NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



heat and energy-producing food against tlie winter 

 weather, and times of prolonged drought, when 

 food becomes scarce. These Mice live in small 

 colonies on the open grass-veld and bush-veld, and 

 occur from the Transvaal up the eastern side of 

 Africa to Nyassaland, and on the Mababe Flats in 

 Ngamiland. They dig short burrows ; these are 

 rather shallow, and spread out for some distance 

 into numerous ramifications. In such subterranean 

 retreats they sleep and rear their families. Fat 

 Mice are difficult to trap, but are easily dug out. 

 Being so plump, they are naturally slow in 

 their movements, and cannot escape from their 

 enemies with the same degree of celerity as their 

 less fat cousins. In one sense it is a distinct 

 advantage to the Fat Mouse to lay up a store 

 of rich fat as a provision against the cold of 

 winter, which brings in its train almost nightly 

 showers of frost, killing most of the vegetation on 

 which this Mouse subsists. On the other hand, 

 this fatness of body handicaps them severely in 

 their efforts to escape from their enemies, which 

 regard them as dainty morsels, and, consequently, 

 seek them out with the greatest of eagerness. The 

 Owl, the Hawk and the Fiskal Shrike are ever on 

 the watch to pounce down upon them ; while the 

 Secretary Bird, with eyes specially developed to 

 notice the slightest movement on the ground, 

 tramps the veld and slopes from dawn till dark in 

 search of them, or any others of their tribe. 



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