1905.] ON A WOUNDED ORYX HIDING. 187 



3. A male Leopard of the Persian race [Felis joarchis tulUana), 

 received in exchange on Feb. 24th. 



4. A semi-albino variety of the Common Fox [Canis vuljjes) 

 from Essex, deposited on Feb. 7th. 



The Secretary read an extract from a letter that had been 

 written to him by Mrs. S. L. Hinde, who had kept a number of 

 animals in captivity at her husband's station in the Kenya district, 

 British East Africa. He remarked that much had been recorded 

 as to the urgent desire for salt shown by herbivorous animals, but 

 that he was unaware of any observations as to the gratification 

 of the instinct in a manner so unusual as that observed by 

 Mrs. Hinde, who was a competent and trustworthy observer. 

 The following is the extract in question :— 



" You asked me to tell you in detail how my Antelope became 

 a murderer. He was a Duiker {Ce'phalo'plius), and became a 

 member of my Zoo when a few days old. He was suckled by a 

 goat, and was one of the few antelopes I have succeeded in 

 rearing ; he w^as never ill, and always seemed in excellent con- 

 dition. My Zoo was a fairly large space, surrounded with wire- 

 netting, and contained the Duiker, a Dik-dik, a large family of 

 Dassies (which bred in captivity), and various species of Francolins, 

 Guinea-fowls, and Pigeons. They lived happily together and 

 never seemed to fight, but not unfrequently I found one of the 

 birds literally beheaded. I thought that the Dassies were the 

 culprits, as they used to chase the green pigeons to eat their 

 fruit, so much so that ultimately these pigeons became grain- 

 feeders, doing well on the changed diet. One day, however, when 

 a new partridge, just captured and weak from flight, had been 

 put in the enclosure, I saw the Duiker go up to it, put one hoof 

 on its back, and bite its head off. He was evidently the murderer, 

 but simply because he needed salt. How he knew he could get it 

 from blood is unexplained, but he evidently did. From that time 

 quantities of rock-salt were kept in the enclosure, and there were 

 no more beheaded birds." 



Mr. Frederick Gillett, F.Z.S., exhibited a photograph of a 

 wounded Oryx {Oryx heisa) hiding under a mimosa-bush (text- 

 fig. 27, p. 188), showing, what might be taken as an example of 

 protective coloration. He, however, expressed the opinion that 

 protective colouring only really took place in insects, birds, and 

 small animals the enemies of which were birds, and that the larger 

 animals which were preyed on by the cat and dog tribes, who 

 hunted by scent, did not requii^e protective coloration. He put 

 down the difiiculty of seeing large animals in their native haunts 

 to the fact of their being able to remain absolutely still for 

 long periods, holding the view that any animal in any ordinary 

 surroundings would become practically invisible by remaining 

 motionless. 



