1008 



ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY BULLETIN 



lb not annoyed by suns) 

 about, but when genth 



ettled down peacefully, sleeping with hi 

 •di.in, with whom he shared the hut. 



stless and walked 

 the breast of 



It is an open country where companionship is 

 developed to its highest degree, where stamped- 

 ing herds are followed by bands of lions, where 

 swarms of yawling hyenas give their gruesome 

 concerts and flocks of vultures circle far above 

 it all. awaiting their share of the spoils. 



But in the West African rain forest travelers 

 move on the beaten track, and even the hunter 

 rarely hears more than the noises of escaping 

 animals. Only the elephant, buffalo or wild boar 

 allows of approach. The sombre green of the 

 vegetation accentuates the general monotony, 

 and few escape the oppressing gloom of the 

 rainy hours or days with a sun overcast by 

 dense vapors. Here and there a few score mon- 

 keys frolic together under the large green cano- 

 pies. Unlike the vast herds of antelopes roam- 

 ing the plains, those of the forest await the 

 silence of night to steal about singly or in pairs. 

 Strength, speed and endurance are replaced by 

 stealth and rapid dodging from thicket to thick- 

 et. Even the otherwise gregarious buffalos occur 

 here in bands of only three to five, and ele- 

 phants in troops of a dozen or so generally fol- 



low the trails worn by generations of their kind. 

 The giant carnivores and carrion feeders would 

 starve here ; only leopards, ambushed in trees, 

 succeed in securing prey. Dead animal matter 

 is chiefly disposed of by millions of tiny ants. 

 The vulturine eagle. Gypohierax, is compelled 

 to satisfy its wants by picking oily pulp from 

 the palm nuts, as many of the smaller carni- 

 vora. the genet and mongoose, that also consume 

 plantains. The larger civet adds corncobs to 

 this peculiar vegetable diet. 



The habitat of the Okapi. however, is not as 

 uniform as might be expected, at places so open 

 that, could it be observed during its nocturnal 

 rambles, it might be seen at a hundred yards. 

 or. again, so dense that it could find sufficient 

 cover at arm's length. The Okapi's one great 

 enemy is man. The wariness of the game is but 

 an added stimulus to the cunning Pygmy hunter 

 who. like the Okapi. claims the forest jungle as 

 his home. A quarry so large provides coveted 

 meat for days of feasting. The more powerful 

 Bantu negro, living in villages and owning plan- 

 tations, with a craving for meat that had made 



