42 THE MAMMALS OF SOMALILAND 



now and then to sniff around, and scarcely ever takes heed of where 

 it is going. Notwithstanding its awkward lumbering gait, it 

 can move along rapidly when it chooses, and must cover many 

 miles during the long hours of the night. The spotted hyaena 

 usually goes about singly, although they have been seen in packs 

 of thirty or forty. They only combine when driven to desperation, 

 and, when in this state, lose their cowardly nature, and have been 

 known to attack even the king of beasts. I have never seen more 

 than seven together, and they appeared to be on the warpath. 



In Somaliland they are constantly attacking the herds of 

 sheep and goats in the daytime, although they seldom get away 

 with their victims. On many occasions I have known them to 

 enter the Somali huts and seize the little children or old women, 

 inflicting the most hideous wounds. During the great smallpox 

 epidemic they frequently attacked those afflicted with the disease, 

 usually finding them an easy prey owing to their being so often 

 placed in a hut isolated a short distance from the others. Their 

 coats are usually mangy, and sometimes covered with hideous 

 suppurating wounds. Their unearthly howl is so characteristic and 

 well known that it requires no description. They are sometimes 

 heard to laugh, and this is almost human, so closely does it 

 resemble the laugh of a demented person. It appears to be only 

 made when they are annoyed or otherwise excited. I could 

 invariably elicit this weird laugh from a young captive hyaena by 

 taking his bone away from him. 



Though they will often attack horses, biting great pieces out of 

 their hindquarters, they seem to have a great respect for donkeys. 

 The latter, when tied up as a " kill " for a lion, are often molested 

 the whole night through by hyaenas ; but I have never known 

 them to be bitten. Although cowardly, curiously enough it is 

 very unwary, and is easily stalked and shot. On one night, my 

 camp — which happened to be pitched out in the open without a 

 zareba round it — was molested the whole night through by 

 hyaenas and jackals, and, notwithstanding my accounting for two 

 of the former and seven of the latter, they continued to annoy 

 until daylight dispersed them. 



