300 After Big Game in Central Africa 



of the province of Angola, on the Zambesi ; the south as far 

 as Victoria Falls, and the north as far as Barotse ; German 

 East Africa and British East Africa, the north of Victoria 

 Nyanza, and the Upper Nile ; in short, the heart of Africa 

 has become their last resort. 



I cannot say that the rhinoceros personifies beauty, grace, 

 or elegance ; but such as it is, and although I do not believe 

 it is capable of serving any purpose whatever from the point 

 of view of colonisation, it is an interesting animal. More- 

 over, it is not particularly harmful. It charges the hunter 

 when it scents him, but that is because he has followed it 

 into its distant retreats. Never does it lay waste cultivated 

 lands in the same way as do the elephant, hippopotamus, 

 and wart-hog; on the contrary, it flees places inhabited 

 by natives. 



Its disappearance would do no harm to anybody ; but 

 it is always sad to see powerful animals annihilated by man. 



In the preceding chapters I have mentioned some of the 

 habits of the rhinoceros. Here I am going to make a few 

 supplementary remarks about this strange animal, which 

 lives with difficulty in temperate countries, and the habits 

 of which are so little known. 



The age it can reach will probably never be determined ; 

 but, judging from the teeth, as in the case of the horse, I 

 think it must live a very long time. 



The molars are intact, or worn, as the case may be, 

 though the size and appearance of the animals' bodies do 

 not change. The horns also stop growing at a certain time, 

 and, as the animal continues to use them when feeding, 

 they end by becoming shortened and injured. And with 

 age comes thinness ; its sides become hollow ; its vicious- 

 ness increases. Age can be determined, therefore, by 

 these three indications : condition of the molars, exterior 

 dilapidation, bad condition and smallness of horns owing to 

 usage. To fix an approximate age, I should think that the 

 animal hardly ever exceeds one hundred years. 



