144 NORTH-EAST AFRICA. 



Fauna. 



The diversity of climate and flora naturally gives rise to a corresponding 

 variety in the animal kingdom. On the lowlands the fauna resembles that of 

 Arabia or the Sahara, on the outer spurs that of Senegal, that of the Mediterranean 

 on the plateaux, whilst it is almost European on the mountain summits. On the 

 lower plains are found the giraffe, the zebra, the wild ass, and the ostrich. Of 

 the numerous species of antelopes inhabiting Abyssinia, few advance far up the 

 plateaux, although the wild goat is found on the crests of the Simen range, at a 

 height of over 1 3,000 feet. Numerous varieties of the monkey family, amongst 

 others the coliibus guereza, noted for its beautiful black-and-white fur, arc confined 

 to the lowland forests of Shoa, Gojam, and K walla- Woggara. But a certain 

 species of cynocéphales are found at an altitude of some 6,000 feet. The rhinoceros 

 has also been met at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The elephant also frequents the 

 mountains, although he prefers the thickets of the valleys, where he commits 

 extensive depredations on the plantations. But this pachyderm is disappearing 

 before the attacks of the hunter, who eagerly pursues it, as much for the sake of 

 its ivory as to retaliate for the havoc it commits on the cultivated lands. Accord- 

 ing to the Arab lowlanders, the elephant knows when to expect the caravans laden 

 with durra/i, attacks them from its ambuscades, and takes possession of the supplies. 

 The hippopotamus is also forced by want of water as far into the interior as the 

 foot of the cascades, and is also numerous in Lake Tana, where, however, it does 

 not grow to such a size as those of the large African rivers. 



The lion is rarely found above the lowlands or beyond the Beni-Amer territory 

 in the north. It differs from its Central African congeners by its deep black 

 mane ; indeed, one variety, infesting the banks of the Takkazeh, is almost entirely 

 black. A more dangerous animal is the leopard, which roams throughout the 

 country to a height of 11,000 feet. Like the Indian tiger, these carnivora often 

 become man-eaters, for when they have once tasted human flesh they prefer it to all 

 other prey, A still more formidable beast is the tvobo or abasamho, believed by 

 Lefebvre to be a wolf, and said to partake of the qualities of the lion and the 

 leopard. The spotted hyœna is also very common. The buffalo, which frequents 

 chiefly the riverain kwallas, is of all other savage beasts the readiest to attack 

 man ; it fears no enemy, and its furious rush is checked neither by quagmires, 

 rocks, nor prickly thickets. The wild fauna also includes the wild boar, which, 

 to spite the Mohammedans, is occasionally eaten by the Abyssinian Christians, 

 although usually regarded as impure. The Abyssinians also reject the flesh of 

 the tortoise, and of all animals show the greatest repugnance to the hare, in this 

 latter respect strictly adhering to the law of Moses. It is usually stated that 

 Africa possesses no song-birds, but Abyssinia best shows how erroneous this state- 

 ment is, as it possesses numerous varieties of these birds, nearly all of gorgeous 

 plumage. The sacred ibis (^geronticus œthiopicus), no longer seen on the banks of 

 the Egyptian Nile, is still met in the Upland Abyssinian valleys. The branches 

 of trees overhanging rivers and pools are covered with the nests of the textor alecto, 



