THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



ing still in open places, at a distance of from two to three 

 hundred feet. 



Both on the Sotik plains and on the plateau to the 

 northwest of the Guaso-Narok River I have repeatedly- 

 had experiences with rhinos which prove that their eye- 

 sight is really not as bad as it is generally believed. On 

 the former plains I saw two rhinos lying down in the open, 

 just about the noon hour, taking a sleep and exposed to 

 the burning rays of the equatorial sun. I advanced un- 

 noticed to within one hundred and fifty yards for the pur- 

 pose of taking photographs, when the noise made by one 

 of the gun bearers, as his hob-nailed shoes crashed against 

 a stone, awakened both animals. They sprang to their 

 feet, and, although the wind was very strong and blowing 

 from them to us, so that it was absolutely impossible for the 

 animals to get our scent, they both saw us. They whirled 

 around instantly and faced us, sniffing and puffing and 

 wobbling their heads sideways and up and down, evidently 

 attempting also to get a " whiff " of the disturbers of their 

 siesta. We all three stood as motionless as we could, ex- 

 cept that I tried to focus my lens on them, but just as I 

 snapped the first picture both animals turned and ran away 

 at high speed. 



One morning on the Laikipia Plateau I had the op- 

 portunity of seeing no less than eleven rhinos in three 

 hours, during which time I repeatedly tried to stalk right 

 up to the beasts. A strong southwest breeze was blow- 

 ing, and as I approached the animals from the northeast 

 there was no possible chance for them to get a whiflf of our 

 wind. Time and again, I noticed, to my dismay, that the 

 big pachyderms had an eyesight good enough to detect 



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