop o f I89 head of cattle, marketed at close to four years of age. Tl~ese could bc sold for £5,198 as a gross incomc.

Howcver, the costs or development, ~naintcnance and operation or a ranch of this size tor cattle would amount to £4.692 per year, which would lcave a net annual income of only £506. Tf the area could he improved and stocked at a rate of 20 acres per animal unit, it could yield 284 marketable beasts per year, for an income of L7,797 gross, or 22,500 net profit. This, however, would require some years of vcld i~nprovement work, which would necessarily be added to thc casts of development of the ranch.

Casts and returns

Ry contrast the same area, undcr present conditions and without developmcnt, could yield a gross annual income of C5,500 from game (see Table 2). From this would have to be deducted the costs of production, which include tlze salary of a game manager and his assistants, transportation, tools and materials, etc. A net profit of somewhat over £3,200 per year wouId be left. Wasta2e and accidents

of various kinds could reduce this, but it would nevertheless well excccd the net income that could he expected from cattle, even at a stocking rate of 30 acre? per cow.

Anotlicr important co~~sideration is whether the area will produce more beef or venison per acre. Here an adequatc comparison is more difficult to make. The land is prcseiltly sup- porting game. Under present condition5 it could support fcw cattle, hccause tliere is little grass near the river, whcre water is found, and no water in the dry season whe1.c Ihc grass is to bc round.

However, if it were dewlopcd for cattlc. with fencing, water developmcnt, etc., it could, at a stocking rate of 30 acres per cow, yield 94,500 Ib. nf ineat per year. This is a yicld of 3 Ih, of beer, or h lh, or animal wcight, per acre pcr year. Our rccoinmended game crop for 1461 would amount to 1 15,300 Ib, o f market- able meat (dressed carcases) or approximately 4 Ib. or venison per acre {Tablc 2). We do not know how much inore galme mcat it would yicld if it were dcveloped for game to the extent we are assuming it would he developed Tor cattle.

The above figures apply to the 50-square- iniIe study area, which is i ~ o t at prcsent support- ing cattle. Of perhaps greater interest to the land owner?, liowevcr. is the total income to be expected from the entire ranch on an annual basis froin a game cropping programme. The marketing operations that we have carried out pennit us to make this calculation.

The total crop will yicld approximately 3 1 1,400 lk. or ineat (Table 3), some of which

Remrnmended 1961 &me Crop from SOSquare-Mile Area on Aendcrvnn Ranch

Percenia~e Titc Wriaht (lh.) Totnl wt. (Ih.) Gross Sperie.7 fit. to be Recommended Dressed Dressed Vlrlue

Numbrrs Cropped Crop Cclven.~cs Curcos~s (0 (Adult)

Impala . . . . Zebra .. .. Steenhuck . . . . Wartliuz . . . . " K l l d l ~ . . 1 f5!l 70 dH 225 10.800 . - .. .. Wildeheeqt . . . . .. .. 160 20 32 260 8,320 Giraffe . . . . .. .. 90 16.6 15 1,000 est. 15,000 Duiker . . . . . . . . 80 35 28 70 560 Waterbuck . . . . . . . . 35 20 7 200 est. 1,400 Bul~a'alo . . . . + . . . 30 16.6 5 570 7,H5[) 121nitd . . . . . . . . 10 20 2 GlX) est. 1,100 Klinsnringer . . . . . . 10 30 7 14 67

Rush pig . . . . I I) 5U 5 70 c\t 3SU

l'otnl to ncarest lfl0 pounds weight and E5M vnluc 1 18.300

WILD UFE, SEPTEMBERIDECEMEER 196!

will he madt into biltong rhus reducing the total poundage to be hauled. I f n three-ton truck iq ured. this amount o f meat can be transported in lcss than 52 loads. A threc-ton diesel truck has been found to opcratc a1 lcss than one sltiiling per mile, Assuming t l ~ c mcat wilI bc sold in Bulawityo, the cost or cxternal transport wil l be (300 ~ililes at one shilling per mile) f 15 per Inad. The annual cost o l ' t x l c r ~ ~ a l transport will therefore be ( E l 5 \, f52) L7XO. Atnmunition will cost well under E.3 per load of meat. Thus the total ammunition co?S will he ( f 3 ~ E 5 2 ) E156.

TARLE III

Eslirnrtd Gamc Population tlml Recommended Cmp ftrr 1961 from Itlc I35,OW-acrc ticndcr%r+n

Ranch, S n w i IICFII tllir~desilk -

Tortrl ,Worker Rcrt~t)t- I),;. ! [h.) b r t / t ~ ~ of

.Yp~ct+r v l 3 f i i t 1 ( : / ~ d I J ~ P I : ~ I ( M / flrr \ sect M~J(II !i) I I0 h l r(trr<t.qm~s

C l ~ i l f )

Impalii . . . . 6,000 1.500 97,500 6,094 Zehr:t . . . . 1 ,X(IO 364 OI,XOO 2,XHO Stwnhuck . . 600 120 ,440 103 W;rrtliug . . 400 ZIK) 14,IKH) 7011 Kutlu . , . . O ( l I 5 0 32.770 I,hxX WiFdcbcert . . 400 80 20.S00 1,OJO Gbctlrc . 1 1)O 1 7 17,0[)0 hSO nuikcr . . . . 300 I05 2.II)O I58 M'i~tcrhuck . . 50 10 1.000 I O U l * u E ~ l o . . . . 200 30 1 7 , l n ~ 713 I-Il;lntl . . . . I (HE 20 12,OUO hOO Klhp<pringer . . ;[I 0 126 0 Flu~li pig . . 50 25 1.750 8X Sl~;~rpe's gryabuck 50 - * - -

11~1~Iiht1ck . . [ U 0 Q 0 ' fnti~l to nearest 100 Ib. weigl~t and €?ME Value:

311.400 15.000 * 111cludc with ~tecnhuck.

Other costs include wages o r a European game manager, w a p s and rations for his African assistants, tlzr cost or internal transporl- ation on the ranch a n d miscellaneous costs. T l i c ~ c amount to not more than f300 per month. If it is assumed that tlic entire stan' will hc employed year-long and used fbr construction work, veld management and so on, Ihese costs will amount l o (L300, 12) f3,600. Thus thc total annual cost of this operatinn will not excccd ( f 7 X O t f 156+£3,hM) - f4.536) £4.600.

I r the recommended game harvest is taken in 1961 and is sold at he prices already estahlisll- ed. it will bring a gross incomc of about f 15.060, assuming that all of i~ can be marketed (Tahlc 3). In practice. however. 10 per cent will probably be wasted t h r o u ~ h loss. spoilage and other

causes. This will leave a gross value or E l 3,500. Assuming that all o i this were trucked to

markct, and not co~lsumed on the ranch. the costs shown abnvc mu51 hc deducted ( f 13.500 -;E4,600). An annuat nct lncoinc of' fX.900 is left or, allowing some ;idditionnl margin, an annual net prolit of iK.400 can br: expeczrd,

Wlletller or not this annual income can br maintained in succeeding years may he questic~n- cd. Althot~gh our popufatiiln estimatrq arc conserv:~rivc, it niay prnvc that thc cropping rate !-or somc spccics is too high. Howcvur. it is equally likely t l ~ a t Ibr othcr spccicr; tlic rates can be increased. Only trial will provide the anfwcr. but :tt this stage we hclieve that t l ic critical question is not whether or not tlic game will staird t h i s rate of cropping, hut whether err not adequate markcts Tor the mcat can he found.

A beoutr((11 crroture, r l ~ e krrdu, 1s one of the toi~rist ortroc- tlons in Central and Eost Afrrco. Photo. C. A. W. Gvggisberg.

ROM the work that has been done in Southern Rhodesia thus Tar. llierc seeins

littlc reason to doubt that gamc ranching is bath practical and economically feaaihle. Assum- ing that markets can bc dekeloped and that the prices received by the rnnchcr are maintained at the preqent lekcls. p m t . can yield a greater net prolif to tlre land ownts tlian cattle on lands that recluirc 20 to 30 acrcs clr more to support a cow. in rcyions similar to thost: in which wc have worked.

On lands wirli a carrying cspacity of one cow per 30 acres. g:lrnc can yield more meat. without any capita! heing spent on development.

WlLD LIFE. SEPfEMBER~DECEMBER 1961

than cattle can yield aRer the land has been developed. On some lands, cattle ranch development may result in hiyher meat yield5 than can be had wrth no development for game, How much these lands would yicld from game, with soine developrnent to improvc t h e gumc habitat, remains to be detern~rncd.

There is much to bl: learned ahout game ranching, particularly about the ccnlogy of game populaiions. Howcvtr, much 0 1 ' this ~nformation can only be learned through continued game ranclung. Regardless of how much we know about the biology ol' a species, its reaction. as a population, t o heavy sfioo~ing must be determined by shnoting.

The tstimatcs presented here have been conservative. I n calculating t l ~ e valuc or game products, we have included only llie value or the dressed carcase and have ignored the considerable value of he hides and other by-products. We have also considered only the ungulates and have ignored the meat yield and markc1 value rrrom small mammals, ostrich and game birds. All of these values arc high.

Also ngnored is the income to be obtained through marketing hides of various carnivores, many of which I~ave hip11 value. The potential income to be derived by charging Ibr the privilege of hunting trophy animals, Iion, burlhio, leopard, kudu, ezc.. has also not been included. Furthermore. in working where we have. we have qtudied an area that i q not outstanding for eitller game numbers or variety.

At least two specics, elcphant and sable. are no Ionper resident on the ranch. From all accounts. wildcbrest exist there in much smarler numbers than formerly. Many otllet places in Rhodesia supporl Inore _earne. Thus. i t can reasonably be txpec~ed that somt attention In game managernen1 and the ecoIo_gical rcqtiirernents of the various species will yieId dividends in terms ol' an increased y~eld o f pame products from this ranch.

Game ranching has heen started in Southern Rhodesia, but i ts future is not secure. Jls success or failure depends less on whether the details or numbers, production and yield for Tame populations can be worked out than on thc part Governmen1 will play in developing markcls and I'acilitating the market- i i~g of Fame meat, hides and by-products. The markcling problem is critical.

'I'hc mcat can be produced; the demand Tor thc meal is present among the African poptilation of Rhodesia : w h a ~ remains is to provide the proper channels from producer lo consunrer. This is a job for the Government.

Dlrfkcr, smoll, furtive and olre;r urrfrcurt l o r l l ~ e gomt vlewcr to see mrght prove one of tlre more r f r f i t n r r specfes l o crop.

Unless the Goverrment plays an activc part now. the existing and coi~tnnplalcd game- ranching programmes will hc ahandorled. Once abandoned. 11 will hc marl difficult 10 start them again.

It is our hope that the work reported here will give an irnpetns to the movement toward sustained yield management of African gamc for cnmmcrcisl purpor;es. It is ottr belicf that only this crnnomic: apprusch can save game frnm extermination over hrtlad areas of Africa. I t is also our bclicf that the lime to start n~anagernent of game on an economic bask is now. Delays, whcflrcr in thc interests of additional smearch. or thro~~gh sheer governmental inertia can only increase the chances of failure.

We wish 10 euprcss our dccp apprecinthun to Alan and Ian Henderson, xho have assistcd 11s in everv way. and have made th~s work possthle. We :IIW grcnl ly apprecale the awctance prtrvirl~d by tlic Dcp;~rt men1 of \IfildliTe C'nnwnntiun. ~ t s director, Axl i l t Fralcr, and b~ulr~sist, Rl;ln Silvcrry, wilhout whose ct~-ojw-alinn we cor~l~l 1101 have c?rr!ed out lh is ~1udy. RCRY Sni l l l~ers . Diroc~or of Nnt inno l Muccum:. and our \ponsor. ha% also been helpFul in cvec w ; ~ . Owen Someme!, Bctrr Julinstone and Hans ?an khrevcrr. whrr 11;1vt been connected with Henderson's Ranch. have n l ~ o been actlve In supportlnp a n d carrylnp out th~s work. Wc cannot name here the many others who IIRVC nsyistcd us, but we wi<li to express our thanks ru thcm :tlI. A paper preserrred 01 Ole nwetinfi of rltr ~Vutintrnl Affairs Asst~ricliinrr, R~~lusu)?) , Struflrer~t Rltod~~sir~, :Ilnrch, 1961.

WILD LIFE. SEPTEMBERIDEC~BER 1961

A PAGE OF SOCIETY NEWS I X

GROWING VOLUME OF WORK

FOR US AS AN E, A, SOCIETY

OLONEL KENDALL-SADLER. who hccame Secretary fo the Society in 1958 and S o c i e Membership

subsequently Executive Oficer, has resigned from liis posi~ion and Ieft t l ~ e Society at the .,, 5,M)0 end of Mav.

Tlic society owes him a debt of gatitude for his work duriny tliere formative years and wishes llim :!I1 succcss in the future.

As a measure o f temporary economy it is not intended lo appoint a ncw ExccuzEve Oficcr just yet. When one is appointed he will have to be a man wlir) comhincs administrative ability with a practical knowledge or wild life. One of his mosr essential duties will be lo make contact with important visitors to East Arrica, in nlt walks of life. and to arouse their interest in !he work of llre Society and obtain their support.

In the meantime the Society's work is being carried oul by i h e Secretary, Mrs. Guild, and her staff with tlrc active support of members of l l ~ e Executive Comm ittec.

Members probably do not realise how great-and rapidly increasing-is tlie volume c ~ f routine work in the ofice. An avera_ge or 120 Icttcrs a weck reach thc office from all over the world and ljave to bc answered. and there is always a cons~anl l'low of visitors and phone calls. In addition zhere is still. and will contiti~ie to he. a lot a f work in connection with the mayazinc and, at th is time of yeas. with hulk ordtrs for Christmas cards.

