54 THE GAME OF BRITISH EAST AFRICA. 



Because colours and marks are no longer of service, it does not prove that they 

 have never been so. Before, however, such theories can be regarded seriously 

 a certain amount of evidence must be shown in their favour, and at present there 

 appears to be none. 



The theory that plain-dwelling animals are coloured protectively for life on the 

 plains under present conditions is absolutely untenable. The lion, looking out 

 from his retreat in the reeds on the game swarming all over the plain, cannot 

 imagine that they are all, or even that some of them are, bushes and ant-hills. 

 Even if he did, his nose would warn him when any animal came within four hundred 

 yards upwind of his retreat. 



There are many markings, however, which are undoubtedly sexual adorn- 

 ments. Of these ornaments some fit in with the general scheme of coloration, 

 such as the dewlaps of certain antelopes. Others seem to be unchecked 

 by any such consideration, such as the facial adornments of the males of certain 

 monkeys. 



Another point to be considered is as to whether man as a hunter has existed 

 long enough to allow of game having undergone any very material changes in 

 coloration for the purposes of escaping his observation. For, amongst creatures that 

 prey on others, man is the only hunting creature who relies almost wholly on 

 the sense of sight in pursuit. Carnivorous animals of the dog tribe hunt entirely 

 by smell until but a few yards from their prey. It is a common event for a hare 

 or fox, closely pursued by hounds, to make a sudden and sharp turn. In most 

 cases the hounds go on a few yards beyond the spot at which the turn was made 

 before they discover that the scent is lost. This shows that even when only a 

 matter of twenty or thirty yards behind their quarry they are hunting by scent and 

 not sight. Cat-like animals locate and approach animals chiefly by smell, but to 

 them sight is of more service than to dog-like animals, as they often go in for an 

 elaborate stalk, much of which is performed by sight. It remains, however, that 

 man is the only creature whose success in the hunt depends on locating distant 

 game entirely by sight. It seems hardly likely that game should have developed 

 protective colours and yet maintained a very strong scent for the purpose of avoiding 

 foes who hunt almost entirely by scent. 



For the upholding of the protective coloration theories in regard to the 

 ordinary game it seems necessary to prove first one of two things — either that 

 when such colours originated conditions were prevalent very different to those 

 now in existence or that these colours were developed to baffle man in his 

 hunting. If the first proposition is to be upheld it must be proved that their colours 



