1881. J SOUTH-AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES. 729 



It may be that they differ in disposition in different parts of the 

 country ; but wherever I have met with them I have never found 

 them to be by any means dangerous animals. Indeed 1 only 

 remember to have seen one make any attempt at a charge ; and that 

 was in the Mashuna country last year, and under strong provocation ; 

 for I galloped close in front of an old cow, endeavouring to turn her 

 from her course, upon which she came straight at me, snorting 

 loudly, but upon my spurring to one side did not follow me, but 

 resumed her way. Accidents have certainly iiai)pened in encounters 

 with the Prehensile-lipped Rhinoceros ; but many cases are also 

 upon record of hunters havinp; been killed or badly injured by the 

 square-mouthed species, which is ahv.iys represented as the most 

 harmless and inoffensive of beasts. Mr. Oswell had his horse killed by 

 one of the latter animals (ric?e Livingstone's ' Missionary Travels') ; the 

 veteran elephant-hunter Mr. Hartley was also very severely injured by 

 oneof these animals intheMashuna country — 1 think, in 1869. David 

 Jacobs, too, a son of the well-known Dutcli hunter Petrus Jacobs, 

 and who had been constantly hunting with his father for many years, 

 told me that the only narrow escape he ever had from a Rhinoceros 

 was from a square-mouthed one, which chased him for over a hundred 

 yards through some nasty bush; and I myself, in November 1874, 

 saw a white Rhinoceros bull, which I had wounded, make a very 

 decided charge at a boy of mine, who threw down his gun and took 

 refuge in a tree. I only mention these facts to show that, although 

 the Square-mouthed Rhinoceros is usually a most inoffensive animal, 

 occasional specimens may be fouud that are capable of resenting ill- 

 treatment; and, so far as my small experience goes, I have found 

 vicious animals to be equally few and far between amongst the pre- 

 hensile-lipped species. 



These Rhinoceroses are very quick and restless in their movements, 

 and either very inquisitive or mistrustful of their eyesight ; for usually, 

 when disturbed by any one approaching from below the wind, they will 

 jump up with a snort, gaze fixedly at the intruder, then, with another 

 snort, trot quickly a few steps nearer, stand again, move their heads 

 with a quick motion, first to one side, then to the other, advance 

 again perhaps, and finally, when shouted at, whisk quickly round and 

 trot away in grand style, with their tails screwed up over their backs. 

 Whilst hunting in the Mashuna country in 1872, and to the west 

 of the river Gwai in 1873, I encountered almost daily one or more 

 Prehensile-hpped Rhinoceroses, often seeing five, six, or even eight in 

 one day. When these animals got my wind, they invariably made 

 off at once ; but when they only saw me, they usually acted as I have 

 described above. Upon these latter occasions my Kafirs were in the 

 habit of shouting to me to run away, climb a tree, &c., and often did 

 so themselves ; however, I always stood where I was, throwing 

 sometimes sticks, stones, or assegais at them, sometimes only 

 shouting ; and although some of them advanced from a distance of 

 say forty yards to within about twenty, they always turned and ran 

 off in the end. Upon several occasions I have fired into a Rhino- 

 ceros thus facing me, which, dropping upon its knees to the shot, has 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 188], No. XLVII. 4? 