A check has hccn made on the membership lisl and it was found that 1.393 members had Failed to pay their I961 subscription. An appcal was sent out and. as a resutt, the befated suhscliptions have heen coming in very satisfac- torily. But thi? currcnt numher nf themagazine i s nnt b r i n ~ sent to anyone whose subscription iq in arrears.

rncidcn~ally. a few members i n various parts of rhc world are doing valuable work fnr us by buying old numbers or t11c magazine in bulk and distributing tliern among their I'riends. Old nurnhers are still absolutely topical and contain a vasx amount of' interesting reading. Birlk orders for 20 copies o r more--either of one numher o r a variety-are being supplied

at thc rcduced price of 2/10 per copy plus rreight, payuhle in advance.

Nrr. 1 . Vol. T. is ntFW sold out and only a I'rw copies remain of Nos. 2 and 3. Vol. 1. There arc still copies or No. 4. VoI. T. and r b f all numbers of VoI. I I .

We woz~ld particttlarly likc to thank Count Alitefeldt-Bille 01' Denmark and Mr . S. M. Whitman of London for llle very ~uccesrful recruiting drives on our behalr. Wr wtu~Id also Pikc to lhank an anonymous donor Ibr an excellent film for Mr. Fook's film library.

Count Ahlefeldt-Rille. in addition tcl huing our most successful recruirer of' ind ivicl~~:iI Life Members, has now brought in the Danislr Game Dupartment (i.c. thc Danish Govcrl-lmcnt through its Minictry or A_pricul~i~r~'} a'i ;I Life Member. 11 i s a n enormous encousngc.mcnt to know thal a progressive country likc Denmark is suffici~ntly interested in our elTorts to he willing to make its Game Rcpartmcnt a nlcrnher ef he Socicry so that [lie Departmcnl can kccp in louch througll us with what i s going on in wild life preservation matters in East Africa.

Through the generosity or ME. Joy Adamson and the Elsa Appeal Fund the Society is putting a capture team into tlie field to deal speuilica~ly with small groups of animals o f dwindl in~ species, now living in conditions ol' dangcr. which will be moved to sare areas. A drtarlcd description of the work or the team will appear in the rnaga7ine i n due course. T'tic Loam will be under the control or the Kenya Game Depanmcnt which already has a tcrtm nT its crwn in the fieId to deal with rliino. Now that the Society is East Avrican in

name we are starting moves 1 ~ 1 make it t r t~ly so in action. Satisfi~ctoe diccusqions have bcen held with Coronel Millard and others rrom Tanganyika, and e f i s t s arc being nrade to incrcase rncmhcrship in Ueanda.

16

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

G M MANAGEMENT AND NATURAL IMBALANCES

WE arc grateful to you for the publication of a part or our Ietter to you. 1 stand

by my guns in my statements. Also I regret that you saw fit to drag the old rcd herring about the h'over-populat~sn of deer'" into our discussion, for most wild life biolo_gists by this time are quite well convinced thal t l ~ r deer prohlern js purely a man-made product, itldicalive of one of the greatest imbalances o f nature the world has ever known.

Et is not an indication thal "game m a n a p ment" has done a deed for which il can push out its chest, rather a sad commentary om I~iirnan interference with the basic laws of the land. Such is the "deer surplus". An additional surplus that we have is one that is not ortcn brought forward in fish and game circles, hut the terrific over-abundance of ground rodents is j u h ~ another product of the trapping, poisoning, payment of' bozlnlies, elc.. that n carried on by the US FISII and Wild Life Service to "c~ntrol" the predator _group of animals and birds.

Not only, tl~erefare, do I say that the wild life of Africa and elsewhere should he protected in its entirety 10 preserve the balance of nalure but also because T believe that the economy wdl i n the end rcceivc geater henef t indircclly from its presence alivc.

J have read a number of travel books jn wluch the slalemenr. has been made that when Africa cannot produce wild life to look at and view and lo photograph, the tourist trafic w ~ l l melt away! Wrn. Vogt, writing i n "Road to Survival", has stated: "The valuc of wild creatures in maintaining a balanced ecology jn which man can best thrive, is Tar greater than a figure which has been assipiled to their direct exploitation."

COMMANDER H. M. WEBER

Conservation Chairman, California Garden Clubs, Inc.

[We publish~d Cornrnandes Fl/eherls lerrer in Wjld Life' Vol. 2 No. 4 (Dece!nher, 1960) pqgr 53. with a repry putling ?he Society's 1-icrlpoirrb on the neressiry , fnr applying sci~ntffic pr inr ip l~ .~

of ~ C I I T I P monog~~nenr ir7 En.~t AJr+ir.u ir oitr nncr lga.v? herds ?f rmirl?clls 1irr.r nor lo be ~~wntani)+ r/e.~ti-r+d. Perlmups he crr./irlr on rhe runrmcr.ricri ulilisusion of'garnr zrl~ich can he joiozcl om pn-ye 15 of ti! is i.ha/t., rlmill I I P I ~ to rrin/ilr.cp our ~ l r y y l r ~ ~ t ~ ~ s . ]

volume 3, number I . of "Wild Life". INon pagc 25, L. H. Brown criticiwr the counting of flamingos on Lakc Natron dnnc by myself and my late son From an aeroplane. the figures differing radically from his c~wn estimation.

In this cannectiotl t want to stress again that I a m no specialised ornitl~ologis~ like Mr. Brown. and not a t all a n exprrt an Ilarningos as lie is. We merely hoped ihat the use of special equipment and special experience in this kind r rT work would add totlie sum total or knnwledge on he subject.

T think there cannot bc any discussion about the actual numhcr nT flamingor; wc pha(oyrap11- ed. and then countcd on the tn la rgd piutiircs. The photographs can still be put togcthcr on a wall and anybody can count llie jlnmingos on them again. The area of Cake Natrvn covered by the pictures was shown on the map in our article.

J t h ink the only source o f controversy lies in the suggestion of L. H. Brown. whose own observations of the fla~ningos on the salt lakes have so many merits. that, pl~tring i t

WILD LIFE. SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 196!

quite bluntly, we missed photographing ninc- tenths of the flamingo population.

As we used a very slow plane with special facilities for accurate obscrvation and the ability to descend fast for a closer look if circumstances dernandcd i t , and as we covered the whole area and not only the Lake itself, in parallel strips, 1 find this suggestion absolutely impossible to accept. But 1 would also agree that, scientifically, this is no proof that it did not happen. I could only furnish proof by photographing the whole area, including the empty spaces, at the same time and ofl'ering all the pictures for critical investigation.

On the other hand L. H. Brown can only prove his controversial opinion by photograph- ing, in series, all the existing colonies and congregations of flamingos on Lake Natron on the same day. That will be real counting and will exclude the many sources of error of the system explained in his review. This is possible and could be done.

Tn my opinion only in this way could it be proven that our counting was not approximately correct.

[This subject is nnoli. closed. We would, however, like to record our rhanks to both Dr. Frzimek and L. H. Brown for their inferesring obs~rvations on a suhjcrr about wlzich virtuaSly nothinx was known until very recently; and the articles in "'Wild Life" have cantrihuled ro our overall knou.ledge of these fuscinating birds.-EDIT0 R.]

Guard Post track in December, 1960, in the Serengeti National Park.

The giraffe had apparently been feeding on a tree, right on the edge of a drop of about 3 feet and had slipped. Hi5 head had caught i n the V of the tree and there he had died.

When first seen i n December two lions were feeding on the hindquarters, but now neck, head and shoulders only remain. dried out and still hanging, monument to a remark- able accident.

MYLES TURNER, PARK WARDEN.

STRANGE DEATH

1 ENCLOSE photographs of an adult giraffe which may be of interest to your readers.

The giraffe was found dead hanging in a tree at about mile 8 on the Kleins Camp Tabora

a , The white-railed mongoose does not

h L 4 - normally make a good pet. and in fact is - often subjected co actlve hostility by irate

poultry farmers. Thls one, however, was

r k 1 an exception.

' $. -i

T H E A D V E N T U R E S O F R l K K I T l K K l was a whirc-tailed mongoose.

the tribe of H c r p e ~ r ~ s ~nlhirnurln, wli~ch is the largest of the species. He was the gift of a labour officer and his wife who were scturn- ing to England on leave.

Wllen 11c hrst camc to us in liis small travelling box he was only part grown-a bundle of silky-grcy fur with ;1 fluffed, white tail. T h i s variety of mongoose is nocturnal, and in alt his short happy life with us his habits never varied: by eight in ZIie morning he wwas ready for bed and to bed he would go. either in his box, under the blankcts. or t l ~ c sofa kaross.

You had to bc carcfuB whtrl: you sat lest the soft bump in the bed, o r in ~ h t . chair, turned out to hc the sleeping Rikki Tikki wllen liis grey, velvet nosc would immediately poke out rrproacl~fully. and wilh little whimpcrs nf sleepiness he would curl Iiin~self t i ~ l ~ t e r into a furry balI and drift off again to dreamland.

I f strange dogs came to the house 1 would pick lrim up and put him away safely in liis airy box.

Sllortly after l~ i s arrival we left Moshi and went 20 stay on a sisal plantation at Tavcta on the Tanganyika-Kenya border. Rikki round 51 large ant-bcnr hole very conveniently placcd outside m y room, and in its cavernous coolness he would sleep through the scorching hot days, coming out in tile evening to eat. to explore and to gamhol joyfully with thl: dogs.

He killud his first rat in t l ~ c geranium bushes and brought it to me, carricd with grcat pridc. to he devoured beside my chair.

All this time he was growing fast. Tl~e

MERELL DALTON

long hairs on his body hccame delicately tipped with hlack and Iiis tail lengthened enormously. His nose remained like hir; coat. a smoky grey. In all his ways hc had a most swcct and gentle disposition so that he never bit, or scratched, i n hemper or in play. His skin was clean and white as a child's, and 11is black feet and long hear claws were scruputot~sly attendcd to. He was brushed and combed daily until lic shone. During the niyhts he would wander in and

out on ceaseless expeditions, returning two or three times to cuddle down for a short rest through the gap left specialty Tor lsiin in tlie folds or the mosquito net.

ln Aprit, 1933. wc left Tanyanyika and went lo thc _goldfields at LoPgorien in Ktnya. Rikki Tikki and ~ h c IWO dogs all travelled by train up to Nairobi,

Tt was unfortunate that this had to be 3 night journey because a mongoose like Rikki wakes up at sundown. Tile strange rattling and movement. and tlic confincd spacc of his "house" after t O hours or so or sleep made h i m most persistent in his demand% to he !ct out. Once our and Fed. hc spcnl thc nighr exploring the new world bencatli the scats and the excitement of walking on the ncttcd rack.

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 196 1

so that rest was made impossible For the other human occupants or t l ~ c carriage!

In Nairobi a fresh dificulty arose. 1 could not have him in the hotrl so we took him. with the dogs. t o the animal's home on the outskirts o f tlie town. All the cages for small mammals were full so Rikki Tikki was honoured wit11 the spare bedroom in the house. He slept cornfort- ably nn tltc bed and exercised Iiimself by examining [he rurnishings or his ttmporary a bode.

9 1 1 Eastcr Tuesday we left for Lolgorien, the back of [lie rmall safari car fillcd by Kikki's big hor. an Alsatian. a hull-lcrricr. a boy and all our pcrso~lal kit. Tl-ic rust wcnt by lorry. Wc slopped in thc bazaar as wc passed througli and bnuphr him n cal's collar and a very l i_phl c11:lin Icad. Chain. because no leather leash wnuld have been safe I'or any length of rime l'rom Iiis sharp tculh,

All day lie sltpt pcaccfirlly, undislurhcd by lllc bumping of thr car. the dust :ind heat, or the ~hr i l l cxcitcd yelps of the dops when thcy siglitcd the licrds of' game. But by t l ~ c t ime wc had struck camp Ibr the night by 1l1e Scovtyi river it was :zlready allnost dusk, and the black claws of Rikki T ~ k k i were scrabbling for his box to b e opened.

The rivcr Ererc runs through a dcep gorgc. hut where we had camped there was a gap in

the high walls of the canyon and one could walk along the edge of the water. t took Rikki's new colfar and, very cautiously, hen1 to l i t it round his neck but he was tor] quick for me. and in a flash had ruisted his hcild fret from the unfastened truckle and bolted. tail Flt~ffed out, I'or the b u ~ h e s around the river.

Hitherto his introduction 10 any new surround- ings had atways been gradual and at first confilled ro tllc precincts of thc I~ouse. But liere he was in (EPCII ATl+isn with i io t l i in~ frlnii1i:lr to lure Piin1 hack save 111e sound u l ' n u r ayiratcd voices. In 111c racks and surrounding scrub nliglit lurk any wild marauder w h o wot~ld quickly seize n plump young mongoose, nr possibly some oF his ciwn kind migl~( already he stealing out on [heir nocturiial occasion<.

Excited exploration

'But Rikki Tikki h;id no real Intention oi' dcsening us. Turning l l i~ hack on 11ic snucct.5 nf l'nod hcld n u t to h im, lie cnntinued hic eva~ivc cxploratinn af tlie bank, clawing o t ~ t a hectle l~cre and an inscct Zhcrc. and stopping every now and tlicn ro stand up on his hind legs. peering Tur danger from the air. ilncl to chattur excitedly. 1-inally lie went down to tkc rivuis edgc and dipped his toes daintily in tlic cold dark watcr, and lhen, satisfied with his fun and

The comical but erective rnongoase way of breaking OR egg.

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

investigations, scampered back happily to camp.

He learnt to wear his collar, but T was never at all successful at teaching him to lead.

At Lolgorien he very soon made himself at home. For the first few weeks there were no buildings and we slept in the box-body car under a temporary grass roof that served as living quarters, and a tarpaulin, rigged up like a tent, did for bathing and dressing. In this idyllic existence Rikki roalncd entirely free.

As the native labour came in to work the claims, they were brought up and he was shown to them. A Masai guard named Kitanwe shared the solitude of the nights with the wakeful Rikki Tikki so that the camp was ncver without its watchful eyes during the dark hours. One night, however, he disappeared completely.

