: THE WILD FAUNA OF THE EMPIEE 



43 



skin, whilo the dogs themselves had already decamped, no doubt 

 Having discovered the proximity of human beings. 



The ferocity with which they pursue their prey was exempli- 

 fied one evening when two dogs pulled down an impala ewe 

 close to camp ; they were at once driven off by the natives, and 

 the ewe was still alive and trying to rise when I came up, but in 

 toe most sickening condition, both her flanks torn open, the 

 entrails either gone or trailing on the ground, and the flesh of one 

 TOarter entirely stripped off from hock to base of tail, so that the 

 "one showed throughout. 



Jhe reason that the wild dog is so terrible an enemy to game 

 wi general is his wasteful method of hunting (in which he approxi- 

 mates to, though no doubt he is far from equalling, the modes in 

 lavour among a certain class of so-called sportsmen) that is to 

 sa y, one or two dogs having pulled down, for example, an impala, 

 *i'l eat as much as they can conveniently gorge, and will then 

 leisurely rejoin the pack, leaving the carcase to the vultures, 

 h y:enas, and jackals ; the following day probably they resume 

 toe chase and a fresh animal is slain. In this their practice is 

 Vcr y different from, and very much more reprehensible than, that 

 ol the lion and the leopard, who return again and again to their 

 Ml, and use every precaution to prevent the meat becoming the 

 Property of the professional scavengers of the forest. 



. Although the larger antelope do no doubt not infrequently fall 

 victims to these voracious creatures, it is probable that, where 

 s »ialler animals such as impala, reedbuck, bush buck, or duyker 

 jtoound, they restrict themselves almost entirely to those, and 

 leave the bigger game in great measure alone. Such, at all 

 events, has been the ease in the Sabi Eeserve, where impala roam 

 n troops large enough to supply food to all the carnivora with 

 toe minimum of effort. 



It is said, possibly with some truth, though I cannot speak 



Worn personal knowledge, that a wounded wild dog is always 



«Ued by the rest of the pack ; it is certainly the case that he 



jioea not make a good recovery when wounded, the heat of the 



lood, consequent on an exclusively meat diet, causing the injuries 



mortify in a way which never occurs among herbivora. 



Nevertheless they are by no means ' soft,' and will go great 

 ( istanoes with the most desperate wounds. I never saw a 

 bounded or injured dog running with the pack, as is the case 

 Wl »h game, nor did I ever see one killed that had recovered from 

 an y old wound or, serious injury. 



As mentioned above, the morning hunt takes place usually 



r °m earliest dawn. After its successful conclusion, or on the sun 



eginning to get high, as the case may be, the pack, continually 



.loinocl by stragglers from all directions, proceeds, uttering at 



ntervals their rallying cry, to some convenient water. In drinking, 



eep pools and large rivers are, wherever possible, no doubt from a 



th ome ^ ear of crocodiles, carefully avoided. The next item is 



e sandy bed of a dry watercourse or bank of a river. Here, if 



