6l8 WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY. 



but the animal at present in the collection takes no notice of any 

 one going into his camp, or merely moves further away from 

 the intruder. The same applies to two Eland bulls that we had, 

 the vicious one of which is now dead, but the quiet animal is 

 still in the collection. In captivity, an animal will sometimes, if 

 given a fair oi>])ortunity, revert to its usual habits when in the wild 

 state, as, for instance, several of the Deer, and more particularly 

 the Lechwe Antelope. These animals were formerly in camps, 

 which admitted of the egress of the young ones. The latter would 

 go out of the camp after their morning drink and lie hidden in 

 some hedge or flower bed in the vicinity until sunset, when the 

 time for the evening meal came round, and then the little one 

 would return to its mother. 



In 1910 we possessed a pair of Gemsbuck, which were ulti- 

 mately the proucl parents of two young ones in 191 1 and 1912. 

 All these buck were tame and quiet, the ram to such an extent, 

 that he preferred standing up to his attendants to giving way. 

 He eventually became dangerous. All these died or were sold, 

 and a fresh stock obtained from the Kalahari. This second lot 

 of three, although hand-reared like the first, never became quite 

 tame, and remained so shy and wild that when nearly full grown 

 they came to grief by getting a fright and dashing into the iron 

 fence of their camp, badly injuring themselves. 



Zebras. — Zebras are just as subject to individual variation of 

 temperament as the other animals mentioned. Some are easily 

 tamed, and can be ridden and driven without fear or risk. Others 

 again are vicious, and kick and bite without provocation. They 

 are thus with their own kind as well. as with the human race. We 

 have at present two Zebra mares of two distinct species, which 

 will not tolerate another animal of their own kind in either of 

 their paddocks, not even of the opposite sex, biting and kicking 

 with anything but friendly intentions. On tlie whole, though, 

 Zebras are, both in the wild state and in captivity, sociable ani- 

 mals, loving company. 



To finish up, let me quote a paragraph from Carl Hagen- 

 beck's book, " Beasts and Men,'' which puts into a nutshell much 

 of what 1 have tried to make clear in the foregoing pages : — 



There is no universal rule for tlie treatment of wild animals. Even 

 individuals of the same species, so great is their variability of tempera- 

 ment, have to be managed according to the particular circumstances of 

 each case. The peculiarity is found, as my narrative has already sh'wn, 

 among Elephants. It exists, in a greater or less degree, among all animals, 

 and is a feature in his profession vi'hich no successful trainer can overlook. 

 Moreover, it is difficult to foresee how animals will behave under any 

 given circumstances, for they are swayed almost completely by the im- 

 pulses of the moment, and it frequently happens that an occurrence to 

 us apparently trifling will cause a perfectly quiet and well-behaved animal 

 to become almost mad with terror. 



