4 MR. C. W. HOBLEY ON THE 



Grant's gazelle, and hartebeest. The liealtli of tlie host appeal's- 

 to be unimpaired. 



Taking it all ronnd disease is rare among game and serious epi- 

 demics are uncommon ; as Mr. Percival has pointed out, the reason 

 is that directly an animal becomes sick it either leaves the herd 

 or is driven out, and being alone and dull -with sickness it more 

 readily falls a prey to one of the killers or one of the scavengers ; 

 next day the vultures complete the stoiy, and veiy little is left to 

 form a breeding gTound for the flies which are the great dis- 

 seminatoi's of disease. 



It would take far too long to attempt to deal with each species 

 of the various game animals in the part of Africa with whicli I 

 am acquainted, and so much has already been written by others. 

 I will, however, venture to refer to one or two of particular 

 interest. 



Elephant. — First comes the elephant. The numbers of 

 elephant have greatly decreased during the last thirt}'' years, for 

 apart from the European sportsmen from overseas, the residents 

 in the country have accounted for a large number ; further, the 

 improvement in communications has indii-ectly led to a greater- 

 amount of illicit slaughter. It is true that game laws have been 

 in force in British East Africa and. Uganda for about twenty years- 

 and administered by a keen staft", and the ports have been cai'e- 

 f ully watched ; but a great deal of ivory has nevertheless been- 

 smuggled out over our land frontiers both to the north and south,, 

 and without heavy expenditure this was impossible to check. 

 There are certain small tribes like the Dorobo and Sania who are 

 professional hunters, and many of the Eastern Akamba are gi'eat 

 oSenders. A native with a few tusks has up to now had no great 

 difficulty in disposing of them to some itinerant Arab, Baluchi, 

 or 8omali trader who was wandering about ostensibly trading in 

 hides, and Indian traders could always be found to finance such- 

 undertakings. 



The elephant endangers itself by consei-vatism, for it is m 

 beast of very regular habits ; at certain seasoiis it invariablv 

 seeks certain localities, and it is interesting to map out the lines 

 of migration. 



Generally speaking, in the hot dry season it seeks the shelter- 

 of the high forests, and in the rains treks to more open country ; 

 native hunters say that the peipetual drip from the trees in tlie 

 forest is distasteful to it. Elephants in the Kilimanjaro region, 

 for instance, move down the northern flanks of the Usambara 

 Range about April and spread out through the ISTyika Plains 

 almost to the coast, one of the attractions there being the ripe 

 fruit of great groves of Hyphfene palms. 



Similarly, another herd migrates each year from the same 

 region and marches east, crossing the Uganda Hail way near- 

 Kinani and on eastward across the Athi into Southern Ivitui. 



For many years past, about J une, a herd of elephants has come- 



