CHAPTER XIII 



THE WHITE RHINOCEROS 



Mr. Coryndon's two specimens — Earity of this species — Dis- 

 covered by Burchell — Restricted habitat — Former abund- 

 ance — Easily shot — Recent re-discovery of white rhino- 

 ceroses in Ziiluland — Six shot in 1894 — Description and 

 habits of the animal — Immense bulk — Oswell's adventure 

 — Curious trait of mother with young — Feeding habits — 

 Plentiful in Oswell's time — Six shot within a quarter of 

 a mile — Too numerous to be pleasant — Feathered allies — 

 Excellent sentinels — Rhinoceros' appetite — The last of the 

 race. 



The arrival early in 1894 of Mr. R. T. Coryndon 

 from Matabeleland had considerable interest for 

 naturalists. That gentleman brought with him the 

 entire skins and skeletons of two species of the great 

 white rhinoceros, a species now in the last throes of 

 extinction. How rare the white rhinoceros has be- 

 come may be gauged from the fact that for years Mr. 

 Selous — that most enthusiastic hunter-naturalist — 

 has been endeavouring to procure a specimen for the 

 Natural History Museum, without success. No 

 white rhinoceros has ever been shown alive in 



Europe, although its black congener is pretty well 

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