RHINOCEROSES. 



475 



Blanford, the length of the tip of the snout to the end of the tail measured along 

 the curves was 6 feet 9 inches, of which 1 foot 9J inches was occupied by the tail, 

 and the height at the shoulder 4 feet 8J inches. These dimensions are, however, 

 exceeded by males, which, according to Sir S. Baker, may stand from 5 feet 6 

 inches to 5 feet 8 inches at the shoulder. 



The proportions of the two horns to one another vary greatly, the front one 

 being in some cases much longer than the hinder, while in others the two are 

 nearly or quite equal, and, more rarely, the second horn may be the longer of the 

 two. The native name boreli is applied to those individuals in which the second 

 horn is the shorter, while keitloa is restricted to such as have horns of equal 

 length, or the second longer than the first. Mr. Selous has shown that there is a 

 complete transition from the one to the other type, and consequently that such 

 differences cannot have any specific value. 



size of Horns ^ n re ar( * to the length attained by the horns of this species, it 



appears that in Abyssinia and other parts of North-East Africa, from 

 Sir S. Baker's experience, the front horn rarely or never exceeds 23 or 24 inches, 

 but much larger dimensions are recorded in South and East African specimens. 

 Thus examples of the front horn are described as measuring 44, 43, 41, 40, and 38| 

 inches in length ; but with the exception of the last, in which its length is 21 

 inches, in none of these examples are the dimensions of the second horn recorded. 

 In one specimen the length of the first and second horns were respectively 31 and 

 19J inches, in another 28f and 15J, in a third 28J and 8f, in a fourth 27 and 16, 

 in a fifth 21J and 18f, and in a sixth 14f and 14f inches. The front horn is 

 generally nearly circular in section and slightly curved backwards, while the second 

 is nearly straight, much compressed, and with its hinder edge often sharper than 

 the front one. Sir J. Willoughby killed in East Africa an example of this rhinoceros 

 having a small rudimental third horn behind the normal pair. 



In Abyssinia Mr. Blanford states that this rhinoceros is confined 

 to the lower elevations, not ascending above some five thousand feet. 

 In the valley of the Anseba he writes that it " inhabits the dense thickets on the 

 bank of the stream, which are intersected in all directions by the paths made by 

 these animals. In the densest parts, where roots and stems render the jungle 

 almost impervious, there are places known by the inhabitants as rhinoceros-houses. 

 The stems and branches have generally been broken away or pushed back, so as to 

 leave a clear space, about fifteen or twenty feet in diameter, at the bottom of which 

 the ground has been worn into a hollow by the trampling and rolling of the animal 

 in wet weather. These houses are used as retreats during the heat of the day. On 

 two or three occasions we disturbed a rhinoceros from one of these, and he rushed 

 off with much noise and loud snorts through the bushes. So far as we could learn 

 from our observations, these animals enter the thick jungle early in the morning 

 and rest until one or two o'clock in the day, then they leave their thickets and go 

 out to feed, usually remaining, however, amongst high bushes. At the time of year 

 in which we visited the country, rain generally set in in the afternoon, and, even if 

 it did not rain, the sky was overcast. In the clear weather the rhinoceroses are 

 said never to appear before evening. They are great browsers, feeding chiefly on 

 the young shoots and branches of acacia and other trees, or on fruits ; so far as I 



