THE WILD FAUNA OF THE EMPIEE 



63 



much hunted by natives with packs of dogs, and there is little 

 uoubt that large numbers of them are destroyed in this way. The 

 natives eat the meat and make trumpets out of the horns. There 

 is reason to suppose that more than one variety of this very in- 

 teresting species is to be found in the Uganda Protectorate. The 

 number of individual specimens hitherto brought home does not 

 admit of the fact being definitely established. 



Rcedbuck are fairly common in the Nile Province and very 

 numerous in Southern Uganda and Ankole. They are rarely 

 ound more than one or two at a time, though they are plenti- 

 ni I ly scattered over the plains on the left bank of the Kagera. 



Bushbuok are really scarce both in the Nile Province and in 

 Uganda, though no doubt their habits cause them to appeal' really 

 rarer than they actually are. Harnessed antelope, on the other 

 nand, are pretty common in the Nile Province, and can generally 

 oa found where bush with open spaces in the neighbourhood of 

 water give them the protection and feeding they require. 



A very common little antelope both in the Nile Province and 

 Wtoughoat Ankole is the oribi. They are found practically 

 everywhere m grassy and thorny country. In the Nile Province 

 -nere is another tiny antelope, Nauotragus llemprichii, not much 

 weer than a hare. This little beast is not so common as the 

 oribi, and is rarely shot. In Ankole and Karagwe klipspringers 

 •»e common wherever the ground suits them. The species in this 

 part show some differences when compared with the klipspringers 

 o other parts of Africa, and may prove to be an intermediate 

 vanety._ They are very sporting little animals, and a day after 

 '-nem with a rook rifle is the nearest approach to hill stalking that 

 one may get within the limits of the Uganda Protectorate. 

 ^ Animals of prey are common in proportion to the amount of 

 Same upon which they are dependent for food. There are large 

 numbers of lions throughout the Nile Province, and also in 

 southern Ankole, where the big herds of elands, zebra, damalisous, 

 °an, and mpalla give them plenty of food. Leopards are also 

 ^oiniiion, though very much less frequently seen than the lions, 

 ^ney live principally on the small antelope, monkeys, guinea-fowl, 

 o., but they take toll of the natives' goats and thus become some- 

 wm.es a great nuisance. At Mumela Camp, for instance, where 

 >e Anglo-German Boundary Commission had a temporary head- 

 barters in 1903, a leopard took goats from one hut or other 

 • "most every night for a month. The natives begged the Euro- 

 ' ,' s *°. kl11 him > and th ree officers turned out to do so. He was 

 ackod into a piece of grass, but before being finally despatched, 

 e wounded more or less seriously no less than thirteen men. 



iho lions both in the Nile and near the Kagera take to man- 

 ning occasionally. Many instances in both districts were brought 

 notice. One lion, for instance, between Nimule and Gondokoro 

 vU «'(( mi lie people in ten days. 



tli . f. lions in Bukanga have an extremely bad reputation among 

 6 natives, and, judging from the number of casualties, this fear 



v9 



