32 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



covert ; though in East Africa individuals are often seen 

 standing out right in the open throughout the day. It 

 is often accompanied by rhinoceros birds which give the 

 alarm on the approach of enemies. Sight is poor, but 

 hearing appears very fairly good, and the sense of scent 

 is most acute. 



The black rhinoceros has acquired a reputation for 

 savage aggressiveness which the experience of the best- 

 known hunters would by no means support. Considering 

 the enormous numbers of rhinos which were killed in 

 former days in South Africa, and the considerable quantity 

 annually shot in East Africa and elsewhere at the present 

 time, the number of accidents was, and is, ridiculously 

 small. The rhino is a formidable-looking brute, and its 

 appearance when bearing down to the accompaniment 

 of snorts, reminiscent of a steam-engine, is not reassuring ; 

 but it appears probable that many of these so-called 

 charges of unwounded animals are merely efforts to escape 

 from what they consider a tight place. If suddenly 

 disturbed it is generally agreed that the rhino will often, 

 by accident or design, come straight in the direction of 

 the aggressor ; but if the latter gets quickly out of the 

 way it will usually rush right on, obviously seeking only 

 to escape. In occasional encounters with the animals 

 within the Game Reserves, the writer has always found 

 that a gentle tapping on a tree or some other slight noise, 

 insufficient seriously to startle the animal, has always 

 sent it off at once ; and the same experiment has had 

 similar results on the occasions when these animals have 

 been encountered in other parts of the continent. No 

 doubt there are old, or ill-conditioned rhinos just as there 

 are in the case of other species, but, taken on the whole, 

 the general evidence points to the wild rushes, frequently 

 so disastrous to transport of various kinds, being induced 



