HYENAS, MONKEYS, AND PIGS 



brown color. It has comparatively small tusks, which 

 appear to be no larger than those of an ordinary hog. 

 The animal does an immense amount of harm to the crops 

 of both settlers and natives, the gardens of which it de- 

 stroys in short order. It is fond of the sweet potatoes that 

 many of the East African natives grow, and is the most 

 destructive animal in this respect in the Protectorate. 

 Combined efforts have fortunately, in many districts, now 

 almost exterminated these undesirable nightly visitors. 



On Mt. Kenia and in the forests of the Mau Escarp- 

 ment there is said to exist a very large bush pig, of which 

 all sorts of mysterious tales are told. This animal, gen- 

 erally called the " giant pig," is said by the natives to be 

 of an almost black color and " as large as a zebra." Its 

 skin is supposed to be covered with long bristles, and the 

 beast carries enormous tusks. Very little is known about 

 this animal, but I have been told by a settler that he actually 

 saw this ferocious-looking beast only some eighty yards 

 away at a time when he, unfortunately, had no gun at 

 hand. It is said that a well-known English naturalist has 

 promised a reward of £500 ($2,500) for the first perfect 

 skin of the giant pig, which he wants to secure for his 

 collection. I myself have found big tusks on Mt. Kenia 

 which could have come from no other animal than a giant 

 pig. One of these, which was broken off at the point, 

 measured over twenty-two inches in length and almost 

 eight inches in circumference at the base. As far as I 

 know, there has been no authentic account of the life and 

 habits of this animal, and there is at present no perfect 

 skin of the giant pig in existence. 



The common wart hog is larger than the ordinary bush 



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