ORDER PROBOSCIDEA: PROBOSCIDEANS 319 



which was killed in February, 1916, and its skeleton is now mounted 

 in the Natal Museum. In Matabeleland, elephants existed in large 

 numbers in 1872 and had been little hunted, but in the few succeeding 

 years Lo Bengula's hunters in addition to Europeans swarmed into 

 the region and in three years took out an estimated 100,000 pounds 

 of ivory. Even then, tusks over 70 pounds in weight were rare, and 

 the average was 40 to 50 pounds, rather small as compared with 

 those farther north. By 1902 elephants had disappeared from the 

 Transvaal, but in late years a few have come back into Kruger Park 

 from adjacent areas of Portuguese East Africa. Shortridge sums 

 up the present situation in the Cape Province and adjacent terri- 

 tory: "Scattered and comparatively small herds of elephant still 

 wander in Ngamiland, Southern Rhodesia, Portuguese East Africa. 

 ... In the Cape Province, the remnant of a herd is preserved in 

 the Addo Bush. There may still be half a dozen or so in the Knysna 

 Forest." In South-West Africa, there may be from 600 to 1,000 head 

 in the Kaokoveld, but larger estimates are probably unwarranted. 

 The other region where they occur is in the Caprivi, where two fair- 

 sized herds are said to survive, one near the Kwando River, the 

 other between Popa and Kagera. There are still elephants in south- 

 western Angola and especially along the Kwando in the southeastern 

 part. An estimate of the elephant population of any district is not 

 easy to make, however, since on account of their wandering habits 

 the same animals may appear within a short time at points far apart. 



In South Africa, aside from the restricted herds of Caprivi and the 

 Kaokoveld, there exist four other herds: (1) that in the Knysna 

 Forest, said to number, in 1935 about a dozen animals, which are 

 under Government protection; (2) the Addo Bush herd, near Port 

 Elizabeth, numbering, in 1933, about 16; (3) the Kruger Park herd, 

 which seems most favorably situated and is believed to receive 

 occasional increments from animals seeking this sanctuary from 

 adjacent Portuguese territory; and (4) a small number that occa- 

 sionally appear in straggling parties from across the Limpopo in 

 times of drought and enter the northern Transvaal. Concerning 

 the Addo Bush herd, in the early part of 1920 its numbers were 126, 

 more than could well be maintained there, and so by Government 

 order 110 were killed, and the remnant was confined to a more limited 

 space, which apparently the animals more or less recognize and keep 

 within its limits. A boring to supply them with water has been made 

 to help in keeping them within these bounds, but the difficulty of 

 restricting their wanderings is not easily overcome. In Kruger 

 National Park there are said to be (1933) approximately 150-200 

 elephants, in five separate groups. They tend to spread out from 

 their fastnesses among the reed beds of the Letaba River (1934) . 



Apart from its great interest, from both esthetic and zoological 