The claims had not been worked for some years, and the old shafts stood overgrown and dcscrtcd, traps for the unwary and a real danger in the darkness. Tn the morning, at the bottom of onc of these, a frightened Rikki Tikki was found by h ~ s friend Kitanwe and the news was quickly brought hack to his distracted family.

Bedraggled l i t t le animal

We then lowered a petrol box and, like a miner coming off shift, he sprang into it and was hauled triumphantly to the surface, a most agitatcd and hedraggled little animal. He slept in thc bush all the rest of that day by the old grass roof that now served as a garage, and when he came home in the evening 1 bathed him in warm foamy Lux and combed and brushed h im as he lay stretched on my knees. until his fur gleamed again.

By this time we were living in the new big banda we had built closc to our original camp. The mudded walls wcre high and wide under the thatch and soon became a sun for rats and mice which came in after the stores we kept. Fn the evenings Rikki would scramble up after them, dislodging Iasge pieces of the walls, but he was too big and heavy to make good use of their rodent highway.

He also found where F kcpt a box of eggs out of his reach, and he would amuse himself by stealing: one quickly when no one was watching him, so that 1 was continually hiding them in new places to evade him, which made it a continual game of hide and seek, most successful for Rikki.

Re broke the shells in the characteristic

mongoose way, which is to manoeuvre the egg into line with some hard object, such as a stone or in this case a table leg, and then hurl it backwards through his hind legs. He always made a direct hit and as the floor was of beaten earth it was soon left tidy again.

Also he devoured an enormous quantity of the moths and insects which flew in through the unshuttcred windows to the magnet of the lamplight. Hc kilIed rats in the grass outside, and accounted for sevcral wlticlt had been foolish enough to come down from their safe retreat in the roof.

During the evenings he and the bull-terrier romped together like puppies: Rilcki Tikki turning rapid somersaults and using his long tail as a switch to flick the dog to further efforts. A lighted cigarette end flung on the murramed floor never failed to intrigue him, and with his long black fingers he would roll it over and over until the flame was extinguished and then tear it avidly to little pieces.

At dinner he liked to sit or lie beside my chair as a cat might do, now and again standing up on his hind legs to ask gently tor his saucer of' food. At no time did Ile attempt to steal from tlre table or snatch at plates in transit. He had no particurar dislikes and was equally content with meat and gravy as with tinned fish, cheese, or bread and milk. In the same way he was friendly and polite to all visitors.

Bath time at dusk became his play hour, and the fun grew fast and furious. Bounding on to my bed he liked to be rollcd up in the bath towels and then, by the most extraordinary contortions, free himself from the folds, returning open-mouthed, again and again, to be swung across and under, turned over, and twisted upside down! He often seized my fingers in his strong teeth but he never bit me or even grazed the skin.

Tragic end

Alas Rikki Tikki. . . . . during the mating season he took to wandering farther and then farther afield at night, and then, in company with his new companions, he hegan to follow them on their plundering expeditions. At last he met his tragic end in a ncighbour's chicken run, nearly two mites away.

Deserted on the instant by thc wild mongooses who had led him astray, the sweet and friendly Rikki Tikki who fearcd no man, and no light in the darkness, was left to pay thc cxtrerne penalty for a crime he had ncvcr committed.

During the last year much sensational publicity in Easr and Central Africa has been given to reports of a strange and fabulous creature-nicknamed 'UfitiP-which has been roaming the N kata Bay area

of Nyasaland. It was suggested that the unusual animal, reported to be heavily built, might be a cross between a gorilla and chimpanzee.

We carried a short note about the truth of this

somewhat colourful rumour in last September's

'Wi ld Life" but in view of the persisting reports,

some even emanating from the Colonial Ofice, we

now publish a full report by Nyasaland's Chief Conservator of Forests, Mr. R. G. M. Willan, who is also Chairman of the Nyasafand Fauna Preservation Society.

U ? ti-Ny asaland's

C rnvsterv' animal - is

F R O M the beginning the newspapers have not only continued to repeat ~ h c unfortu-

nate inaccuracies o f some of the earliest observers, who had never wen a chimpanzee before. and couM not have recognised il as such, but sewn to have gone out ol' their way to create a "mystery animal" o r "monster" which would in their opinion excite the imagina- tion and be. therefore. of a greater '.news value" than if it were any ordi~lary animal.

A typical example was in one Inca1 newspaper recently which rererrcd 10 a lcopard which was killing sheep at nirght as a "ghost leopard". During. tlre past year I have repeatedly tried to en liphten the local Press and our Public Relationx Department and given them the true facts. but obviously without success.

1 d o not know the source of the information given by the spokesman of the Colonial Office.

hut i~ would seem to have come from some of the hi_ehly coloured and totally inaccurate accounts which have appeared f rom time to time i n the local newspapers hot11 i n Nyasaland and in Southern Rhodesia.

If this is so. T reel that i t is most unfortunate that such accounts should he drawn upon for public information purposes, rntlier t llan the Sactual and accurate reports written by scientists wIio have actually seen this anima!.

Thus the name "ufiti" is a complctc misnomer. since i n Nyanja it is litemlly "ivirchcraf't" or ' " m a ~ c " i n the abstract and is n o t a propcr name. In the C h i t o n p or Nkala Bay Distr ict it i s apparently ''ufwi ti" and when t tie local people were asked what this strange and unknown animal was they juqt shook their heads and implied that it was mcrely witchcraft or magic. and therefore not a real animal.

However, this word is easy to say, and has been repeated so often in the Press that it has stuck. It was also referred to as a "shaggy monster", "mystery animal", and living in "impenetrable rain forest" etc., etc. In actual fact Lhere are no rain forests or closed forests, as such, in this area, but only an unusually dense t ype of Bracl?yste;gin woodland.

The cl~impanzee spends most or its time in second growth hush scattered with cassava gardens, and on the edge of Brachvxtegia ratnaridoides woodIand, where it sometimes builds i ts sleeping plat farms in the taller Brrrrl~ys- legins.

This animal is an adult female chimpanzee of the East African race, Pan troglodytes s r l ~ ~ ~ i n f u r ~ h i i , onc of its characters bciiig the dark skin of the race as compared with the pale fztcial skin of the West African race, P. t . Irn,ylodytes.

It was definitely recognised as a cllimpanzee by

Mr. D. Eccles of the Joint Fisheries Research Station at Nkata Ray early in 1960, by Mr. C. Holliday of the Rhodes-Livingstone Museum, by Mr. B. L. Mitchell or lhc Northern Rhodesia Game DepalTment and by myself. iu March, 1960. Previously it had heen sr~ggested by various persons tllal it was a goriIla, a hybrid betwcen a baboon and a gorilla and after T had seen it and stated definitely that it was a female chimpanzee. I was askcd why it could not bc a hybrid goriIla-chimpanzee !

Height much exaggerated

Unfortunately its height was much exaggerat- ed by some of the f i r s t observers, and their guesses varied fronr 5 ft. 6 ins. lo 6 St. In actua! fact it is probably a tittle more than 4 ft. in height.

1 t is a particularly well-grown adult in healthy

WILD LIFE. SEPfEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

Sensational 'zoo fiction' is

no real help in the cause

of wild life preservation

condition, and certainly a vcsy fine-looking animal. The expression in one of the extracts "but slre is 110 beauty" is thcrcfore nonsensical.

Thc statement that the nearest previously- known haunts of chinpanzccs is in Ruanda- Urundi 1,0110 miles away is also quite inaccuratc. since there are chimpanzees in the Mahali Motm- kains on the eastcrn shore of Lakc Tanganyika. This is no more than 500-600 miles l'rom N kadn Bay. a ract well-known to local zoologists.

So far no other chimpanzees 11ave been discovered in the Nkata Bay area. in spjtc of searches carried o~l t last year. and the local people do noi know or recognise this animal a! all. If others are cvenrually found, it i s my bc'rief that il will be in certain small mountain rain rorests, either farther north. or farther inland. where tlrese occur. I do not consider that the Nkata 13ay area. in spite of its densc vegetation, is a really typical habitat for chrn~panzees.

Was it a pet ?

The fact that no others have been found has led in e strong belief in certain quarters that this one is a pet animal, either escaped or purposely released, parlicularly in view of its rcmarkahIe tameness. Mowevcr, there is no evidence wl~atsaevcr that n chimpanzee has ever been brought into Nyasaland and released by a visitor, but there is naturaljy a distinct possibility that this was i n fact wlw( actually happened,

One does hope that one day some other chimpanzees may be discovered in Nyasaland. I have heard no news of any proposed expcdi- tion to this area this year.

Finally, I cannot hclp wishing that the Press and authorities would divert more of their energy from th i s kind of'scnsational "too-liction" to thc real cause 01' wild life preservation. and then cvcryone could acclaim rather than criticisc tlicir elTorts.

23

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KENYA

WILD LIFE PRESERVATION AND

NATIONAL PARKS IN ETHIOPIA

This Is t h e conclusion of the informative article by Dr. G. A. PETRIDES, PH.D., t h e first half of

which we published last J u n e , i n which he describes the present situation of the wjld animals of Ethiopia,

and the most l i kery areas t o give satisfactory results as game reserves of one sort or another. The

figures in brackets refer to areas marked on the map on page 9 of the June issue of WILD LIFE. He

believes tha t if the Government were to be able to take the measures he advocates here, Ethiopia could

lead all the newer independent African states in i t s game preservation policies.

PROGRESSIVE GAME POLICIES

WOULD BRING LEADERSHIP A PLAINS area (especially if it can be located

In a short-grass region) would be one of the few anywhere i n East Africa to exhibit the

IN AFRICA spectacular herds of plains game animals. In view of the small size and, as yet, non- permanent aspects of Kenya's plains game reserves and the evidence of perhaps u~~suitable boui~daries for the Sesengeti National Park in Tanganyika, an adequate and permanent reserve for plains game in independent Ethiopia could offer the world an excellent chance for preservation of a unique resource.

This invaluable and irreplaceable asset could be a wonderful cultural treasure and tourist attraction, but all depends On whether Ethiopia recognises its opportunity.

destruction alone. Signs of overgrazing are frequent in many parts of Ethiopia.

The Danakil Plains still abound i n wild life in places, but general and regular reductions in game seem to be occurring. I am not certain of the precise areas of the Danakil which deserve preservation. T have masked a district (9) as of possible value because of the presence of at

Crocodiles have hem heavily hrmted for their skins in other parts of Afrira, and t/~erefore should be preserved in fhose localiti~s where lhey exist. Phorn: C. A. W.

Guggirher~.

DESERT AND SEMI-DESERT AREAS

CAMPLES of desert country in their varied

not cultivable under existing climatic conditions, significant alterations to or even the total

by lIvestack can ;tterly destroy the 6i-iginal & a - - game animals of an area through habitat + "

* W z - n a l a d *

WlLD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

least seasonal water areas and the Addis Ababa- Assab liighway.

Rut thrc: or xome more witable area (possibly cvcn on tlic Saraga PIuns in the south) shor~ld bc dcs~gnatcd and manaycd as a desert plains rcscrvc. Pcrhaps ~ h c ~lc~ghbourhoods of Awash and Mic>sn ( 1 5 ) . on rhc Addis Ababa-Djibouti road, o l k r po\5ihilltlc< for lllc gazelles, kudus, wild nqscs, and other species ul' thc dry plains.

Or her dry-count ry arcus of potential value r r ~ c l ~ ~ d r :t diqtrict along the Asmarn-Mrc~siiwa h iy l i u i~y H I I ~ Rrd Sun coaqt. This woi~ld not only d~,pl;~y northern desert vcgetatian and i~nim:rl\ l ~ u l alqn ad-iaucnl marbnc lire ( 1 ) . 1":inds ccrnt:iinrng Sud:inccc-Eritrcan iauna and flos:t ;ti-c. :iv:illahlc ntxr thc Sciit River (2).

AREAS WITH GEOLOGlCAL A N D OTHER VALUES

T H E Lakc Abayit ( M a r ~ h t r i t a ) region, in ~ l t e sr~utliurn R~l't Valley ( 16). was scpcrrtcd

by s c v e r ~ l of tliu Europea~~ residents to olrcr finc rnnuntai~l 5ccncr-y 01' gzological significance. v:lricd vtgeralic~n including mature Podocarp1r.t and otI1t.r fotr.sls, a grcar varicty o f big game (including Ilans. leopards. Iiippor, grealrr and tesscr kudus. roan antrlopcs, hartubecsts, waterbucks. ostriclirs. and crocodiles). and lisliing. I t has heen recommended as of top priority for consideration as a national park or similar arca.

There i s now some cotton and coffee planted nearhy but malaria has prevented dense settle- ment. T l ie report of the forestry group mentions i t only as a placc For possible rlce culture. Surely. broader viewpoints are desirable in such land use studics.

Lakc Shala (15) lies near Lake Abzzya. The Ethiopia highway map sllnws a photograph of a large flock o f flaminym and other water hirdc tlicrt. I n order lo determine whetl-ter the picture reprccentr a normal siti~ation, this area slior~ld be surveycd to determine its ful l hinlogic:11. geological and recreational pc>tuntii~li€ic>.

E t c n a> sccn from the air. tlie canyon of the Dluc Ni lc (8) i s mosl sptcli~culrlr. Onc report commvnrs. ond rightly \o. 011 its ~ in l i l i l r i t y to I I I C Grant! Ca~rynn of the Colorado Rivtr in Arizona. Similarly, a i r views or the rugged pc.;~ks ol' 11ic T:ikarr.t River reginn (3 ) were w r y imprca~ivc lo mc. From the ground espcci;~lly. t l i ~ x hcautir'ul country should be mob1 ;kt1 r;lcllvr t o v tsltors.

SPORT FTSFIINC

I N many of the mountain streams conditions must bc suitablc ror trout. Italian publications

indicalc that rainbow trout wcrc planted i n sornc streams during the occupation, It i s most imporran1 [hat scientific surveys first be made o r native specics heforc these are disturbed or destroyed by compcling introduced forms. Ther t may be possibilitics, hnwcver, for eventual development o i a sport lishcry for trout as has been accomplished In Kenya.

