THE AFRICAN OR CAPE BUFFALO 



the horns, even of the bulls, to allow a little tuft of hair 

 to grow. This hair, as well as the hair on most parts of 

 the head, turns often, as already remarked, gray on very 

 old animals. 



The appearance of the surface and also the shape of 

 the horns vary greatly. On some, the horns are rather 

 flat and smooth, while other bulls carry enormously thick 

 and rugged horns, with such miniature caiions and ridges 

 at the base, that they appear, as someone has said, like 

 " sides of a volcano, with its lava streams and rugged 

 ridges," Then, again, on some old bulls the tips of the 

 horns are rather close together — from twenty-four to thirty 

 inches apart — turning inward and downward toward the 

 base, much like fish hooks, while others have their horns 

 less curved and with points turned more forward and up- 

 ward and with as much spread as thirty-six to forty-five 

 inches from tip to tip. 



The African buffalo is without question one of the 

 finest-looking beasts imaginable. With his massive but 

 not clumsy body, his powerful neck, and magnificent horns, 

 he is the very picture of beauty and strength. Indeed, a 

 great many hunters class him as No. I in the list of danger- 

 ous game. Even the lion is then often placed as No. 2, and 

 the elephant, rhino, and leopard are generally considered 

 the three next most dangerous beasts. It is, however, very 

 difficult to say with any accuracy which of these animals 

 is really the one most to be feared, for the same kind of 

 animal will not only behave differently in varying circum- 

 stances, but the same individual beast will also act entirely 

 differently one day from what it will another, although 

 under exactly the same conditions. 



105 



