THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT 



The favorite haunts of the elephant in tropical East 

 Africa are not, as one may think, the cool, shady, dense 

 forests, but rather the mountainous districts with a 

 scattered growth of trees. He frequents the wooded 

 parts of the steppe chiefly during the rainy season ; at 

 other times he prefers to make his temporary home in 

 high grass, in impenetrable thickets situated near lakes 

 and rivers, and also on high plateaus. The natives — the 

 Masai and the Wandorobbo — call these haunts snhiigo. 

 They are commonly on ground of such elevation that 

 they are assured of occasional rain - showers even in 

 the dry season. From there the elephants stray far 

 into the surrounding steppe during the rainy season. 



The thickets where tlje elephant and also the rhinoc- 

 eros love to dwell are not easily traversed by man. 

 Progress is slow unless the hunter follows the paths 

 which the animals themselves have made. When at- 

 tacked by a ferocious or wounded elephant in these 

 parts, he may have great difficulty in escaping. 



The localities favored by elephants are, as we have 

 seen, few and restricted. In parts of the country 

 where they are regularly hunted — that is, almost every- 

 where — European travellers hardly ever catch sight of 

 one. The animal is too wary to leave his hiding-place 

 except at night. The former commandant of a station 

 near the Kilimanjaro assured me himself that he had 

 not seen a single elephant during his stay of seven years. 



No doubt there are still a number of elephants in the 



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