Similar possibilities may also exist for the huge Nile perch in Lakc Tsana (6). the Blue Nilc (8). and elsewhere. European residents now regularly visil and fish in t ake Awasa in the Rif't Valley north or Lakc Ahaya (86). Tliesr visitors patrenise a nearhy American- style motel.

PROVlNClAL LANDS; AGRICULTCIRAL WILD LTFE

PROVINCIAL recreation and l l un l i l~g srear should -also be designated whtrc there

are lands with unusuaI but more local valncs. Furthermore. with suitable management, many qamc spccies and other intercxtinp wild life can l ive in harmony wilh man and his crops in districts dcvotcd primarily to a_rriculturc, grazing and rorcslry. A rm l ~emen ts qlrould be made Tor (he cvcnnual study of these spccies R S secondary rcwurccs of the hind.

W I D LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961 27

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11 / ! e b I f e r *.IF n . Photo J . F. .Yr?z{~r!, .d. R. P..S.

M WllD LIFE. SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 196S

A quaint species of great physical strength

THE ELUSIVE ANT-BEAR

majurily o r people in Africa are TH:~,nili~lr enough with the innuincrablc burrows dug on the veld by thc ant-bcar ( in Afrikaans, Anrcl-vacrk). BLI~ only a Tcw lmave hccii privileped to scc one of these peculiar oddities amongst Arrican fauna. Reing a nocturnal crcitlurc. i t 1s rare for it to be ahraad dur~ng thc I i o u r ~ of dayl~ght : and such flccasions may hc reckoned as exceptional.

7'hc ant-bear IS pcculiar to Arrica and spread ovcr tllc greater part o f i l ~ c continent. Tlae beast is cqpecially clu>ivu. During Fong year< spent in veriour rcgions or Africa only oncc was I fortunate unoupli to view onc in its wild state, and that happened on my Farm in Sourllern Rhodc+ia during 1928. I had to wait Ib r 29 ycars to see one. though 1 was farn~liar 'enough LVII~I tlieir burrowh.

This quaint spcuics btlongs to the I<dcnt~tn genus which, at a much earl~er period in the world's Ir15tory. must have cnji3ycd a far wider rnngc i n i t 5 distribution than nowadays. The E r / ~ , ~ r o ~ a incti~de five rpcclcs with. in sonlc carc.5. su h-spccies-t lic <loth, armadillo, ant- hcal-, scaly ant-bear and pangolin.

Different from the others

Thurc ran br no m~rtak ing Lhc Arricnn ant-b:iit (Ofi'r trrop~r r~ f r r . ) ror ;~ny ozhcrs of I l l t gcnur. hccausc i l l \izv 111id penera1 ;kpprar;lltce it is cnlircly dtlTi.rc.nl fro111 tlre othcr mcln hrrs.

Tht. ant-bc:rr i s \prcad over mo<t of Arricn to a\ fat. nnrth a\ Etliiopi:~ and i\e\t to Scnc- g;in~hin: hut tllcy arc morc cilmnlon in Sout l~er~ l and Easlcrn Africa. Tlic spccics Inay have 311 C Y C ~ 1110r-c T X ~ C I I > ~ V I ~ riingc' UII t lic continent. Most Al'r~can trihrs h a v e ;I di~tincttve name For Ir : tn Kiswallilr it i\ k'rJ!rl;1/ Xrrli~r. and in Ak ik t~yu. iV(vrr~;o ~lgnrj jmn kiihcrhcr. Yct our knowlcdpe or thiq shy. rlurive and intcrtsting un~mal 1 4 ctilF incomplclc, hccnusc 11 aSrords so few opportunities I'or an i ~ ~ l i r n a ~ c study.

In 2939 a lorry or thc Br~Lish South Africa

Poiice ran over and killed onc when travelling by day on the road to Telc (Portuguese East Africa); and (he incidcnt was dcscribud officially as "a very u~lusual episode". It certainly was so.

R i ~ h t l y or wrongly, I think thcrc arc sovcral types o f ant-hcar, not genuine sub-species. but examplcs or aditplation to chan~ed conditions In their actual habitat. In open and lcvcl terrain they cxcavate a large nuuhcr of deep burrows during a single nrght. sclccring the sites with n sound apprccia~ion or topo- graplmy and tlius suldoni cncountcring rocks 01. strata (]I" granilc rormalions. Thcy also abound in tht. Ibothills o f mountain rangcs, but where scarcely any o f their burrows will be found.

Shallow burrows in hard ground

The explanation i s qimple. Tht. hill-dwcllcrs r discovered that it wah an i~nprof i~ahlc policy to burrow deep there bcc:lr~sc elf thc rocky nature of thc grtjund. Thcy adapted tlre~nselves, tliererorc. to Lliu local condif~ons and scooped out shallow liollows in suitable spot?. It i s rare for the hill-dwellers to sink a hurrow to a p r~ : l t c r dcpth than thrce to four fect: hut whcrcvtr the ground IF F:~vourahlc thcy will always burrow more dccply.

TIlc habits o f the moun~ain-dwcl l i ig ant-hrnr are entirely rorcign tcl the norrnal in~t incts o f their plain-dwcll i~iy kind. The formcr does not con5ider i t at :ill dang-rous to uce n linle under s houldcr or a dry warercuurce ror a period nf sluniker: but plain-dwellers would never cnntcmplatc doing F~krwise. -1 h v fc1r11~t.r takc Full advantage o f the m i ~ t y rains In irioun- ta~nouc areas: are adventurous roanlcrq during daylig-l-tt. wh i c l ~ t l t o~e on rl-uc pla~ns drtinitcly are not. and the latter arc nocriirnnl by Iiahit and inst~ncl.

Their powers of visiorl are indiffcrcnt. TIiey rely upon scent and hcaring. which arc far keener than their ryesigllt. The creature IS

inoffensive except for its far-flung areas ofexcavation, but it can prove a good friend tofarmers by keeping down the plague of termiteson his land.

A blow on the head will almost certainlykill an ant-bear outright. Because, unableto bite, they are practically harmless; but thepowerful claws can inflict horrible gashes,while the squat and broad tail is best given awide berth when in close contact with one ofthese animals. They can use the tail to greateffect, much in the manner of a crocodile.They also employ it as a scoop in hurling to therear excavated earth when burrowing. Thetail can be equally formidable in either attackor defence.

Ant-bears are endowed with great physicalstrength. With head and forefeet in themouth of a burrow it can maintain that positionwith such obstinacy that no man is capable ofdragging it out by the tail. J n fact, grabbinghold of the tailor a hind leg is apt to prove a

most unwise action. The hind legs, trained byconstant digging, can kick with terrific forceand velocity-quite as violent and forceful asthe kick of a giraffe, kangaroo or mule.

Some believe that ant-bears subsist entirelyand exclusively upon ants. Granted, that istheir chief diet. But they are also partial toall grubs, worms, insects and suchlike. Whenin quest of its favourite delicacy, white ants, [hecreature will break into anthills. They squatdown beside them and scratch at the hard crustuntil effecting an entrance.

Legions of termites rush out to defend theirnest and, without pause, the despoiler dartsout its long extensile tongue, which is coveredwith viscuous humour, into the midst of theenraged horde. The tongue is withdrawnwell-coated with helpless victims. Again andagain, that sticky organ repeats the process.The ants are scraped off the tongue andswallowed alive; and the anthill is onlyabandoned when hunger is appeased.

32 WILD LIFE. SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

'The rescuers reported that the tunnels and galleries lay

at a depth of nine to eighteen feet underground'

It only favours as a I-tabitat those areas whcre tcrmites are abundant. Nearly every attacked arlthil1 has a widely gaping cav~ty on i ts southern face. this being nearest to thc Immc of t h e queen-ant or pcrhaps because the structurc there is not so hard-baked by l l ~ e sun.

During the day~ime they sleep underground in t h e ~ r burrows. T11cy can dig so fast that it is practically impossible to unearth them. as they always manage to keep wcll ahead of those striving lheir utmost to reach them. In any eslablishcd burrow there are many tunnels at n deplh of s i x to 20 feet below the surface, each radiating in diverse directions from the main point o ient ry .

Don't try and dig them out

Any serious effort to dig ou t an ant-bear is a Herculean task and most unlikely to prove successful. The burrows go down straight for some distance, then slant upwards. again descend, go upwards once more and finally slant down deep before breaking off into innumerable galleries leading in different direct ions.

In May, 1934, there occurred a tragedy near Kapalala in Northern Rhodesia. Six Arricans found a large and deep burrow. They argued about whether or not an ant-bear was in i t : and next decided to settle the dispute by digging into the burrow-a most unwise proposal.

Three of them crawled into it to cxplore, but this proved unfruitful; but they tried again and went down much dceper, also without result; and all then emerged to rest and f i l l their Iungs wi th fresh air. T h c same three crawled in again and got down much deeper. As they remained underground Tor a very long time, their companions became alarmed and ,one ran to the nearest village t o suminon 11eIp.

Twenty-five men started to dig into the burrow in an efl'ort t o rescue the entombed men. They laboured without pause until dark. Digging was resumed at dawn. The work continued for the next four days: and on the sixth day they came upon the dead body of one man, which was tightly wedged in a runnel at a depth of 15 feet below the surface. I t was

extracted aFtcr much hard work and brought out o f the burrow.

Thcy kept d~gg ing for annther four days. when rhc work was abandoned as heing fu t~le labour. The bodies of t h e other two Inen were not rccoverrd. The rescutrs reported that the various tunnc15 and pllrr ies rcached by them lay at a dcpth of from nlne to 18 feet underground. which indicates the nature of thesc burrows.

Occa~ionally an ant-bear inay bc caught in a fiendisl~ly cruel: African game-pif. snare or trap. A Dutch farmer in tl'te Easter11 Tran~vaa l bougllt a live specimen thus caplurcd by his labour. and then mainrained i~ as a pct. I t soon settled down happily in its e~naccustomcd surroundings, became quitc t a m e artd proved a n amusing pel. Et died cvcntualIy from natural causes.

He told mc that th is unusu:~l pet wac so interesting that carcful records wcrc kept by him of his daily observations. It evinced a considerable dcgrec of intelligence; slcpt soundly during the day and di~played strong rewntmcnt if disturbed: and arter sunset playcd with grcat liveliness.

It was fed on milk. porridge, raw tgg\ and uncooked meat. wcll minced. A c i l destroyed wholesale a plague aT tcrrnite~ on thc f'arlii and kept these deslritctivc pccts under contrw1. tlic farmer was distressed when his pet died.

Bounding like a kangaroo

Early one morning I was irsuinp loot5 to the Maslrona labour on my fasnt in Southcrn Rliode5ia. and :I suddcn shot~l arrr.;tcd my attention. I saw a large ant-hear hcrund~ng along quite clow to us, 11-1oxi11g n v e r rhc ground. much likt a kanpsno , it1 Ion9 Icapc. I ordcred the Mashona 10 capture it a l~vc and unharmed. They raced oCT In p i i r r u ~ ~ or rhc quarry. Unfortunately, one OF 1lic111 liurled a knobketrie at the animal. hi1 it hard on ~ h r head. and killed it instantly.

This was a large and ft~ll-grown mal~. . measuring six feet from t ~ p of snnut 50 tip of tail (the latter being two reel Ions): he I-lcight a t shoufdcr, 19 inches; and length or hody, Icrh

WILD LIFE, SLPTEMBERIDECEMBER 196 1

head and tail, 41 inches. It was about the size of a half-grown pig. The hide was hard and thick, entirely destrtute of hair but covered with scant coarse bristles of bIack or a reddish- brown colour. The head was long and tapering, terminating in an exaggerated snub and being distinctly bulbous in its shape.

Tongue was sticky and long-pointed; mouth had molar tceth of a peculiar structure-small cylinders with flat crowns and no enamel. Formed of a substance that was soft and spongy, the teeth were an agglomeration of a large number of rnicroscop~c tubes closely fitted to one another in a vertical direction. A horizontal section of them presented the appearance of a piece: of cane-packed closely in columns of dentine and quite incapable of biting effectively.

The tail tapered from a thick root to a thin tip. Lcgs were short and sturdy, the forelegs being shorter than h n d legs as in the case of a kangaroo; claws were long, thick, sharp and formidable; and its feet closely resembled claws. When on the move it trarclled at a rapid pace in long and jumpy runs. Why this one was abroad shortly after dawn is difficult to determine, but it was probably late in returning to its burrow after a night-raid on termites.

The Mashona declared that the flesh had a delicious flavour, not unlike that of pork, but with a strong acidulated taste. The tail was raced as the tit-bit. They also quarrelled heatedly over possession of the hide, which later was converted into sandals that seemed particularly durable.

That i s the only time I saw an ant-bear alive and came near to owning one as a pet.

TEACHING GAME RHODESIA

About 30,000 copies of a game based on Snakes and Ladders are being distributed by the Native Education Department in Rhodesia, in an eflort to teach African schoolchildren wild life conservation. The scheme is part of the campaign to promote interest throughout the country in conserving wild life.

Theme of the campaign, sponsored by the Natural Resources Board, is "Conserve wild life-don't destroy-let's enjoy." By using the game, instead of through booklets, it is hoped the principles of conservation will be absorbed.

E A S T AFRICA WllO LIFE S O C I E T Y

Council Members and Oficers as at ! / 9 / 6 1

PRESIDENT: The Hon. S i r Alfred Vincent, M.L.A.

HONORARY VICE-PRESIDENT: General Sir Gerald Lathbury, K.C.B.,

D.S.O., M.B.E.

CHAIRMAN: * N. M. Simon Esq.

DEPUTY CHAIRMAN: * J. F. Lipscomb Esq., O.B.E.

SECRETARY: Mrs. 8. J. Guild

HON. TREASURER: 0. 5. Nesbitt Esq.

