xxvm THE BLACK LIST 279 



Rhino are especially numerous in the following 

 localities : round Lake Marsabit, the Yatta plains, the 

 northern Guaso Nyero, the South Guaso Nyero, the 

 Tana and Thika rivers, especially towards the junction 

 of the two ; in this neighbourhood a few years back I 

 counted sixty in one day, the Tsavo river, and all bush 

 country where there is any water, more especially the 

 large tract lying between Kitui and the lower waters 

 of the Tana, the Ithanga hills, and the country all 

 round Lake Baringo. There remains one female with 

 an exceptionally long horn, at least 36 inches, in the 

 Ngong forest. 



Next to the rhinoceros the common Zebra is the most 

 unmitigated pest to farmers in the Protectorate. He 

 is almost ubiquitous throughout the Highlands, and is 

 found, not only on the plain, but through the bush and 

 even on hills of considerable height. Zebra nearly 

 always congregate in herds, which herds constitute the 

 favourite prey of the lion. Most travellers through 

 the country know the zebra's note of alarm, like the 

 bark of a terrier dog, followed by the clatter of a 

 hundred hoofs which tells of the stampede of a herd 

 from a real or imagined attack. It is these stampedes 

 that no ordinary fence can withstand and which render 

 the presence of zebra so absolutely fatal in the 

 proximity of agriculture. The beast, moreover, has no 

 advantages to compensate ever so slightly for the 

 damage he inflicts. The meat has the same nasty 

 sweet taste as horse, and one must be hungry indeed 

 to eat it with any relish. Natives, however, prefer it 

 to any other and it enables them to perform astonishing 

 digestive feats. Also those who should know say that 

 pigs will eat it with avidity. The hide is soft and of 

 little local value. It is sometimes used for the backs 





