CHAPTER IV 



A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE WILD ANIMALS OF 

 THE EASTERN SUDAN 



AT the head of the list undoubtedly comes the 

 elephant, whose personal acquaintance, as already 

 stated, I failed to make. But as I had already bagged 

 a fine tusker in India, I have no hesitation in register- 

 ing my vote with those sportsmen who declare the 

 elephant to be the most dangerous of dangerous game. 

 I had the curiosity to question many men in the Sudan 

 upon this subject, and all voted for the elephant or 

 buffalo, the majority for the buffalo. However, I can 

 only say that having killed fourteen buffalo and bison 

 of various species, and a single elephant, I have 

 never been in serious danger with the former, whereas 

 the single elephant might very easily have terminated 

 my career. In the Eastern Sudan the elephant is 

 generally exceedingly fierce, and carries very poor 

 ivory, often not more than 30 or 40 Ib. for the pair 

 of tusks of a full-grown bull. There is, however, 

 just an off-chance of meeting with a bull with good 

 tusks, especially on the Blue Nile, and the feet in 



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