COUNCIL MEMBERS AND DlSTRlCf REPRESENTATfVES:

A. Davies Esq. * Armand Denis Esq. t S. Downey Esq.

A. Dyer Esq. Dr. P. E. Glover

$ C. C. Gray Esq. * Major I. Grlmwood * N. G. Hardy Esq.

Mrs. A. 1. Heal Major b. B. L. Hughes D. Ker Esq.

7 Dr. L. S. 0. Leakey Dr. J. C. Likirnani Lt. Col. 1. N. Nimmo

* L. M. Primrose-Wells Esq. * Major W. G. Raw

1. M. Richmond Esq. t Major 61. B. Sharpe, C.B.E.

Abdul Ghafur Sheikh * A. W. Tagart Esq.

* Member of Executive Committee t Trustee f District Representative

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER]DECEMBER I961

For your Library

BOOK R E V I E W S

"Safari R.S.V.P." by William D. Holmes. [W. H. Allen) 181-. M A N Y safari books have been written by

or about professional hunters. William D. Holrnes writes from thc point of view OF the lay cIicnt and for the many who dream o t safari but have no idea how to go about turning their dreams into reality.

FTc answers all those questions of detail that lrou ble anyone considering, however vaguely, the idea of a hunting safari in East Africa. What is the first step? (Write to a safari firm.) What information wilI they need? How to travel? What time of year is best? What vjsas are needcd? What does the safari firm actually provide? What personal kit is necded ? What about guns, and what are the regulations about importing them? In between, Mr. Holmes, like every other

hunter who writes a book, talks of the "big five" -lion, leopard, r h o , elephant and buffafo- with hunting anecdotes to support his nomination for the most dangerous big game animal.

The hook i s illustrated with photographs, mostly indifferent, of camps, tribesmen and trophies taken on Mr. Holrnes' own safaris.

"The Fisherman's Fireside book" cornpiIed by Clive Gammon (Heinernann) 211-. AN anthology for anglers to dip into on

quiet evenings, with anecdotes for every mood distilled troin tlre writings of great fisher- men. Its sections cover almost evcty form o f the sport-angling for salmon, sea-trout and trout, coarse fishng and sea-fishing-and range from the Itchen and Tweed to the fjiords of Norway and the coasts of New Jersey and

California, from a brjcf "big pike tale" written in 1747 to Bernard Vcnakle's thrilling account o f landing a 1,500 lb. sl~ark last year.

There are exciting descriptions of memnrable catches, and others of equally rne~norable escapes. There are nostalgic accounts of perfect, peaceful days. Theories on baits or fly-tying are worked out. And there is humour -a gentle fantasy of a paradise for deserving fishermen and a happy tale of Sir Harry Cauder's cncountcr with a great New Zealand trout.

"A Writer's Journal" by H. D. Thoreau. edited by Laurence Stapleton (Heinemann) 251-.

NEW selcction from the Journals of A~ncrica's A ratnous naturalist-philosopl~cr~ Henry David Thoreau-the original occupies 14 volumes. This day-to-day record of his life in the Ncw England woods includes many descriptions of forest walks by day and night. or watching the approach of dawn aner an all-night solitary walk.

Notcs of his observations on these rambles mingle with thoughts and inusings on life, lively anecdotes from his rustic neigllbours alternate with critical comment on great writers of the past. This selcction einphasises Thoreau as a writer-not a co~nmercially successful one in his own time, for one entry records the arrival of 700 copies of one of his own works, "remaindercd" from a print order of 1,000.

LGGorilla Mountain" by Jill Wordsworth (Lutterworthj 18/-. I N response to an advertisement for a n

unpaid gorilla watcher, Jill Wardsworth spent eiyht months on the slopes of the Busunga Volcanoes near Kisoro, in Uganda, searching for the creatures, showing them to visitors and trying-with small success-to photograph them.

Her book is no scientific report on tlre rare and inaccessible apes, but a light-hearted account of thosc months mostly spent high on a mountain in a bamboo hut in a bamboo forest in the pouring rain. She saw gorilla tracks and gorilla nests and ate gorilla food. Elephant, buffalo and safari ants were some of the hazards encountered, and when Miss Wordsworth was reluctant to approach a suspicious ape or venture into thcir narrow paths and tunnels in the bamboo, she was relentlessly prodded forward by the paprga of her guide, Reuben.

WILD LIFE. SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 1961 35

Serene. majestic. calm; this i s how most people irnagrne the "king of bmsts". But on a kill he can be somewhat less noble. Photo: C. A. W. Guggrsberg.

FARM 1 WONDER how many hrmcrs havc Biad the

opportunity to kccp a certain small portion of their land as a wild life sanctz~ary' From my experience I know o f several farmers who I-lave done so. and others wlio liave no defined area Tor wild lire proruction. b u ~ who jcal~lu~ly guard certain species or animal and -hid lik

SANC T UAR Y a. their land. Some aeonle do this because zhev themselves

F. G. SEED

Eike to sic tl;e fauna on their farms: and others, with an eye on thc Future. rcalisc that existing game in reserves and parks i s laced wit 1 1 destruc- tion as the demands of man and l ~ i s livestock and apiculture increase. Accordingly. these people are 1i~epin.e 0.7 tnanja ~vi l r l r ln i rrrn l ,~ 0.T

fheil. farnzi!t,q psocrires lw-ill nllnw. As an honorary gome warden, and member 1 have found. and no doubt others have loo.

that a very succcss~uI little sanctuary can be of this Society. rhe author has been trying to made at a water Elole or dam. Livestock can

use it as well, providing die game is contmlled impress on his neighbours the volue of game and not allowed to get out of hand. Ranclling

will not allow vast herds uf plains game. in

onfmols. He contends that it h poss~ble to particular zehra, and croppiAF of -these i s essential.

RuEdIo, on the other hand. not being plains farm and still keep some game, and this animals soon learn by the hard way to keep away from areas an a-mnch whcrc they are ndt

description of his own form proves his appreciated, and due to thcir being the hosts to particularly danprous ticks, the vectors of

contention. heartwater, anaplasmosis and East Coast Fever,

36 WILD L I F E , SEPTEMBERlDECEMBER 1961

large herds of these animals have to be moved or thinned out, and, as in my case, are forced to live in an area where their presence will present little risk to cattle.

I would say that the same applied to eland but they do not present such a problem as buffalo and are more easily driven away. The smaller antelope, I find, present no problem at all; and what can be more beautiful than to drive or walk along on a sunny evening, just before sunset, and to see a herd of these beautiful creatures ? Impala, and their like have a free range on this estate, but, sad to relate, during thc past 10 years T have noticed their numbers decreasing.

Waterbuck, althougll purported to be the carriers of anaplasmosis ticks, can very easily be restricted to a certain area, preferably near water or swamp-land. For those who can, and who wish to do it, a sanctuary will provide unlimited interest with facilities for photography, and at the same time give the game a small place where they can lie up and live without fear of humans.

The ideal site Perhaps I am more fortunate than others

as I havc an ideal place situated five miles from my house-a small permanent spring surrounded by tall fever trees, outside of which the rough, broken country is covered with very dense acacia pennata (01-girigiri) bush, wait-a-bit

Tf ie yome Iaokout I S n house rn o tall fever trer over look~ng the dam.

Rhinoceros arc olwoys t o be found on t h ~ s estate ~f searched for on foot. Photo: J. 8. Boultoo.

thorn and other scrub, containing only smalI glades of grassland and rocky scree. The area is also eroded with deep and rocky gulleys, mostly impenetrable due to the dense bush except along the trails made over the years by big game.

In these gulleys one can generally find by looking into the thickest bushy parts, not without caution, old buffalo bulls and rhinos who seek out these thickets i n which to lie up during the heat of the day. On three occasions 1 have come across pythons lying asleep in the bush. The vegetation is next to impossible to burn as there i s very little grass growing amongst the bushes.

However, what grass there is in the clearings is grazed by cattle seasonally, normally during the very dry season, as the presence of tsetse during the wet season precludes i t s use at that time.

The spring 1 have mentioned before has b.een led into a small dam of an acre in extent, making a permanent place for watering. The dam has been stocked with tilapia, this species of fish appearing to thrive very well there and we thus manage to get fresh fish for the table.

This particular area has for many years been noted for its big game potential, and despite some drastic thinning out which has at times taken place we stiIl have a balance. In one of the bigger fever trees overlooking the dam I built a small house which will allow four people to sleep there. This building is

W I D LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961 37

I5 feet above the ground and suitably carnoufiaged and roofed and the ascent is made by ladder.

Food is taken up and one normally prepares to see the game coming in to drink not later than just before sundown. I prefer a moon, when one can see clearly with or witllout binoculars. Otherwise a spotlight has to be used and this 1 find worries some of the animals. particularly lions.

Thc dry season, that is October to March, arc normally the best months, as water gets scarce. Durins the wetter months the animals spread out on the new grass and sprouting [eaves on the bushes. and get their watcr trom the numerous rain pools.

Records; of the game animals

During the two and a l~a l r years 1 havc heen operating thc farm game sanctuary. which, incidenlolly h:ir the yood will of the estate owners now in England bchind i t , I have scen the following animals of interest. (These are taken from the record hook kept for the purpose and filled rn hy all who visit the tree house.)

Rhinoceros 8 times. hut thcy are regular residents. and if looked for in rhe area on Fof l i can be found.

Lions 72 times; buffalo too orten to be counted; Elephants 10 limes, and on onc occasion a llercl or 56 and a herd of 24 all in one night: waterbuck (det'assa] at every visit:

impala. Kenya hartebeeste. eland. zebra. honey badsers. wild dogs (on onc occasion killing a bull watcrbuck and devtsuring it) warthog. giraffe, baboons and vervet monkeys. The latter are permanent residents. 1 I-iave seen the rare aardwolf. an occasional jackal and a wllite tailed mon_roase.

Tortoises nre regular visitors during the month of May, which seems to he their breeding season and on several occasions I have sccn anything up to six or tlicrn all together. Bird l if t is particularly varied, the cornmolier residents being dusky babblers, bush partridges. guinea Towl, robin cltats, hec calers, Egyptian geese. spur fowl. drongos, and recently ;I p:iir of fish cagles. 1 have seen, but not very ol'tcn. a saddlehill stark and a grey heron. Also numerous are blue-naped mt~use-hirdr; and star- lings; sand grouse are seen occasionally i n pairs.

It may scem to somc readers a little callous w l ~ c i ~ 1 say that 1 witnessed wild dogs killing and devouring a bull waterbuck. Apart E'roni i t being nature's own way O K keeping a halancc, there was tittle I could do, sitting where 1 was I5 Gcet above ground, and besides had 1 done so 1 would have been interferi ng with sclrncthi ng which is intended by nature. Tho cow watcrbuck and its calf cscaprd hy going right into the dam and lying wit11 their ilustriIs just awash u n t i l such time as the wild dogs ran off, when tliey made good their escapc.

For thc past six months 1 have had a pride of lions as regular visitors to the tree house, and E have llad wonderful fun watching thew

Buffalo are one of

the 'rbig fire" game

animals, and can be extremely dangerous if wounded. Here, on this Rumuruti farm, they can be seen "too

often to be counted".

C , . Photo:

C. A. W. tuggisberg.

38 WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBEREDECEMBER 1961

"Old Gomc Lrg' Ifkes Lo ear uJorre-h~~ IorusJ~rp lrrkes d~nne r . Photo: C.A. W. G u ~ ~ i s b e r g .

eating 15 feet below me. Tn the pride there is one very big, maned lion who is the leader, two big, but maneless, lions, several lionesses, and three fairirIy large cuhs. These lions can even be called aImost when required.

Occasionally the pride splits up, and they all go off hunting, the big fellow, though, prcfcrs to remain behind, i suppose, until one of llis pride calls him to say they have made n kill. I usually recall the lions to the tree house at daylight with my tape recorder, should any visitors wish te see them by day, and it is amusing to see the big fellow chasing his own roar, looking for the "other Iion" whom he imagines is intruding on his domain!!!

He is too lazy really to run, but rather waddles with his great belly swinging from side to side and with his mouth slightly open like a panting dog, "Old Game Leg" as my children call him, gets really puzzled as to the whereabouts of the "visitor". Whilst this is going on, his entourage follow him, equally puzzled. It really is an amusing and magnificent sight to see.

I muId write at length on the antics of these lions and other animals but it would take up

too much space It is astonishing though, what little notice the other game take of the lions, partjcularly the buffalo, wlro after drinking continue to Iie in a closely packed herd chewing the cud until dawn. There is sense in this, as the lions do their best to stampede them when there is more chance of pouncing on a buffalo calf or a heifer, so much more easy to kill than a bull.

Battle with t he buffaloes One night I witnessed the lions trying to kill

a buffalo cow. She had become detached from the herd. Apart from a sudden rush by two lionesses and the cubs and a gurgling sound like a domestic cow would make, there was little noise. A struggle could be clearly heard. Whilst this went on, the remainder o f the buffaloes, numbering 15, came as a solid phalanx at the lions and chased them away. On three occasions during the night they did this. The lions continued to eat their own original meal throughout thc night, and the buffaloes lay in a mob 60 yards away conten- tedly chewing the cud untiI morning. The big lion did his best throughout the night to frighten and stampede the buKaloes.

His method was to go round and round in the bushes, circling the bufraloes whilst he shook the night with his roars and grunts. Meanwhile the rest of the wide lav around at various strategic pIaces, going to feed in ones

Wart hogs, quaiat and comical, are among the interesting specimens so easily seen on this roologicol form. Photo:

C. A. W. Guggisberg.

Mother and chrldxen nnd the rest of the pride eat separately-they move off when tlre lord and master arrives. Pliota: C. A. W . Guggisber~.

and twos, One would wonder why, when rhese lions already had a meal they should botller to tackle a buIT:~!o? All I can guess is t Iial they rcscnted t Elc buKalocst presence or else they were anxious to teach 111e cubs how to kill.

That is the reason I am sure, why they occasionally go and hunt for their own food for a week or more. before returning to the tree llouse area. As T saw the next morning, no buffalo was found killed, but the marks of the tussle were quite distinct.

