Rhinoceros, Hyrax, and Hippopotaitms. 155 



safety in flight instead of endeavouring to revenge 

 itself upon its pursuer. Should its young be assailed, 

 however, it will fight with great fury, and is then to the 

 full as dangerous an opponent as either of its relatives. 



The second of the white species, viz., the Kobaoba, 

 or Long-horned White Rhinocer s^RhinocerosOswellii}, 

 is a very much rarer animal, and is far less generally 

 distributed 



The anterior horn of the kobaoba is of considerable 

 size, sometimes exceeding four feet in length. Owing to 

 the manner in which the head is carried, this horn, 

 which is almost straight, and is directed forward 

 instead of backward, is generally found to be more or 

 less worn away by the friction with the ground. In 

 consequence of its length and straightness the horn is 

 of great value in the market. 



A walking-stick made of a single piece of this horn 

 will fetch almost any price in London or Paris. In 

 the old days of muzzle-loading rifles, a ramrod made 

 of rhinoceros horn was invaluable, as it was almost 

 unbreakable, and yet was tolerably light to carry. A 

 large knob was left at one end, and so it became not 

 only a loading rod, but a formidable weapon. Short 

 clubs of similar form are much used by the Kaffir 

 tribes in hunting, and are called knob-kerries. 



All the African species of rhinoceros are occasion- 

 ally to be seen in small herds of eight or ten specimens, 

 but can yet be scarcely described as gregarious, each 

 animal in time of danger separating from his com- 

 panions and selecting his own path. They are not pro- 

 lific animals, a single young one only being produced 

 at a birth. 



THE HYRAX. 



We are told in Ps. civ. v. 18, that 'the rocks are 

 a refuge for the conies,' and in Prov. xxx. v. 26, 



