MY SOMALI BOOK 193 



One beast with which I had little success was the 

 leopard. Apparently the only way, under ordinary 

 circumstances, to shoot a leopard in Somaliland is 

 from a zariba at night. If I had known more about it 

 at first I might have done better. For it is quite a 

 different game, this zariba work, from sitting over a 

 goat in a tree in India. 



The leopard habitually prowls round zaribas, which 

 he knows to be occupied by mankind, and the idea is 

 that from familiarity he pays no attention to human 

 beings inside the zariba fence ; therefore the Somali 

 shikari, if you let him, will tie the bait two or three 

 feet only away from the loop-hole so as to make as sure 

 of the shot as may be ; for it is usually on the darkest 

 nights that one's opportunity arrives, when aiming is 

 difficult or impossible. Another reason for tying the 

 goat so close is to make it easier for the watching 

 shikari to defeat a sudden attack by a hyaena, which is 

 moreover less likely to make an attempt if the goat is 

 very close up to the fence. 



But why should not this last reasoning apply also 

 to the leopard — a more audacious but equally a more 

 cunning animal ? In my opinion it does. True, the 

 leopard knows there are men in the zariba and takes 

 little notice of them, but he does not know at first that 

 there is a man close up to the fence at the very spot 

 where the bait is and almost able to touch it. And if 

 he suddenly discovers the fact it is apt to be too 

 nmch for his nerves, unless he is absolutely starving, 

 like my friend at Barka Hagar. 



I believe that I lost two or three leoj)ards by 

 having the bait too close. At Barka Hagar I had it 



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