THE HUNTING LEOPARD, OR CHITA 69 



at Sabi Bridge. He had killed early in the morning, 

 and had eaten a good deal of the meat. He returned 

 and was shot about 9 the same night. 



One afternoon about four o'clock I disturbed three of 

 them lying up by the carcass of a reedbuck ewe which 

 had been killed the same morning, but had not been 

 touched. That night they returned and ate the whole 

 of the hind-quarters, about one half of the trunk, and 

 one fore-quarter, together with the meat of the head 

 and neck. Two traps had been set, over which the 

 animals had leaped to get at the meat ; they released 

 the springs, without damage to themselves, no doubt 

 in the course of hauling out the carcass from the little 

 fence which had been built round it. They never came 

 back again, and hyaenas finished the meat. 



For the most part chitas prey upon antelopes up to the 

 size of a reedbuck, and the immature of larger kinds, 

 (occasionally on the hornless females and even the males 

 of certain species, such as waterbuck and kudu). A 

 fine waterbuck bull was found lying dead in the bush, 

 life having been extinct, apparently, for about twenty- 

 four hours. None of the meat was eaten, but the back 

 tendons were almost bitten through ; there were scratches 

 and tooth-marks all over the limbs and body, and the 

 animal had bled to death from the severing of a large 

 artery. Following the back tracks, we came to where 

 they showed that a single chita had rushed on the buck 

 as he was quietly walking along, pulled him down and 

 rolled over with him on the ground. The big buck had 

 then scrambled up and dashed madly off, the chita 

 probably clinging to his back. A little further on they 

 had fallen again, and then, rising a second time, the 

 buck had dashed under the low-growing branches of a 

 large tree, by this means apparently sweeping his assailant 



