398 SWINE GROUP 



7000 feet above sea-level ; but the same animal also occurs in the 

 Man forest and the Elgon district. 



The forest-hog of the Ituri has been separated by Dr. P. Matschie 

 {Amtales du Musee du Congo, 1906) as a separate species, under the 

 name of H. ituriensis. Its main claim to distinction would appear 

 to be certain details in the form of the skull ; but it is also stated 

 to be a smaller animal, and in the plates of the supposed adult boar 

 the large warty excrescences on the face of the Nandi forest-hog are 

 not shown. This suggests that the specimens described were not fully 

 adult ; and if this be realh' the case, the alleged differences in the skull 

 may b^ to a great extent dependent upon age-differences. 



On the west coast a forest-hog has been described from the Ja 

 Valley, in the Cameroons, by Mr. O. Thomas on p. 2 of the Zoological 

 Society's Proceedings for 1 906 as H. riviator ; its claim to specific 

 distinction being the smaller size of the cheek-teeth. 



From the point of view of the sportsman, at any rate, all these 

 local varieties of the forest-hog may be grouped together ; and if they 

 are really nothing more than geographical races of a single species, 

 these scientific designations should be, respectively, H. in. ituriensis 

 and H. in. rimator. 



According to native report, these monstrous pigs were numerous 

 in the Nandi forest previous to the outburst of rinderpest in 1891, but 

 nearly all were killed by the plague. They are described as being 

 very fierce, and occasionally making unprovoked attacks on women 

 gathering faggots in the forest. This is confirmed by Captain 

 Houblon's experiences in the Kenia district, where the forest-hog is 

 stated to display no hesitation in charging the approaching sportsman. 



In the exhibition galleries of the Natural History branch of the 

 British Museum the forest-hog is now represented by the mounted skin 

 of a female, presented to the Museum by Mr. G. C. Whitaker. It 

 came from the Mau plateau. There is also shown a skull from the 

 Semliki, presented by Colonel J. J. Harrison. 



A figure of a female of the western representative of the forest-hog 

 is given on p. 469. 



