NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 



and capture, it levies a heavy toll on the stock 

 farmer, attacking his sheep, goats, calves, young 

 ostriches, and poultry. Should a flock of sheep 

 or goats be within convenient distance of its lair, 

 it will not hesitate to venture forth in broad day- 

 light and attack them. Should a shepherd make 

 his appearance it instantly bounds off and vanishes 

 in the thick bush, where, as a general rule, it is 

 impossible to follow it up, for the typical bush of 

 South Africa is the mimosa, which is smothered 

 with sharp-pointed thorns sticking out at all angles, 

 and anything from an inch to eight inches in length. 

 These bushes are usually low, and throw out a pro- 

 fusion of branches, and so closely together do they 

 often grow that they become intertwined, making 

 it impossible for a man to penetrate through them. 



The sinuous bodies of the wild cats are, however, 

 specially adapted for gliding under and through the 

 densest of South African bush and undergrowth. 

 In these thorny fastnesses the Caracal is safe from 

 both man and dog, and nothing short of actually 

 setting fire to the forest will dislodge it. 



People living in the open drier parts of South 

 Africa have but the faintest idea of the extreme 

 difficulties with which the stock farmer has to 

 contend who lives in the neighbourhood of these 

 dense thorny forests, which furnish such ideal cover 

 for destructive carnivorous animals. 



A large male Rooi-kat is more to be feared than a 

 leopard. The latter if disturbed at his meal will 

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