-* 'I he Honey-Badger and Ichneumon 



which, leading ;is it does, ;i nocturnal existence, is very 

 seldom seen by man. The honey-badger has a predilection 

 for flesh, and on this account is often trapped. Its vitality 

 is quite extraordinary, and surpasses that of our own 

 badger. Some; years ago I surprised an old honey-badger 

 with a very small young one on the velt, and was able 

 to catch both. 



\o\v and again you may get a glimpse of the long- 

 eared fox (Otocyon mega/olis), a curiously graceful animal 

 with very long drooping ears, as it takes to flight almost 

 from under your feet. \ on are apt to tread on their 

 flat burrows, which lie just under the surface of the ground. 

 I hese animals live almost entirely on insects; the stomachs 

 of those I killed were lull of beetles. In the month of 

 Inly I found no less than ten full-grown specimens of this 

 animal in one burrow. 



Kvery traveller on the, velt must have some time or 

 other come across that elegant marten-like animal the 

 ichneumon. ( )1 many kinds, and varying in si/e from that 

 of a large weasel to that of a cat, they sometimes take up 

 their abode in deserted ant-hills, in which also squirrels are 

 sometimes to be found. 



Ichneumons move about over the velt in parties seek- 

 ing tor prey. They eat anything that they can get hold of, 

 animal or vegetable. Insinuating their wax through the 

 grass, packed closely together in a long unduLtmg ////< tic , 

 they look in the distance like monstrous snakes. Now and 

 again, as they move along, one ot them will raise its 

 head like a marmot and look round. I hen all the others 

 will follow its example, and with a clear cry ot alarm the\ 



