CAPTURING THE RHINOCEROS 



being the nearest, was in imminent danger of being 

 transfixed by the horn of the enraged young bull. The 

 boy ran yelling in my direction; now they were within 

 hailing distance, the animal closely pressing the man. 

 There was but one chance in ten that I might hit the 

 bull and not the boy. But better that he fall by my 

 bullet than be run through by that tusk and die in 

 agony. I fired at the neck of the bull. He fell in- 

 stantly, covering in his fall the black donkey driver, 

 who had escaped badly scared and only slightly bruised. 



A number of favorable circumstances must concur 

 to make the capture and raising of a young rhinoceros 

 possible. May other hunters also be fortunate enough 

 to bring some of these rare animals alive to our zoologi- 

 cal gardens in Europe and other continents. 



All in all I met about forty female rhinoceroses with 

 their young ones. In most cases I did not attempt to 

 shoot the old and to capture the young, because the 

 latter were already too big, or because I met the animals 

 too far from my camp, or because conditions made it 

 impossible to supply the necessary milk diet, even in 

 case I should succeed in capturing the young animal. 

 Under ordinary conditions the true sportsman will 

 never kill a cow or a young one, but show his mettle 

 and his true sporting spirit in hunting the male rhi- 

 noceros. 



