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PREFACE, 



IT is civilised weapons alone, especially when in the hands of irresponsible black 

 men, that irreparably upset the balance of Nature. The black hunter, armed 

 with primitive weapons, and the beast of prey, take their toll of life, but appear 

 never to exterminate or even sensibly diminish the number of game. 



Civilisation is advancing with such rapid strides in British East Africa that year 

 by year it becomes more difficult to find and observe game still undisturbed by 

 the sportsman and hunter. 



Another generation and perhaps there will be little or no opportunities of 

 observing these animals as they existed before the net of civilisation had been drawn 

 round them. 



It thus behoves anyone who has had the fortune to be thrown much with wild 

 and unsophisticated animals to leave as careful a record as possible of their ways 

 and manners of living while there is still opportunity, and to study them in their 

 natural state. 



It is this consideration which has induced me to attempt the task of describing 

 the wild life of the country to the best of my ability. 



I quite realise that I am not specially qualified for the work, and that there are 

 many with greater experience of the country and game than I possess. 



However, I hope that perhaps in later years, when the lion no longer roars over 

 the plain and the rhino has ceased to wander in the open, that this book, in 

 conjunction with many others of a similar nature, may be of some little value in 

 reconstructing what will then be past natural history. 



If the deficiencies of this book only bring home to any more experienced 

 sportsmen, who have not yet done so, the necessity for recording their observations, it 

 will not be without its value. 



