HYENAS AND JACKALS 



skull, too, will decay, and nothing will be left to record 

 the drama which has been enacted. 



The jackal is uljiquitous, seen everywhere and at all 

 times of night, and often in daytime. In the fairy 

 tales and fables of the tribes of the steppe, this cunning, 

 wary animal plays the same part which we have as- 

 signed to our Reynard, the fox. The " umbria witu" 

 of the Waswahih, the "endere" of the Masai, the 

 "I'eloande" of the Wandorobbo is the embodiment of 

 cunning, smartness, and agility, the animal which out- 

 wits all the rest. 



The hours I spent watching the scavengers of the 

 steppe I count among the most enjoyable of my life. 

 When I had baited m}^ traps, or when I had killed some 

 game, I often kept in hiding near by to watch the 

 jackals, hyenas, vultures, and marabous collecting 

 around the repast which was spread for them. During 

 these hours of observation the light was unfortunately 

 never favorable enough to allow me to take good pict- 

 ures of these scenes of animal life. May others, trav- 

 elling in the interest of science, be more fortunate than I ! 



