286 ELEPHANT-HUNTING [ch. x 



night. But those rhinoceroses which fonnerly dwelt in 

 the plains for the most part continued to dwell there 

 until killed out. So it is at the present day. Not the 

 most foolish elephant woidd under similar conditions 

 behave as the rhinos that we studied and hunted by 

 Kilimakiu and in the Sotik behaved. No elephant, in 

 regions where they have been much persecuted by 

 hunters, would habitually spend its days lying or stand- 

 ing in the open plain ; nor would it, in such places, 

 repeatedly, and in fact uniformly, permit men to walk 

 boldly up to it without heeding them until in its 

 immediate neighbourhood. The elephant's sight is bad, 

 as is that of the rhinoceros ; but a comparatively brief 

 experience with rifle-bearing man usually makes the 

 former take refuge in regions where scent and hearing 

 count for more than sight ; while no experience has 

 any such effect on the rhino. The rliinos that now live 

 in the bush are the descendants of those which always 

 lived in the bush, and it is in the bush that the species 

 will linger long after it has vanished from the open ; 

 and it is in the bush that it is most formidable. 



Elephant and rhino differ as much in their habits as 

 in their intelligence. Tlie former is very gregarious, 

 herds of several hundred being sometimes found, and is 

 of a restless, wandering temper, often shifting his abode 

 and sometimes making long migrations. The rhinoceros 

 is a lover of solitude ; it is usually found alone, or a bull 

 and cow, or cow and calf may be in company ; very 

 rarely are as many as half a dozen found together. 

 Moreover, it is comparatively stationary in its habits, 

 and as a general thing stays permanently in one 

 neighbourhood, not shifting its position for very many 

 miles unless for grave reasons. 



The African elephant has recently been divided into 



