402 SU'IiVE GROUP 



enough in Swaziland, Gazaland, and the Transvaal east of longitude 

 31. Thence it extends up the east coast through Portuguese East 

 Africa, Manicaland, the Barue country, Mashonaland and Matabililand, 

 and across the Zambesi as far as I have travelled. It shuns densely 

 forested tracts, but is partial to thick thorn-jungle and thin forest with 

 open glades and rough stony ' dongas.' Wart-hogs usually prefer dry 

 and somewhat sandy tracts of country, hence the statements made by 

 Heuglin that they habitually repose on swampy ground, or even in 

 water, has been discredited. In 1896-97, when elephant-hunting in 

 northern Chiringoma, Portuguese East Africa, I obtained, however, 

 confirmatory evidence that the statement is not unfounded. In 

 December and January the great Urema plains were nothing but a 

 vast marsh, in which, at all hours of the day, wart-hogs were incredibly 

 numerous, far distant from the edge of the forest, where the rising 

 ground was dry. They may, of course, have left these drier retreats 

 during the night, but I could not satisfy myself on this point, and 

 came to the conclusion that they seldom deserted the marsh, contenting 

 themselves with lying up in the comparatively dry patches which 

 occurred at intervals. Generally speaking, however, they prefer to lie 

 in wooded dongas, or thick patches of jungle, from which they emerge 

 in the evenings and feed throughout the night. They are partial to a 

 mud-bath, and when following elephant-spoor I came one day on an 

 old boar lying on its back in a mud-hole with all four feet in the air. 

 Their food consists of roots, berries, and grass ; and I have seen them 

 eating the young shoots of the borassus and raphia palms. At one 

 time I believed that they burrowed in the ground, but am now 

 convinced to the contrary : they will occupy old ant-bear holes, and, 

 if necessary, enlarge them, but I can find no evidence from personal 

 observation that they actually dig such holes themselves. Though 

 I have galloped after scores, I have never seen them break out of a 

 swift trot ; and when thus running, the tail is held upright, with the 

 tufted tip turned over. Every now and then, when desirous of looking 

 behind, and being unable, owing to the shortness of their necks, to 

 turn their heads in the ordinary way, they raise their snouts and look 

 over their shoulders. Anything more ludicrously absurd than the 

 picture thus presented cannot be imagined. They always enter a 

 burrow backwards, and if pursued seem to slew themselves round and 

 disappear in the hole without halting for an instant. Although I have 

 seen many wart-hogs 'bolted' from their burrows, I have never 

 witnessed the acrobatic feat of throwing themselves over backwards, 

 which they are reported to perform on such occasions. 



