VICTORIA NYANZA Ul 



It is a well-known fact that tame ostriches mate for 

 life and are very loyal once they have paired up. How 

 true this is of the wild bird I cannot say, but I often 

 observed a troop of hens attended by one cock ostrich. 

 However, in the case of coming upon a nest, I have 

 always found one cock and one hen in attendance. 

 The average weight of a full grown ostrich is around 

 two hundred seventy-five poimds, although, no 

 doubt, some attain a greater weight. An ostrich is a 

 very long-hved bird, the average age being about sev- 

 enty years, while many five considerably beyond that. 



Pishi had asked that we bring some meat to camp, 

 so when a small herd of tommies went dashing by, I 

 sat down on the ground with my Remington and taking 

 careful aim at a young male, fired. My boy, Kahindi, 

 who was standing up, shouted that I had killed two 

 buck with one shot. He was right; the high velocity 

 bullet had passed through one tommie and into another, 

 killing them both. As the distance was one hundred 

 twenty yards, and the animals were running, we 

 classed it as a freak shot. 



Ted was now several days overdue, and as we feared 

 he might be stuck in a mudhole, or had gotten into 

 some other serious trouble, had set a definite time at 

 which, faihng his return, we would go in search of him. 

 We had the second truck ready for the road and were 

 to start in thirty minutes when he came into view. I 

 took a look through the binoculars and saw that he 

 was not driving; that young Penfold from Gilgil had 

 the wheel. The coming of the truck was comparable 

 to the excitement of a stagecoach arrival in the old days 

 out west. There was mail for everyone, and bits of news 

 concerning the great world beyond the Serengetti. 



