2 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



horses, the latter being represented in Africa by the 

 zebras and by the wild ass of the north-east. 



Although all hoofed animals, with the exception of 

 the pigs, are strictly vegetable feeders, there is a wide 

 difference in the diet of the various kinds, some being 

 grass eaters only, while others favour a leafy diet, 

 and others again prefer roots and barks of various 

 descriptions. Speaking broadly, animals which love the 

 open plains are, as a rule, by habit grass eaters, while 

 those preferring the leafy depths of the forest are generally 

 browsers. Among the latter too there is a great deal 

 of difference in the nature of the food consumed, for, 

 though there are many descriptions of trees and bushes, 

 the leaves and roots of which appear to be indiscriminately 

 eaten by most species, there are others which support 

 certain types of animals alone, and in the absence of 

 which from the forest, these animals are not met with. 

 Water is required in greatly varying amounts by different 

 species ; 'for whereas some will slake their thirst three 

 or four times in the twenty-four hours, others, even 

 during the dry winter months, seem to require very little 

 liquid nourishment. In the more arid portions of the 

 continent indeed, there can be no doubt that the local 

 animals are very largely independent of it. 



Hoofed animals may either go in herds, or be solitary 

 in habit, though by far the greater number of the species 

 incline in greater or less degree to the former mode of 

 life. There seems indeed no hard and fast rule to guide 

 our attempts to explain the causes of their very diverse 

 customs ; for although at first sight it may appear that 

 purely grass-eating animals are found associated in 

 larger companies than are those which seek either a mixed, 

 or a purely leafy diet, the exceptions, such as elands 

 and impalas, tend to upset any partially formed theories. 