Lions' uncanny ventriloquism

Watching and listening to the pride, approaching, just before dusk is fascinating. The low grunts to one another. sometimes like a suppressed moan. very hard to place exactly. due lo the lions' uncanny powers as a venlrilo- qltist! The piercing crics of [lie hush partridges. guinea row1 and Egyptian geese. These sounds are sure signs that something is approaching!

Thcn the appearance, stealthily. or f i rs t one lion or lioness 20 yards from tlre rnefil. It lies down and studies 1 1 2 ~ sccnc before it, pricking ils cars to llcar better. and looking all around. When i~ is satisiied that no enemies arc near it slowly approaches its meal, and aftcr a low

moan to the others that all is clear, the lion begins to eat, working From hctwccn the hind l e y up to Ihc ribs.

As the others approach, sa the noise of snarling and purrin$ increases. When [lie lord and master of the pride walks up. thoueh. the others move off. "Old Gamc Leg" likes to eat alonc. and i T lhere is any inlrusion dlaing his meal hc dcals with it sevcrcly. H e is il noisy enter and possesses no manners at all! After his meal he wanders off. lies down and licks his paws clean.

He roars as he wanders about durin_e tllc nisht. The pride. still cnting. reply that all is well. Just before dawn llle big feilow comes back for a final meal. after wlricli he calls his family togetlier and we see them walking slowly off to the cover or thc surroz~ndinp hushcs wl~ere thcy will "sleep i t off" iuntil dusk nnce ayain apprwac~ics.

The cries or the hush partridges. as the lions pass near them, gives them away, and oncl can jud5c llow far they have 2nnt.. The dawn brings with it thc many songs of the birds, and all in all. a vcry interesting if sleeplesq night has once again heen spent in our tree liouse. watching sights. closc to au! homc. whiclr others wcruld I~avc to ~o many mile^ and probahIy pay a Io l to scc.

Ngorongoro Crater rs one of Tanganyrko's world-fornous gome and bcouty spots If you or? lucky yo11 moy sce Irons as ensrly hcre as anywhere In East Afrlco. Dove Bornett, who took thrs plcture, sow and photographed o prrde of 20.

AWAKENING PUBLIC OPINIC OF THE TANGANYIKA Nk

WILD LIFE, SEP~EMBER/DECEMBER 1961

ANGANUTKA has been fortunate in having an abundant and varied fauna

and although, over large parts of the country, the animals have been decimated during the last half century, there strll remain large tracts of country plentifully stocked with game.

Much of this land is of little agricultural value, has no human settlement and IS infested with tsetse. Already one large area (the Serengeti) and two smaller (Lake Manyasa and Ngurdoto Crater) have been established as National Parks.

More are needed if t b large country is to have sufficient land set as~dc in perpetuity, not only to cater for the future needs of its own inhabitants and Tor the potential tourist market, but also to provide sanctuary for all tllc important spccies of its animals. Thc essential bases-suflicient land and a wealth or animals-exist. It is now within Tangan yi ka's power to cstablislz for ever, and without great difficulty, an incomparable systcin of National Parks for its future needs.

Awareness of the present leaders

This is the first oFTanganyika's good fortunes. The second is that the present lcaders of the country are well aware of the ncccssity for wild life conservation and are sympathetic to it. But in a democratic country they cannot disregard public opinion and perhaps under- standahly the general public lags further behind thent in this t l ~an in probably any other field.

This is not surprising. Those struggling to scrape a bare living from the so11 seldom take a long-tcrin view. After all, it is only very recently that the more advanced nations have themselves woken up la the need for faunal conservation-and then only after they had destroyed all, or all but a fragment, of what they lmd to conserve.

There are also other special factors affecting African public opinio~r in Tanganyika.

(i) For centuries the African has depended on hunting for an important (and the most palatable) part of his diet. Before the

N TOTHEVALUE TIONAL PARKS

coming of the whte man and his destructive new methods of killing, man and the an~inals lived in balance and hunting was a legftimnte and honoured activity. I t still has the fuIl support of lrlbal tradition behnd it.

(ii) Since the white inan came, the African has seen him exterminate the game over large areas, partly for food, partly for sport, partly for gain and partly to protcct h s farms from deprcdation and from competitive grazing. Hc docs not see why hc sl~ould be stopped by llle white man from doing the same.

For instance, he fails to understand the equity of a law w h c h sentences him to a heavy term of imprisonment for killmg an animal for food on his traditlanal tribal hunting grounds, wli~lc it allows a visiting whitc man to slioot a nuinhcr or beasts on his land. For this and other rcasons. African thinking on game is often coloured by the racial issue.

(iii) In the original Serengeti National Park, human interests co-exrsted and confl~ctcd with thore of the animals. As fervid protagonists of thc lattcr, thc National

"The whole world envies us our Norionol Porks-we must be proud of them" is what you read in Swahili on t h ~ s coloured poster which the Zoological Society o f Frankfurt hos just

donated t o the Administration of Tanganyiko.

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

Parks came to he regarded by local opinion as being antagonistic to African interests. Because the Parks were used almost entirely by Europeans, they were regarded as being run cxclusiveEy in the interests of the white man.

Now there are, of course, perfectly understand- able reasons for much, if not aE1, of what has happened. But I, for one, doubt the advicahility, at this stage, of any sustained effort to argue the rights and wrongs of the past. As the Arabs say, el j u t mar-the past is dead. Let us concentrate on the futusc recognising that what has gone before casts its shadow along the path ahead-that wc have not only to awaken public opinion, but to changc it.

Time is short and the means are limited. A campaign on a broad front is ncither feasible nor likely to be cffcctive. Those in daily contact with animals, wl~etlzer they are persons whosc crops arc raided by elephant or hunters hungry for mcat, are stony soil for propaganda.

But these are in the minority and their attitudes can be influenced only by action- adequate control of animals raiding crops and ct'rective measurcs to limit poaching. Tt i s lo the others, particularly thc leaders a t all levels of society and thc coming generation of leaders, that the main approach must bc made.

The five themes

Tn making this approach there are five themes to be plugged-possession, pride, profit, pleasure and posterity (to bowdlerize Sir Julian PIuxley)*-

possession-the Parks helong to the people of Tanganyika and arc run primarily for their benefit and not merely for the white man; pride-in the national heritage of their Parks which are world famous; pro$b-from the tourist trade, still with its potential barely assessed ; pleasure-in seeing the animals, which figure so largely in African folk-lore, in their naturaI state; posterity-the desirability of preserving re- presentatives of the many animals which are Africa's heritage for their children and their children's children to see. We regard the inculcation of these idcas as

the most important of our objectives. Not only is it vital to the survival and future development

o t the National Parks, but also, we belicve. we have a very rcal duty to the peoplc of this country t o make them aware of thc economic and cuItural benefits to thcm of their Parks, so that t l~ey do not misuse nor waste this unique asset.

The intention is, therefore, to tackle this problem as effectively and immediately as funds will permit. As the first step, wc have made a f i lm in Swahili directed to ATrican audiences. In it wc have tried to get across the purpose and value of National Parks.

Fi rs t of several films

We hope that this will be the first of scvcral and that we sllall learn to make them progress- ively more cffcctive. The cost is considerable, being some &3,000 for each film, lasting half an hour, wilh the necessary copies for showing locally.

Following the Jead givm us by fhe K~nyla Wild Life Socie/y, we are setting up an lnrorma- lion Unit to show these and othcr suitable films. Tt will be equipped with a mobile projector and will he in charge of a trained African who will tour scl~ools, agricultural shows, community ccntres and other gatherings, giving lectures on the National Parks. The unit will be equipped wit11 a varicty of visual aids and the Social Development Dcpartinent have very kindly agreed to be responsible for training and supervision.

This first unit has heen finalaced by the generosity of the Munitalp Foundation. To cover the country adequately, several of these units are required, but the capital cost of thc vehicle and equipment is approximately f 3,500 and tlie recurrent cost of running is about £1,500 per annum.

Thanks t o the generosity of the Frankfurt Zoological Society, we have been ablc to publish an eye-catching poster in Swahili carrying the words "Our National Parks are the envy of the world-be proud of them." The second is in the course of prcparation with the slogan "Our National Parks bring good money into Tanganyika-preserve thein." More arc needed.

Tllc vast majority of visitors to National

(Continued on page 54)

* The scientific value oF National Parks is probably too r as is also thc idea Ihat Tnnganyika owes i t to the rest ol

Fmotc a concept to hc got across with much cffect at present mankind to prcserve a world asset.

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER 1961

IDENTIFICATION SERIES NO. 6

This is a regular feature to help you identify animals which you might otherwise have difficulty in recognising. Keep this series: together they they will make up a valuable reference Ilbrary.

T H E Spiral-Horned Antelopes are all members of the sub-family Tragelaphinae.

As the name suggests, all members have the horns twisted to varying extent, some with a twist or spiral groove curving round the straight horn, others with a definite corkscrew twist to the whole horn. These antelopes are amongst the most handsome members of the family and are greatly prized as trophies by hunters.

The group has been divided into two parts for convenience, and three species are described in this issue, while the remaining three will he described in the next issue.

1. BONGO. Boocercw eurycerus (Ogilby). Description

General colour reddish-brown, but paler in females and often much darker in males

BONGO

(to very dark brown). Crest of hair along the back. White markings consist of a band between the eyes, patches on each cheek, lips and chin, crescent around front of throat just above chest, about 12-I3 stripes (some- times faint) down side of body, patches on inside and front of limbs, fringes in cars. Tail tufted.

Horns Present in both sexes (the horns of the

males are thicker). Slightly twistcd, they curve very gently backwards, then upwards and inwards with the tips paler, like ivory. A good head reaches almost t h e e feet (record is 394 inches on curve).

Size The largest of the forest antelopes, reachng

four feet at the shoulder and weighing over 500 Ib.

Distribution Occurs ovcr much of the forested areas in

n belt from Sierra Leone, in West Africa, through the Congo to its eastern limit in Kenya, where it is found in some of the denser forest areas in the rcgion of the Rift Val ley. Rarely seen.

Habitat Dense forest and bamboo thckets,

Habits A shy, nocturnal antelope, rarely seen.

Often in small herds but sometimes solitary, especially males. Browscs on leaves, roots, twigs, etc; very fbnd of certain seasonal herbs. Very keen sense of hearing.

2. BUSHBUCK. Truxelaphus scrs;llaus ((Pallas).

Description Very similar in colour and markings to the

bongo, females Light reddish-brown and males usually much darker, sometimes almost biack. White markings vary in individuals and locality but are usually conspicuous in females, not so obvious in males, especially old bulls. White on face and neck similar to bongo with additional patch high up on throat but lacking the broad band between the eyes. Body stripes (more conspicuous in females), inside of Icgs, and underneath of short, bushy tail, white. A broad collar of very short hair around base of neck and a crest of hair along back.

Horns Present in males only, almost straight with

a decided twist along the length, relatively short (record is 215 inches along curve).

Size A medium-sized antelope standing just

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMRER 1961

BUSHBUCK

under three feet at the shoulder and weighing from approximately I00 Ih. (Tcmalcr t c ~ almost 150 Ib. (male).

Distri hution Very widespread in Africa, common over

much of East Ati-ica in suitable localities. There are many races extending froin Senegal, in Wesr Africa, eastwards to Abyssinia and southwards to Sourh Africa. covering most of the continent.

Habitat Varied, but nevcr away from cover. Found

in bush. cultivated areas and forest, from sea-level to mountain Forest and moorland.

Habits Nocturnal. Normally a solitary antelope.

sometiines seen in small family parties. Browses on bushes. leaves. fruits. etc., o f~cn raiding cultivation. Inclined to attack wl~en wounded. Loud harking caIl sometimes made, especially during the night. Starts to feed at early duqk. earlier on very dull days. The tail i s raised when the animal is alarmed. exposing the white underneath. Never very far from water. usually keeping to a perma- nent territory.

3. SITATUNGA. Lirnnotrgu,~ xpekii (P. L. Sclater).

in mates, reddish-brown in remales. White markings include a band between the eyes (like bongo), markings on throat and some stripes and spots on flanks and hind quarters (more obvious in feniales), rr ings on inside of wide ears. Shnrl tail, white bencath. Un- usual I~ooves, greatly elongated ibr walking on swampy ground, with large lateral hooves. Space between these and tlie true hooves is naked.

T-lorns Present in males only, like t l ~ c bongo.

with pale tips, but more twisted and relatively longer and more sltndcr.

Size Ahout fos~s Tcei at the shoulder but mnre

IigRtIy built than the bongo. weighing a maximum of about 250 Ib.

Distribution Through the centre o f the African continent.

from t h e Cameroons eastwards through tlie Sudan and then southwslrds to the Zarnheqi, in suitable localities. In East Africa occurs round shores of Lake Victoria and near Mt. Elgon.

cbarse, long hair. coloured brownish-grey SlTATUNGA

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBERSDECEMBER 196 1 45

Habitat swimmers, they will lie in water up to their Swamps and dense reed-beds, along rivers eyes and nostrils when alarmed. Sometimes

and Sake shores. Habits make a deep but indistinct bark. The

Nocturnal and solitary. Rests during thc unusually long hooves are suited for walking day in thick reeds, feeding at night. Good in soft swampy ground.

CHRISTMAS CARDS 1961 Sale of the Society's Christmas Cards helps ou r funds enormously. A cho~ce of six uniquely beautiful

cards are now availabje. CARD No. F . Leopard in a tree (Dee., 1960 Wild Life cover). All in full colour. Price I/- each including envelope. CARD No. 2. Elephants under Kilimanjaro (Sept., 1960 Wi ld Life cover}. Al l in full colour. Price I/- each i nc lud ing envelope. CARD No. 3. Young lion with kilr (March, 1959 Wi ld Life cover). All in full colour. Price 11- each including envelope. CARD No. 4. Caracal (March, I960 Wild Life cover). All in full colour. Price I/- each including envelope. CARD No. 5. Malachite KingFisher (June, 1960 Wi ld Life cover). All in full colour. Price I / - each including envelope. CARD No. 6. Pride of lions at waterhole. Black and white. Price 60 cents each with envelope,

A price reduction of 10 per cent w i l l be made to Members order ing direct from t h e Society's Of ices 100 cards o r more at one t ime (Please quote Membership number). State very clearly your name and address, how many of each card, and include postal order, cheque, or cash for the right amount plus a reasonable sum f o r postage, statrng surface or airmail.

