48 . THE MAMMALS OF ETHIOPIAN AFRICA 



From 8000 to 10,000 feet upwards the flanks of Kilimanjaro form a mountain 

 meadow, on which the clumps of grass, although growing near together, are wide 

 enough apart to render walking difficult. During the dry season the floor of this 

 network is bare, or covered merely with mosses and lichens, but during and shortly 

 after the rainy period, millions of flowers spring up, transforming the tract into a 

 gorgeous Alpine meadow. The few isolated trees, of which there are not many 

 kinds, range in height from 15 to 25 feet, and, in consequence of the north-easterly 

 winds of autumn, are mostly bent towards the south-west. Many are dead, and 

 numerous lichens, especially the grey streamers of the bearded species, thickly 

 drape their branches. 



Still higher up the mountain the grass grows more sparingly and the lava- 

 slopes, strewn with large boulders, produce only stunted bushes, which gradually 

 lead up to a desert-tract. Above 14,000 feet the grass grows no higher than the 

 hand, its tussocks being scattered like dots over the stony soil. In another 

 thousand feet are reached the last sentinels of vegetation, forming small isolated 

 groups sheltered among the stones. Higher still comes the realm of mosses and 

 lichens, at least where the soil is dry, although in spots where rain, or snow, 

 collects there are usually small patches of vegetation. 



In south-east Africa the country rises from the sea in a series of treeless 



table-lands, the forest being restricted to the streams in the sheltered valleys, 



while the flanks of the mountains bear little but grass. The climate of the 



Drakensberg range is stormy and inclement, the mean annual temperature being 



only from 43° to 50° F., while the severe night-frosts which prevail in winter do 



not permit the growth of bushes, except in sheltered ravines. 



Among the fauna of the forest-zone, the first place is claimed by 

 Gorilla. 



the great greyish black man-like ape commonly known as the gorilla 



(Anthropopithecus gorilla), although its proper native name would appear to be 

 pongo. To describe this monstrous ape, whose main habitat is formed by the 

 teeming tropical forests of the west coast, in detail on the present occasion is quite 

 unnecessary. As regards bodily size, it is generally stated in text-books that 

 the typical gorilla of the Gabun and adjacent districts does not exceed 5i feet 

 in height, this estimate being deduced from the stuffed specimens brought 

 by du Chaillu, and skeletons in the British Museum and elsewhere. In pro- 

 portion to the bulk of the animal, this height is relatively small, and is due to 

 the shortness of the hind-legs. This height is, however, considerably exceeded by 

 a gorilla in the museum at Tring, shot some years ago in the hinterland of the 

 Cameruns. On the other hand, the type specimen of A. g. beringeri, from German 

 East Africa, is stated to stand only about 4 feet 11£ inches, and to have weighed 

 only 100 kilogrammes. In contrast to this is an enormous gorilla killed near 

 Wessu, on the Sangria River, in Congo territory. This animal, a male, was one of 

 a party of three, and photographs in a sitting posture were taken in the flesh on 

 its arrival at Wessu, alongside two natives, of whom one is standing. The height 

 of the standing native is not given, but, as shown in the photographs, the head of 

 the gorilla in the sitting posture reaches well up to his waist. The entire animal 

 is stated to have measured not less than 7 feet 6f inches, and to have weighed 

 350 kilogrammes. Seeing that the length-measurement exceeds that of the 



