MOZAMBIQUE TERRITORY (III) 69 
The eyes of carnivores show up more strongly than most others 
and one will not proceed far without being suddenly confronted 
with two flaming “bull’s-eyes” situated close together and near the 
ground. These will almost certainly be those of a genet, which 
is a small nocturnal cat-like animal with a pointed face and long 
banded tail, that has a scent bag like the civet. At night he issues 
forth in search of rodents, which form his principal food. 
Next one may see two large eyes, not very bright but remaining 
perfectly still. The creature is standing in a thicket and imagines 
he is out of view. He is the bushbuck, the most common antelope 
in these parts. Sometimes a real thrill is in store, for suddenly two 
red lights flash on of unbelievable intensity. They remain still a 
few seconds and then shut off, and this is even more exciting, for 
you wonder where they are going to bob up again. It may be this 
side or that, for the animal moves partly round the light to try 
to see what it really is, but his curiosity does not usually last very 
long; he probably scents what is behind the lamp and disappears. 
This is the leopard. 
Most interesting is when the beam catches some eyes in a tree. 
They are like those of the carnivores and are intensely bright, but 
are those of the bush baby. We go a little closer, and, becoming 
apprehensive, he springs to another branch (they can leap colossal 
distances). His eyes, being so large, can be seen as he leaps through 
the air, so that they appear like balls of flame shooting through 
the branches. In all these cases, unless one is within a few yards, 
the animal itself is never seen. 
Having located bush babies, which are usually in pairs, the im- 
portant thing is to remember where you are and to mark the spot, 
so that it can be found again the following day. These animals 
never wander far, and will almost certainly remain near where 
they were seen. This is because they have a permanent home, a 
hole in a tree where they sleep (by day). 
In the case of the large galagos, a trap in any tree where they 
were seen will usually bring forth the desired result, if some 
strong-smelling fruit, such as guava, is used to draw them to the 
spot. For the Moholi Galagos, live meal-worms are better, and 
three or four pinned belly upwards by their tails to a cork fitted in 
