i86 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 



Phttt b) J. W. McLellan] [Highbur; 



RHINOCEROS BATHING 



All the Asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and tualloiving in mud 



they are too few in number to restock 

 the country. They have a better 

 chance, I think, of increasing in num- 

 bers in Zululand than in Mashonaland, 

 in which latter country it is at present 

 impossible to afford them any protec- 

 tion either from natives or Europeans. 

 A full-grown bull white rhinoceros 

 stands from 6 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 

 9 inches at the shoulder, and is very 

 massively built, with short, stout legs. 

 The head is very much elongated, 

 and the mouth square, like that of 

 an ox. When white rhinoceroses 

 were still plentiful, very considerable 

 differences were observable in the 

 length and shape of their horns. The 

 anterior horns of full-grown bulls 



might measure from 18 inches to 40 inches in length ; those of cows from 24 inches to 60 inches. 

 The longest horn known that of a cow which was brought from South Africa by the well- 

 known hunter the late Roualeyn Gordon Gumming, measures 62^ inches over the curve. As 

 a rule, the front horn of the white rhinoceros curved slightly backwards, but was often straight 

 or bent slightly forwards, and sometimes curved strongly backwards. The posterior horn varied 

 from a few inches to 2 feet in length. 



The white rhinoceros lived in families, usually a bull, cow, and calf being found together ; 

 but there might be two or even three calves of different ages, and of which the youngest alone 

 would be suckling, living with the father and mother. In the early South African spring (Sep- 

 tember and October), when the young green herbage was just sprouting after the first rains, two 

 or three families of white rhinoceroses might be seen feeding in close proximity, presenting the 

 appearance of a herd ; but I fancy the several families of these animals had only been brought 

 together for the sake of the young green grass. In Southern Africa the white rhinoceros lived 

 entirely on grass, and I have never seen any evidence of their having eaten anything else. 

 When either walking, trotting, or galloping, the white rhinoceros always carried its nose close to 

 the ground. A calf always preceded its mother, and she appeared to guide it by holding the 

 point of her horn on the little creature's rump ; and in all changes of pace, no matter how 

 sudden, this position was always maintained. The white rhinoceros was easily killed by a shot 

 through the heart or through both lungs, but would travel very long distances, and probably, as 

 a rule, ultimately recover from wounds in other parts of the body. They could travel at a great 

 rate and for a considerable distance with a broken fore leg or shoulder, but if a hind leg were 

 broken they were rendered almost immediately helpless. In disposition they were sluggish and 

 inoffensive animals, lying asleep in the shade of trees or bushes during the heat of the day, and 

 coming to the water to drink at night or often before sundown in parts of the country where 

 they had not been much molested. When disturbed, white rhinoceroses would go off at a swift 

 trot, but if chased on horseback would break into a gallop, which they were capable of maintain- 

 ing for a considerable distance, and at a wonderful pace for so large and heavy an animal. The 

 meat of the white rhinoceros was most excellent, the part in greatest favour amongst hunters 

 being the hump on the back of the neck in front of the shoulder, which was cut off whole and 

 roasted in the skin in a hole dug in the ground. 



The colour of the so-called white rhinoceros is dark gray. The second species of African rhi- 

 noceros, which is also dark gray in colour, is known as the BLACK or PREHENSILE-LIPPED RHINOCEROS. 



