THE CAPE BABOON OR BAVIAN 



canine pursuers, the baboons eventually reached 

 the dense thorny scrub and vanished. 



The baboon does not bite after the manner of 

 most other animals. The victim is gripped with 

 the hands, the great canine teeth are driven home 

 in the flesh, and with a tremendous heave the body 

 of the victim is thrust away from the jaws, the 

 sharp-edged canine teeth cutting through the flesh 

 like a knife. These teeth are specially evolved for 

 the purpose, the cutting edge being at the back. 



I once saw a wounded male baboon pick up a 

 pointer dog, and with a single bite completely rip 

 open its abdomen, so that its bowels protruded. 

 These warrior males are terrible antagonists when 

 brought to bay, and an unarmed man in the grip 

 of one stands no chance of victory, for if his throat 

 is not immediately torn out, he would soon be 

 otherwise crippled. 



In Natal our assistance was once solicited by 

 some natives who were actually being terrorised 

 by a troop of baboons. It seems the only available 

 water supply was from a spring in a kloof, the sides 

 of which were strewn with boulders and covered 

 more or less by a tangled mass of vegetation, largely 

 of a thorny nature. The native girls and women 

 are the carriers of water, the men considering it 

 beneath their dignity to do so. 



Baboons are well aware that native women do not 

 carry weapons, and that they are not to be feared 

 overmuch. At first the troop used to stand on 

 45 



