The Wild or Hunting Dog. 207 



sporting animals, but they do great damage to the game, as 

 they are always at it, for it must take a lot of meat to 

 feed a pack of fifty or sixty of them. 



They range the country until they disturb an antelope 

 and then hunt by scent, following quickly and steadily 

 until they wind their prey, when it is easy to kill it, except 

 in the case of sable or roan antelopes, when I fancy the 

 dogs get killed at times, as both these antelopes are plucky 

 and well armed with their long, curved horns. I once saw 

 a large pack hunting a bull waterbuck, and the chase 

 cannot have lasted long, as the waterbuck was showing 

 signs of being done and was not far in front. He was 

 likely doomed unless he crossed water, which would be the 

 only thing to stop the dogs, as they would lose the scent 

 of the spoor. An old native once pointed out a small 

 detached hill to me, where he said a pack of wild dogs had 

 killed a lion, long ago ; and after killing him they ate him. 

 I expect this is true, but that the lion was an old animal 

 pretty near a natural end with old age and hunger, and 

 that it had neither the strength to run far or put up a good 

 fight for its life. 



I asked the native if it was a lion or lioness, and whether 

 it was old, and he said that when the people saw the 

 animals fighting they were afraid to go near, and that the 

 dogs soon ate up the meat and skin. 



Some authors give wild dogs a bad character, and say 

 they are dangerous, although I never saw them make an 

 attempt to attack human beings, even when wounded. 

 The natives, however, say they are dangerous, and I 

 believe they imagine so for the reason that when wild dogs 

 are seen they never seem in a great hurry to bolt, and will 

 often trot a few yards and look at the disturber, and give 

 vent to a clacking sound. 



One I wounded badly near the Luangwa River allowed 

 me to-go up and push it with my foot, and it only cringed 

 and turned over, so I put it out of pain quickly with 

 another bullet. The habits of the African wild dog must be 

 very like the wolves of Eastern Europe and America, and 



