xviii AFRICAN NATURE NOTES 



The book of nature has many difficult passages, 

 and some of them seem mutually contradictory. It 

 is a good thing to have capable observers who can 

 record faithfully what they find therein, and who are 

 not in the least afraid of putting down two observa- 

 tions which are in seeming conflict. Allied species 

 often differ so radically in their habits that, with our 

 present knowledge, not even a guess can be made 

 as to the reason for the difference ; this makes it all 

 the more necessary that there should be a multitude 

 of trustworthy observations. Mr. Selous points 

 out, for instance, the extraordinary difference in 

 pugnacity between the fighting roan and sable 

 antelopes, on the one hand, and on the other, the 

 koodoo and the mild eland. There is quite as great 

 difference between far more closely allied species, 

 or even between individuals of one species in one 

 place and those of the same species in another 

 place. Sometimes the reasons for the difference 

 are apparent ; all carnivores in India, with its dense, 

 feeble population, would at times naturally take to 

 man-killing. In other cases, at least a guess may 

 be hazarded. The wolf of America has never been 

 dangerous to man, as his no larger or more formid- 

 able brother of Asia and Europe has been from 

 time immemorial ; yet the difference may be 

 accounted for by the difference of environment. 

 But it is hard to say why the cougar, which is 

 just about the size of the great spotted cats, and 

 which preys on practically the same animals, should 

 not be dangerous to man, while they are singularly 

 formidable fighters when at bay. The largest cougar 

 I ever killed was eight feet long and weighed over 

 two hundred pounds. Very few African leopards 

 or Indian panthers would surpass these measure- 

 ments, and this particular animal had been preying 

 not only on deer, but on horses and cattle ; yet I 

 killed him with no danger to myself, under circum- 



