With Flashlight and Rifle ^ 



Hyc-ena-dog-.s, besides attacking the prey they actually 

 sight, are given to following up tracks. They have a 

 peculiar way of biting at the stomach of the pursued 

 animal and tearing out the entrails. In this way they 

 overpower even large antelopes. Twice I have observed 

 them do this, and English authors as well as natives bear 

 out what I say. 



The extraordinarily bright colouring of hyaena-dogs 

 is toned down when seen from a distance. They look 

 then uniformly dark and stand out conspicuously from 

 their surroundings. There is not so much need for their 

 coats to harmonise with the surroundings, as they do not 

 seize their prey by stealth, but follow their tracks and 

 chase them in hot pursuit. 



I once found live hycena-dogs, and on another occasion 

 two, resting in the shade at midday ; another time I came 

 upon a herd just as they were devouring a gerenuk-gazelle. 

 On the whole they seem, as already stated, not to be 

 very common in the Masai country, and my own observa- 

 tions lead me to the conclusion that they are not so 

 harmful as people make out. 



I consider it a great mistake to make scapegoats of 

 the so-called "harmful" animals. The colonist does not 

 realise that he cannot exterminate these without affecting 

 the supply of other kinds of animals which are of value 

 to him. When we make our way into new countries we 

 have to consider the fauna as a whole. 



By destroying certain animals that seem to us ob- 

 jectionable, we may injure all the others. The expert 

 in these matters knows how our wild life at home is apt 



418 



