BLACK RHINOCEROS 27 



squared base ; in cows it is more slender and generally larger, not 

 unfrequently curving backwards in scimitar fashion. It was on slender 

 horns of this latter type from East Africa that the so-called Holm- 

 wood's rhinoceros was named. 



The range of the black rhinoceros formerly extended from the 

 Cape to Somaliland, Abyssinia, and the Sudan, and thence to the 

 drier parts of Central and West Africa. 



That several local races of the species must exist is practically 

 certain, but hitherto only the Somali form, R. bicornis soinaliensis, has 

 been named, and even this has not been well defined. The name 

 R. b. holmwoodi is, however, available for the East African animal. 



The following notes on this species in South-East Africa are 

 condensed from material supplied by Mr. F. Vaughan Kirby : 



" Although naturally timid, and certainly not dangerously aggres- 

 sive, the black rhinoceros is of uncertain temper, and when wounded 

 and encountered at close quarters will charge fiercely, while occasion- 

 ally it is as vindictive as a buffalo. It has three characteristic cries : 

 a succession of deep grunts, uttered apparently by the male alone and 

 at certain seasons ; a loud snort, sounded when the animal is about to 

 charge or when suddenly alarmed ; and the shrill squeal of a moribund 

 individual. 



" Some years ago keitloas were far more numerous in Central 

 South Africa than at the present day. In 1900 there were probably 

 not a dozen remaining even in the most remote parts of the north-east 

 Transvaal, where once they abounded, and only two or three in the 

 Matamiri bush, and a few in the Libombo range near Oliphant's River 

 Poort In the broken country south of the Zambesi and east of the 

 Victoria Falls, and in parts of the Barue and Chiringoma districts 

 of Portuguese East Africa, they were, however, still fairly numerous, 

 and there were a few in Matabililand, Mashonaland, and Amatonga- 

 land. In 1894 they were abundant in Portuguese Northern Zam- 

 besia, south-east of Tete, and in 1896 common in the interior of 

 Mozambique. 



"The black rhinoceros lies up during the heat of the day in dense 

 patches of scrub or grass-jungle, or under the shade of a solitary bush 

 or tree in the open, though it may often be found out in the open, 

 unsheltered from the sun's burning rays. In hot weather these animals 

 move towards their watering-places, often far distant, at sunset, 

 drinking between 6 and 8 P.M. ; and at such times they make a maze 

 of tracks in the sand as they wander from pool to pool. After drink- 

 ing, they set out in a straight line for their feeding-grounds, where 



