6 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



spend their time alternately gorging and sleeping until 

 no more remains. They then continue to take their 

 ease, without a thought of the future, until hunger 

 prompts them once more to wander abroad in search 

 of prey. Exceptions to this procedure sometimes occur 

 among certain species, and in localities where food is so 

 exceedingly plentiful that it can be obtained practically 

 at will, and is not therefore so precious as to call for 

 consumption down to the last morsel. 



Carnivora capture their prey by surprise, by ambush, 

 or by over-hauling it in fair chase. The two first are the 

 methods adopted by the retractile clawed members of 

 the order, which, from the nature of their feet and general 

 construction, are less suited to moving long distances at 

 speed than are such of the others as are possessed of 

 stout non-retractile claws, together with bodies and limbs 

 specially fashioned for running fast. Generally speaking, 

 beasts of prey hunt by night, and, when not lying in 

 ambush in places where animals are likely to pass, prowl 

 about within certain fairly well-defined areas until they 

 scent their quarry, when they endeavour to work up 

 wind to it. Outside this general definition, the means 

 employed vary greatly according to the nature of both 

 hunter and hunted, and to the attendant circumstances 

 of each particular case. 



A very high standard of intelligence, and, where 

 individuals hunt in parties, a remarkable faculty for 

 combination, is often shown. Animals are sometimes 

 permitted to get the scent or catch sight of one or more 

 of their pursuers that they may rush headlong towards 

 a point where others are waiting concealed down wind. 

 The habits and nature of each varying form of prey, be 

 it buffalo, zebra, antelope or pig, are provided for, and the 

 best method of pursuing and ultimately killing each is 



