326 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



excepting in the fonnation of the head, which is somewhat shorter and broader, and it has a less prehen- 

 sile lip. Its chief characteristic is the posterior horn, which is flattened at the sides, being of almost 

 equal length to the anterior, and even occasionally longer, twenty inches and twenty-two inches being 

 about the average. It is found sparingly in all the country south of the Zambesi, and is not gre- 

 garious, a bull and cow only being usually seen together. RHINOCEROS BICORNIS MINOR is the smallest, 



being seldom over ten feet in length, or more than four feet ten inches in height. The head is more 

 elongated and the nose more prehensile than in any other species, while the legs are shorter in pro- 

 portion and the feet smaller. The anterior horns rarely exceed twelve inches, and the posterior seven or 

 eight inches. It is usually found only between Zululand and the Limpopo river, although it has been 

 killed farther north, not far from the Zambesi. It is not gregarious, two full-grown ones and a 

 calf being the greatest number that has been recorded as seen together. It feeds on thorns, leaves, 

 and shoots, and rarely, if ever, is found out of the thorn jungle. 



Until recent times, it was universally believed that the hide of a Rhinoceros was too tough to 

 allow a bullet to penetrate ; indeed, even now in popular opinion the belief is still retained, but, like 

 many popular opinions, it has been proved to be untrue ; and that a Rhinoceros may be as easily shot 