Al l orders to the Secretary, P.O. Box 201 10. NAIROBI.

46 WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMEMBER 1961

CHILDRENI'S SECT1

'THE WILD LIFE OF TODAY IS NOT OURS TO

DISPOSE OF AS WE PLEASE; WE MUST ACCOUNT

FOR IT TO THOSE WHO COME AFTER'

-HIS MAJESTY KING GEORGE VI

Dear Junior Members.

Thank you for your continued contributions to this section. The bird and animal described for you this time are both weird and perhaps bad1 y named, for the Wood This is really s stork and the Crested Rat is not a true rat at alt !

Our congratulation^ to Miclrael Robson for the observant descriptinn of birds at his school, and to Fern Cliampion for her arresting drawing. on page 54, which recaptures all t h e instinctive vitality of wild creatures struggling for their existence.

WOOD ERE is an interesting mixture of a bird!

It is called an 'Ibisi but it really is not one: it I~as the habits or a spoonbill and is really a stork!

The Wood Ibis is not at first gIance unlike the European stork wlich visits East Africa in large nuinbets every year be~ween September and May, in that it is a tall stork-like bird with black and wllite plumage.

It can im~nediately be distinguished by its lar~g tapering ycllow bill which is very slightly curved dowiiwards towards its tip. That of the European stork is, of course, sornewlxit shorter and is sed-coloured. In addition, the Wood Ibis has a patch or hare red skin around tlic bill. on the head, as yo11 can see i n the illuslration.

The Wood Ibis is well-distributed throughout East Africa and i s commonly seen on the Rift

VaEley lakes and sometimes at the Coast. It stands solemnly in the sliaFlow water. lookinp rather likc a "hunched-hack" Marahou Stork.

I t feeds on fish. rrogs and any insects i[ finds in the water. When carcliing its rood it stands quite still, its bill half open with its tip below the surface of the water; when same prey comes along, there is a quick sllort jab and the hill snaps tight over the unfortunate creature. When in flight the neck and feet are outstretched in t h e manner of most storks.

When diving down from a Iieight, the air

WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBERIDECEMBER (961

passing through their wing feathers often makes a loud roaring and swishing noise. Apart from this, the Wood Ibis is quite a silent bird, only occasionally uttering a squeaky honk. When young, however, and still on the nest, they make a continual nasal cry.

Perl~aps the Wood Ibis looks its best at Lake Nakuru, when its black and white plumage stands out against the luscious pinks and reds of the flamingos.

D. K. B.

CRESTED RAT I N the forest country along both sides of tlze

Rift Valley ju Kenya there exists a little- known rodent which is found only there and in similar country farther north. These creatures are called Crested or Maned Rats (the scientific name is J,opJniomys iheauus).

There are many of these animals in the forest but they are: seldom seen as they are noctur11a1 and slow-moving. They are quite large for a rodent, being about the size of a rabbit, and have a very strange appearance.

There is a wide crest of long hair along the back which can be erected. On each side of this crest is a horizontal parting with short, coarse vellowish hair and then below this is more iong hair.

The hair of the crest and on thc sides is black tipped with white, with a soft whitish under-fur showing through, so that the general coIouring of the animal seems to be silver and black. The tail is about half the length of the body and covered with long hair which is white at the tip.

The crested rat is not a true rat and does not behave like one. It waddIes along the ground with no panic and does not seem to he aware of any dangers. Although it can climb, it does not seem to like doing so.

Tt feeds on fruits, leaves and other vegetable matter. Tt is easy to tame owing to its fearless naturc and slow movements, so it makes an ideal pet with suck easy reeding (in captivity it eats most vegetables, fruits and bread). But, until it is really friendly. watch out! I t has good teeth and can give a hard bite.

There is usually only one young born a t a time and it looks very like a baby hedgehog, with a covering of thick, spiny hairs. T f she is

disturbed, the mother will pick up the baby in her mouth and carry it to a safer placc.

.> 'b

f .A. BllRD LIFE AROUND M Y SCHOOL $ .;. THERE are many different species of .:. .:.

El birds around here. Some of the 2

& birds we get are: firefinches, grey wood- $ $ peckers, spotted rock pigeons, streaky -:.

2. + seed-eaters, bul buls, starlings, flycatchers, .;. $ malachite and scarlet-breasted sunbirds, $ black thoated barbets and robin-chats. 4.

A friend o f rnfne and myself have found the nests of most of there birds. About a 8

:I: fortnight ago we found t w o baby streaky r. .:. 2 seed-eaters which we kept for about ten .:. + days, then quite suddenly they died. .:. .:. $ The most interesting of these birds i s f the flycatcher, which is the smallest one

I have ever seen. It is very interesting t o watch it darting out of trees after

2 insects. One once flew on to somebody's :: F, shoulder after some insects. It is a duskv ? , .:. ;I: brown colour w i th whiskers on i ts beak. *:. It is about t w o inches Tong ali over. We 4:. .:. haven't found i ts nest yet. .f

.f.

The robin-chat has a very beautiful song +:+ f. + .:. which one sometimes hears it singing ,:. s f r om some high perch i n the early morning. .** .I When calling i t s mate o r young it has a o .> 5. sort of croaking noise. .:. 2 When the young birdr f irst get the i r **. g feathers they are a browny col;our w i t h an

orange tail and orange markings on the + a:. brown. f. .:. .:. .:. MICHAEL ROBSON, v:. A .'. .:. Pernbroke-House, GiFgil, Kenya. 2, -..

The speokers who took part rn the ceremony. From left t o right: Sir Alfred Vincent. Choirman of the Trustees: Srr Potrrck Renrson, Governor of Kenyo: ond Jason Ole Sein,

Vice-Choirmon of the Koliodo A.D.C., seen speuking

BEFORE reading this article, will you please look ot the colour centre spread which

shows the rnognificent setting of Amboseli. The impressive ceremony which marked the form01 handing over of the National Reserve to the Mosoj was held under the yellow thorn trees outside the camp at 01 Jukai-a scene fomilior to thousands of tourists all over the world.

This. then, i s the priceless heritage which has been entrusted t o the Masoi ond if they continue to adopt their policy of "live and let live*' there is no cause for worry.

The speeches of His Excellency the Governor of

Kenya. Si r Patrick Renison, the Vice-Chairman of the Kajiado African District Council, Mr . Jason Ole Sein, and the Choirman of the Notional Porks of Kenya, Sir Alfred Vincent, ore reproduced verbatim on the following pages ond express the views ofthe Government of Kenyo, the Masai of the Kajiado District and of the Royal National Porks of Kenyo.

N. G. H.

M A S A I T R I B

AMBQSEL I

Formal handing-ove

The Chairman or tlie Trus~ees ol' the Roya! National Parks of Kenya. Sir Alfred Vincent. said :

A M glad to have this opportunity of addrrss- I ing some remarks to nienibris of tile Kajiado African Distr ict Council and of the local Section Council in the dist ingui~hed presence o f Your Eaccllcncy and ~ n i o r members o r t h e Kenya Gnvcrnmcnl.

A~nboseIi has bccn tl i ldcr lhc cf i r~ nl' tfic trusrees of the Roy11 Nal iunal Parks ol* Kcuya since 1948. When we firs1 acuepltd certa~n responsibilities l'ur t lie preserva~ior! 01' wild animals in this area there w:ts some conrusio~i and misundmstandin_~ ar to what WT jntendpd lo do. Some local Masai t h o u y l ~ t it was thc first step towards taking Folne o f their land away.

It is now obvious Iiow inuorrcct this was. Others thoupllt that il would mcan t l ~ t prohi- bition of any cattle in 01 Tukai. I( musl also now be clear how false were rlitse rek~rs.

On the other hand. what tlie truslccs r>T tl ie Natioi lal Parks have endeavoured 10 do is to show tlie Masai I ~ o w to preserve the wild l i f e OF this area. how to protect the vegetation and srazing, and l l ow 10 h o w i t to people from all over the world. Tn (he process or doin2 so. some people gnincd t h c impression. perhaps, that we were inclincd l o he r~nneccxsarily restrictive. especially in times nf scvurc. drougli t when cattle had l i t t le to eat or drink.

Wc havc now arrived a t tlie posilion where Amboscli, as i t is 9ene1-ally called. is known to thousands. perltaps mi l l ionr of people in many countries r>r 11-1~ world as one of the nlost sprctacolar game arcas anywhere in Africa.

TAKES OVER

A M E RESERVE

ceremony at 01 Tukai

It has afiracted visitors and tourists from far and near, and tlze wild animals have htcn pliotograpl~ed many thousands of times.

All these visitors spend a great deal o f money in Kenya; in s h o p and hotels. with travel operalors, and in h y i n g souvenirs. Tlais money is not paid to tlie Nationat Parks, but it is a very important Factor in bringing money to Kenya. I n otlier words, the Masai have here an asset of very great value and we are proud oft he part the National Parks organisat ion has played in bringing it to ~ t s present stage.

We havc always passed on to the Kajiado African District Cam~cil some of the revenue derived directly from people visiting An~boseli. Over he pcriod of our control, we have paid a tola1 or 110.900 shillings or the eql~ivalent of about 1,100 cattle.

Moreover, the Governmcn t, and evert some private people. have conlri butcd money and services which have enabled us to provide the buildings. roads and the additional watering points which are now being taken over by the Masai as part o f the great asset t h a t has heen created during the past twelve ycars.

1 waiit to thank t h e Masai for their co-opcra- lion and support, which in recent years has been so evident. particularly through the Disls~ct Council and Scction Council and in rnalters or management, through the committee of elders appointed by lhc Warden. 1 am glad that you have recognised Major Taberer's great ability, knowledge and enthtrsiasm. by asking to have the henefit oS liis servicts by continuing as Wardcn.

I am sure everyone will agree with me i n paying trihute to Major Taberer for his vcry succcssrul management of Ambosefi in face or considcrahle difficulties, which lias rcsul led in

Ktl~rnar>joro wttl? ~ t s footh~lls, r rws , snowcr~pped und rrrojesllc. out of the plorns as port of the eternnl bnckground to thr

Game Reserve

such a fine acltievement. The control of A~nboseli is k i n g handed over to the African District Council today.

1 know that the committee in charge will encounter many problems, as we havu in thc past, and ii will find lliat ~ h c contra[ OF a wild lifc arca recluircs great patience. skill and technical knowludge. 1 trust that the ATrican Distric! Council will readiIy accept their responsibilities and that they will direcr t h e ~ r policy with wisdom and caution.

I would like to assure the Masai that the trustees and their oficers will Re very willing to give advice whenever it may be required. and should the Masai at some later stage, dccidc that Amboseli could derive more security lion1 official international recognit ion. t l lc trustees will be willing to assist En obtaining such recognition.

It now only remains for me to thank you, Sir. for being present here today. and to thank the Masai for ahek co-operatien over the years, and Finally to wish them all success in tlie manage- ment of one of the most important big game and tourist attractions in the world.

WILD LIFE, SEPXMBERIDECEMBER 1961

His Excellency the Governor o f Kenya. Sir Patrick Rcnison, said:

I A M very pleased to have been nskod to take part in this important ceremony today 01' the

handing ovcr of thc Arnboseli Nat~onal Reserve by the irustees of thc Royal National Parks to the Kajiado African District Council. 1 am more pnr~icularly pleased because ever since 1 arrived in Kenya I have personally taken a gea t interest in the preservation ol' gartie and in the policy of encouraging Africans to care ror and profit by t l ~ e game in their areas.

I should like to recall to you something which I said wlien 1 addressed you in full baram in July a year ago. I said lhcn thal 1 w ~ s pIeased to hcas thai your African District Council desired a closer intcrcst in same and 1 s5sured you that I would conzintic disctnsions with the Minister for Touris~n, Forests and WiId Lirc ta find ways whereby we could show the Masai t l~u l game could he as vaIuable as herds 06' catllc and i n addit~cln he or grcater benrfit to thc country as a whole.

I sliovld like to congratulate you on the fact that only one year latcr wc are able to meet here today to hand over to your carc this in~rnensely valuable game area.

The chairman of the trustecs. Sir Alfred Vincent. has told you of llic work which the Royal National Parks have done here since 1948 and I should like to congratulate the trustccs and to thank them and their officers on behalf of the Governnlent for their great achievements. I should also like to associate myself with his renvasks reparding Major Taberer and 1 a m plcased to lcnrn that you will he having the ndvantaee of his continued senice as Ward.cn.

Am boseli's world renown

Sir Alfred also mentioned the position of world renown which Amboseli l ~a s now reached and how it has become almost a household word because of films and television. Other African District Councils are setting up Game Reservcs which will be of henefit both to tl~crnsclvcs and to the Colony as a whole; but thcse other Councils are starting rrom the beginning whereas you arc taking over a concern which is not only running and thriving bur which is known tliroughou~ thc world.

But you are doing more than taking over a thriving concern: it is a kind oS trust. since the world a t large as well as the pcoplc of Kenya will anxiously watch the future management

and progress of Amhoseli. 1 feel sure thitt ynir are aware of this grcat responsibility and that you are willing and able to follow thc splendid example which the tri~stees and thejr officers have shown you.

I must. however, sound a ward o f warning. Ambosel i's world renown is based on two rnam asset$-its same and the splendour or this mount nil^. Kilimanjaro. Of its game thc rhinr)s art, pc r l~~ps . t l ~ c most importanr hccausc of tlreir lameness and willingnesq to I7c pl~oro- graphed.

