RHINOCEROSES. 481 



The longest known horn is one of the kabaoba type in the British Museum, of 



which the total length is 56h inches. The history of this specimen is unknown, 



but it has been in the collection for a very long period. Next to this is an example 



of the niohohu type recorded by Mr. Selous, of which the length is given as 54 



inches. Other fine specimens of the front horn measure 44, 42f , 40, and 38| inches. 



In examples where both horns have been preserved, the length of the front one in 



one case is 37f and that of the hinder l7f inches, while in another these dimensions 



are 33 and 13 inches. At the time when these rhinoceroses were abundant it was 



the ambition of every South African chief to possess a long staff, or kerrie, made 



from a front horn ; and it is, therefore, as Mr. H. A. Bryden suggests, highly probable 



that the largest dimensions recorded above may have been considerably exceeded. 



The range of this rhinoceros was always limited, and apparently 

 Distribution. ° . J . . , . 



never extended north of the Zambesi; this restricted distribution being, 



as already mentioned, largely due to the creature's grass-eating habits. For the last 

 sevent}^ or eighty years it has been unknown to the south of the Orange River, 

 but, according to Mr. Bryden, there is a tradition that it formerly roamed over the 

 greater part of the Cape Colony. About the middle of the present century, when 

 Gordon Cumming, and afterwards Andersson, made their well-known hunting- 

 tours, Burchell's rhinoceros was comparatively common in parts of the Kalahari 

 Desert, Nofamiland, and various districts between the Orange and Zambesi Rivers. 

 Indeed, Gordon Cumming states that on one occasion he saw upwards of twelve of 

 these magnificent animals together in long grass, while Andersson and Chapman 

 speak of having shot as many as eight in a single night, while they were drinking 

 at a water-hole during the dry season. Mr. Selous remarks, however, that the 

 numbers thus met with were probably drawn together from over a large tract of 

 country, as at such times drinking-places are few and far between. In 1874 Mr. 

 Selous met with a considerable number of these rhinoceroses on the Chobi, but on 

 again visiting the same district in 1877 he only came across traces of two, while in 

 1879 they had completely disappeared. In North Mashonaland there were, how- 

 ever, still a considerable number between 1878 and 1880, while others were to be 

 met with in a small tract on the Sabi River in South-East Africa. About ten years 

 ago Mr. Selous was, however, only able to find a single specimen in Mashonaland, 

 and it was then thought that this animal, which fell to his rifle, was actually the 

 last of its race. In a remote corner of Mashonaland this indefatigable hunter 

 found, however, some half-dozen individuals still living in 1892, two of which were 

 subsequently shot by Mr. R. T. Coryndon. In the north Kalahari Desert the 

 species had been completely exterminated some years previously to 1890. 



The extirpation of this rhinoceros is the more to be regretted since our museums 

 are very badly off for specimens. It is, however, fortunate that Mr. Coryndon 

 has succeeded in bringing home the skeletons and skins of two adult examples, 

 which are preserved in the British Museum and the Rothschild Museum at Tring : 

 while there is also a stuffed specimen in the Museum at Lej'den. In addition to a 

 magnificent skull, with horns, the British Museum likewise possesses a tine series 

 of detached horns. 



In treating of the common African rhinoceros, we have already 

 Habits 



had occasion to refer to the exclusively grass-eating habits of this 



vol. 11. — 31 