R u t there is a danger that one of these assets, t l ~ c rhinos, may dkappear. I have been informed that this ycar very many or them havc heen illegally killed for tlicir Iirwns, IT lhcsc rliinos d~sappearcd cn~ircly Amhost.li would low z i i~c l~ of itr :~ltractinn ror tourists.

'Take stern measures . . . ' Each animal therefore is w o n h many thou-

sands oF shillings to you and 10 your Councit il' i t remains allve: hut dead it i s xvortl~ only a few shillings to the s e l l i~ l~ and rnisurahtc poachers who killed it. I hopc Lhcrctmc~rc that you will l ake the sternest measures to prevent a n d stamp oui this illegal theft of'your assets.

1 would also likc tcl make known your wirdom alld co-eperatian in passing by-laws to conservu game In tlke West Chyulu and Kitengcla areas. The rorrner is a game scservoir for your own Reserve of Arnboself and the latter is a vital reservoir For tllc Royal Nairohi National Park. one of' the modcrn wonders o f the world.

This park is as famous as your Amboseli and gives pleasurc to thousands and thousnnds of people O F all races Recau.~c nf its unicltic position within a few rninutesVide of the centre or the cily of Nairohi. But this park has the smallest area of any game park i n Africa and js therefore entirely dependent on tlre Athi and Kapiti Plains for pasture La help its gra7ing herds of game.

Your co-opcratinn in passing hy-laws to preserve the srntus y ~ r o of these plains is very greatly apprcciatcd by everyone,

12 remains for me now to hand over to you the safe-keeping and Future development OF the Masai Arnhnscli Game Reserve as il is to he called. Wc are all anxious that it will continue to prospcr and you can be assured that the Govern~nent wilt help and advise yalt in any way it can.

The attraction of Arnboseli lurgely centres round the ease with which it Is possible to pboto~roph some of the really bfg game. Here tourists photogmph an oblrging elephant

The Vicc-Chairman of the Ka,jiado African District Council said:

I WOULD first of al! like to welcornc you all today to Masailand and to say l ~ s w pleased

1 am you have come lo the inauguration of the Masai Arnboseli Game Rescrvc, (he manage- ment or wl~ich has been handed over to the Kajiado African District Council today.

On behall' o r the African District Council I would like to exprcss our tlwnks to thc trustees, director and stam of the Royal National Parks Ibr the way they have built up tlris Reserve to give it the world-wide reputation it has today. We have not always seen eye to eye with tl-iem but we aIways discussed our differences arnicabl y and we always did our best to co-operate in the conservation of game.

We aIso appreciate the work done by Major Taberer as Warden and appreciate h i s l~clp in providing cattle watering points and for the personal services such as medical attention he gave to local Masai. We are pleased and grateful he is to be permitted to continue as Warden of the Reserve.

We are gratefu!, too, to your Excellency. for carrying out your promise to us last July to discuss means with the Minister whereby we, the Masai. could derive :I greater financial benefit from Ihe game which wc have a lway~

livcd alongside in our district, sllaring our grazing and nus walcring points. although tllc game has sometimes re-acted unkindly in stealing the occasional cow or Foal. We are grateful to you and to the Ministry Ibr this opportunity. not only to buntlit linancially but to sl~ow that we always have adopted the policy of' "live and let live'' so far as game is. concerned and that we mean to continue aliis policy and even. if possible, irnprovc on it.

We can see that in game and tourism we have a valuable addition to our District revenire and, in a year such as this. when so many ol' our cattle have died and when faminc is abroad and when wc are in desperate need 01. revenue for our day-to-day expenses, we appreciate every cent we can obtain.

We realise, too. that the Royal National Park o f Nairobi i s complementary to the Amboseli Reserve and that tourists coming to visit the one will also visit the orhcr. We have Illerefore co-opcrated in giving vazi ng access to the plains game which migrates between tlze Atlli and Kapiti Plains and the Nairobi Park.

On the otlaer hand, we are a cattle people and cannot live entirely on the proceeds of tourism. We want lo leave suitable areas l'or game hut to develop suitahle areas as ranchcs. I t is important

that we provide grazing and water for our people in suitable arcas sa that we call b c ~ i n to show them t h a ~ tlrey should settle down in family groups instead OF the nomadic l i fe they now fotlclw which brings disaster in time of drouyl~t. Only. too. in t h i s way can we educate our people to care for the land and prevent large-scale erosion.

Ru t to carry out this prosramme meeds money. We do not require a lot of money Tor agricultural dcvclopment. a? little of our land is su~tahll: for cultivntioi~ but we do require large Iiums to reclaim grazine paskure and instal wares supplies, and to sel up ranches. We think we can succeed in running Amboseli and in developing it rt~rther but we realice that wc shall: require Govctnmcnt's advice and financial help for a con5idcrahle time to come,

I t wiIl bc one or nur tirst aims to put perma- nent ruads in the area as the prcsent dusty m c k s art. scarcely tolerable lo t l ~ c vegetation, the Fame and, lnOFt important. the paying visitors.

We need financial help, too, for education. We will have In train our young men to run Amhoseli, hu t how can we do this if we have not the men availalrlc with the education necessary to undertake this training?

Wt. want educated Mawi youth. too. to go on Ibr further education in the bninchts of science which make a study of flora and Cauna. All this needs cash and our coKccrs have been sadly depleted by drou~ht . Wc hope the Governnlent will keep tli~s vcry mucll in mlnd. as only a sat istied prosperous prople will happily and

whoieheartedly care for the game whirl? is so important Tor attracting foreign visitors.

We want to help wit11 p n w . Wc need the Government's help for nursclves and !hen we can aIl livc happily together.

Arain J thank Your Excellency for coming here today lo ~naugurate this important venture. We hope we can keep faith with shc trustccs and carry on the Iegacy they are handing over to US.

We shall always welcome their help and advice.

Rhino {below) and elephant [above) might almost be described as 'domestic" at Arnbsefi, so common ond co-operatire are they i f never harmed

T *+?

a A

WILD LIFE. SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961 53

This year our game needs all the help you can give. There must be more

T H E object or this rund i s to provide mclrc safcty and more security for the wild

animals thal inhabit t h e arid National Parks nt' Kenya. In the 8.000 square miles of tlic Tsavo Royal National Park, Tor example. water is very scarce and only about 10 pcr cent of 11ic grwinp and vegetation is near cnnugh to pe rn ian tn~ rivcrq to hc of use in dry wcarhur.

The elephants, the rhinos. the htrlfaloes and other animals :ire ~herc lhre ct?mpelled to move out of t l ~ u 1'ai.k in scarch or fond and watcr whcre 121uy cn5ily fa l l victim lo the poisonud arrow5 rrl' the pilachers, or have to be shot as a penalty l'or drpredation of cmps. More wanur in their sanctuaries wil l hclp thcni to survive.

When I opened tl~is fund some years a_go 1 did not expect that alI the Pow country in Kcnya would sr) soon bc suhjbjcczcd to thc worst drought on record, I t is rntrst I'nrtunare that some money lras already been made av:tilahlr for the imniediatc relief of hardship. and also to start nn lonpmngc plans.

Over £30.000 llns been received. f70.000 is still needed. Three boreholes are already pilmping watcr out inlo parched areas. Nine morc rirt bcing drilled. Fivt drinking trouglls I'rom existing pipelines are In use. A hiq schenie to pump water from the Sa'baki River into the eastern section of the Txavo Royal

National Park is uitdcr construction. well^. catchment dams and othcr schcmc5 arc ;11cu in hand.

Thc wild animal5 of the Royal Natinnal Parks OF Kenya salulc all tlicir kind rricnds in many countries who arc piviny tl icm wntcr and :1m~rding !hem protcclion I'rom starvation and poadlcrc. On thrir hehiilf I thank nlF the ~ u p p o r t c n aT ~ h c Water fr>r Wild Animals F.'II n d .

MERVYN COWIE. Dircctrrr.

The Kpnj-n IVild Li/r Sr~rierj- hrrs becr~ n.s.~orirrr~~l wflh rlw If7urct~ ]or l,lTi/d A 11[11tfi/.v Tt/rr(/ .virtc[> iis in ib~pt io t~ , nt~d in ,firc~ opi~tl~(1 tite / i ~ t i d wi f l t (J

xifi 01 $500 nn hchnlf 01 its ~~e~~ . lnhrr s irr 1959. The n r ~ d to . F I I J I J ~ ~ T I I I I P lim~i i v even gr.rPnttJr. !ol/(rj~ 111 Q ~ I ir I ~ Y I . ~ ft~en, ar~d 11-P 111 c r ~ f twe qyper~! frr all nt/r mrmhrr.~, nnil ~ l i n s i ~ i-c.rrc/i~rs o/' I f 'iirl Lifp, J ~ I O l t ~ ( ~ y !tot hp tr1et17Iwr.v ( I { .Sor;rt~-, to slrppnri 111 i.7 itnnr~l!jh rnllxr n , ~ ~ ~ I P ~ O L / . F / ~ US

p~~.~.Fihlt,. Errn t h ~ srt~nlltar rc~tirr-ilwrirrrrs 1r.111 be npprcriared nnrl cnrr IIP I I S C ~ p snc l~ l r t i~c l~ .

Subscriptions should he scnt to: The "rl'ater for M'ild Animals Fund,

Royal Kafional Parks of Kenya, P.U. Hox 2076.

NAI RORl.

NEW ROAD MAP

WE have recently seen a copy ul' the latcsr Cnltcx sectional road map of Tan~any ikn.

For those who Iiave to do any amount of safari work in East Africa. and particularly those fairly new to the country who travcl long distance5 t o see ant1 photopaph wild animals. i l l i s map wi l l hc a boon.

Price is I!- from any Caltex Service Station.

CENTRE SPREAD

This month's picture i s of a herd of elephants under Africa's highest mountain, Kilirnan- jaro, in Tanganyika, taken by Des Bartlett of Armand Denis Productions. Reprints, carefully packed in cardboard for protection, can be had for:-

Shs. l l ? S each, post free, local addresses Shs. 3;- each, post free, foreign addresses 45 U.S. cents each, post free. addresses in CI.5.A. Cash with order please direct to the publishers:

E.A. Newspapers Ltd.. P.O. Box 9010, Nairobi, Kenya.

54 WILD LIFE. SEPTEhIBER/DECEMBER 1961

Tanganyika Parks (from page 42)

Parks in the past have been Europeans and visitors from abroad. Mr. Rene Bere, until recently Director of the Uganda National Park, to whose thinking on this subject we owe so much, has long stressed the importance of getting the Iocat people into the Parks so as to dispel any feeling they may have that the latter are run only for white men.

Visits of parties of schoolchildren and Chiefs have therefore been arranged to all the National Parks and only finance prevents us from extending invitations to cover all senior scliools in thc area. Prizes have also been awarded for essays in the schools on subjects connected with National Parks.

Other media of influencing public opinion, including the Press, are being used and provided we get enough money to do all that we would like to do, we are confident that the overall result will be a very marked awakening of interest in the National Parks, an effective measure of support for our objectives, and a real chance of making the Africans themsetves anxious to savc the wild life of Tanganyika from extinction.

It is easy to he cynical about the effectiveness of propaganda. Xt is also easy to underestimate the power of l l ~ c right approach in this country.

Great emphasis has been placed in the world outside on the fact that the Parks are a world asset. We feel very strongly, therefore, that we are justified in looking to the rest of the world to help us in our task.

This can be done in two ways. First by

providing us with the financial means for propaganda which are essential to success. And, second, by helping us to build up a thriving tourist industry, on which both the future of the Parks and the valihty of our propaganda so Iargel y depend.

Without this help the long-term survival of the National Parks cannot be assured.

SECRETARY BIRD AND PREY by

Fern Champion

MEMBERSHIP Tf you believe in the preservation o f our wild animals, why not join the Society now?

The rollowing are the different classes of membership: Life Membership : Benefactor . . . . .. . . . . . . . . £1,000 $2,X00.00 Patron . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £ 500 $1,400.00 Donor . . . . . , . . . . . . . . £ 100 % 280.00 Corporate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 % 140.00 Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . & 25 $ 70.00 Annual ~ e n k r s h i ~ : Supporting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . £ 10 $ 28.00 Contributing . . . . . . . . . . £ 5 $ 14.00 Double(~usbandhife) . . . . . . . . . . Shs. 501- S 7.00 Ordinary . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Shs. 301- S 4.50 Junior {under 18 years) . . . . . . .. Shs. 10f- tfi 1.50

All iaquiri~s: The Secretary, Kenya WiId ~ife-Society, P.O. Box 201 10, NARORT.

56 WILD LIFE, SEPTEMBER/DECEMBER 1961

East African Ai ways offer you three unferget table excursions to the fascinatin: game reserves of East Africa-three excursions into adventure that you will tall about and remember for many years to come.

E A A takes you 10 this magnificent park near the foot , the fabled Mountains of !he Moon. where you can sa alcphanI. buffalo, h~ppoand manyolhet specimaf biggam

All-inclusive excumion from Nairobi-f 4 . 1 7. (3 days at park)

Fly with E A A to the Murchison Falls-an incredit sight where the Nile rushes through a cleft in the roc less than 20-n. across. Nowhere In rhe world is i t eas tn see and photograph ercphant, hlppo, buffalo and a hr of other big game.

All-inclusive excursion from Nairobi-£ 52.2. (3 days at park)

Serengeti i s only one hour away from Nairobi by 1

popular E A A Sunday excursion Right. The amazin low fare tncIuder refr~hments. a plcnic lunch and a t through unexcelled game country w ~ l h many oppurlunil to ~ h o t o m ~ h lion and other game OF all k~nds. ~ d u r zravel'agcnt or any E A A office w~l l gladly give 1

l-day al?-irdusive ex~ursioe from Nairobi-B.10. details of I here and orher E A A all-inclusive eacurvnn ~ncluding trips to the famed big game fish~ng rexurts Mal~nds and Mafia.

Fly among friends on

Publurhd by Kang B Chmrles, and Printed br Earr Airnun Prrntcr* (Bovdr) Ltd. Nadrob~.