﻿12 
  DR. 
  H. 
  LYNDHURST 
  DUKE. 
  

  

  oribi, 
  rhino, 
  hartebeest, 
  topi, 
  roan, 
  wildebeest, 
  duiker, 
  zebra, 
  impala, 
  dikdik, 
  carnivores 
  ; 
  

   (5) 
  roan, 
  impala, 
  oribi, 
  duiker, 
  eland, 
  zebra, 
  topi, 
  impala, 
  wild 
  dog 
  and 
  other 
  carnivores. 
  

  

  In 
  these 
  belts 
  fly 
  persisted 
  throughout 
  the 
  dry 
  [season 
  and 
  the 
  burning 
  of 
  the 
  

   grass. 
  They 
  appeared 
  much 
  addicted 
  to 
  the 
  neighbourhood 
  of 
  paths, 
  and, 
  in 
  places 
  

   where 
  motor 
  transport 
  was 
  employed, 
  illustrated 
  to 
  a 
  remarkable 
  degree 
  the 
  

   " 
  following 
  " 
  propensity 
  of 
  morsitans. 
  On 
  the 
  whole, 
  the 
  fly 
  were 
  not 
  particularly 
  

   troublesome, 
  except 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  motor 
  vehicles, 
  around 
  which 
  they 
  collected 
  

   literally 
  in 
  swarms. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  North-East 
  Transvaal 
  Stevenson-Hamilton 
  (3) 
  states 
  that 
  the 
  fly 
  com- 
  

   pletely 
  disappeared 
  immediately 
  after 
  or 
  during 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  of 
  1896-1897, 
  and 
  

   has 
  never 
  come 
  back. 
  Apparently 
  it 
  disappeared 
  also 
  from 
  the 
  adjoining 
  Portu- 
  

   guese 
  territory. 
  As 
  regards 
  the 
  effects 
  of 
  the 
  disease 
  on 
  the 
  game 
  he 
  writes, 
  

   ' 
  after 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  it 
  was 
  found 
  that 
  the 
  last 
  of 
  the 
  eland 
  in 
  the 
  N. 
  E. 
  Transvaal 
  

   had 
  disappeared, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  buffalo 
  were 
  reduced 
  to 
  a 
  herd 
  of 
  about 
  20, 
  which 
  

   remained 
  in 
  the 
  densest 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Sabi 
  Bush 
  in 
  the 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  former 
  fly 
  country. 
  

   A 
  small 
  number 
  of 
  kudu 
  and 
  bushbuck 
  survived 
  in 
  the 
  same 
  locality. 
  Impala, 
  

   wildebeest, 
  and 
  other 
  species, 
  native 
  to 
  the 
  district, 
  appeared 
  much 
  as 
  formerly." 
  In 
  

   this 
  district 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  arrived 
  among 
  the 
  game 
  at 
  the 
  season 
  of 
  the 
  long 
  grass. 
  

  

  Gibbons 
  (10) 
  writes 
  of 
  North 
  Barotseland: 
  "I 
  may 
  mention 
  that 
  between 
  1896 
  

   and 
  1897 
  the 
  tsetse 
  has 
  disappeared 
  in 
  many 
  districts 
  where 
  it 
  was 
  previously 
  

   rampant, 
  and 
  is 
  so 
  decimated 
  in 
  others 
  as 
  to 
  be 
  scarcely 
  perceptible." 
  Again 
  Jack 
  

   (11) 
  speaking 
  of 
  the 
  Lomagundi 
  district 
  of 
  Southern 
  Rhodesia 
  says 
  : 
  "It 
  would 
  

   seem 
  that 
  the 
  fly 
  in 
  this 
  part 
  survived 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  in 
  very 
  small 
  numbers 
  in 
  

   scattered 
  localities, 
  failed 
  to 
  increase 
  to 
  any 
  extent, 
  but 
  persisted 
  until 
  recent 
  years, 
  

   although 
  on 
  the 
  verge 
  of 
  extermination." 
  Hamilton 
  contends 
  that 
  " 
  in 
  the 
  absence 
  

   of 
  any 
  other 
  destructive 
  cause, 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  even 
  a 
  few 
  buffalo, 
  kudu, 
  and 
  bushbuck 
  

   survived, 
  supposing 
  these 
  animals 
  to 
  provide 
  the 
  favourite 
  food 
  of 
  the 
  morsitans, 
  

   must 
  surely 
  have 
  induced 
  a 
  partial 
  survival 
  of 
  the 
  latter, 
  a 
  nucleus 
  which 
  in 
  the 
  

   course 
  of 
  years 
  would 
  have 
  increased 
  with 
  the 
  increasing 
  herds." 
  

  

  From 
  a 
  consideration 
  of 
  the 
  above 
  evidence 
  the 
  following 
  points 
  emerge 
  : 
  — 
  ■ 
  

  

  (1). 
  That 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  known 
  instance 
  of 
  the 
  prolonged 
  existence 
  of 
  G. 
  morsitans 
  

   in 
  an 
  area 
  where 
  game 
  is 
  entirely 
  and 
  permanently 
  absent. 
  

  

  (2). 
  That 
  the 
  fly 
  is 
  generally 
  found 
  associated 
  with 
  game 
  in 
  considerable 
  numbers 
  

   and 
  variety. 
  It 
  may, 
  however, 
  occur 
  in 
  localities 
  where 
  wild 
  ungulates 
  are 
  

   apparently 
  scarce. 
  Under 
  these 
  circumstances 
  the 
  tsetse 
  are 
  probably 
  pressed 
  for 
  

   food 
  and 
  their 
  appreciation 
  of 
  the 
  human 
  visitor 
  is 
  apt 
  to 
  give 
  their 
  exasperated 
  

   victim 
  an 
  exaggerated 
  impression 
  of 
  the 
  degree 
  of 
  infestation 
  of 
  the 
  belt 
  as 
  a 
  whole. 
  

   This 
  impression 
  will 
  be 
  enhanced 
  by 
  the 
  " 
  following 
  " 
  propensities 
  of 
  the 
  fly. 
  

  

  (3). 
  That 
  during 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  epidemic 
  of 
  the 
  nineties 
  the 
  tsetse 
  of 
  South 
  Africa 
  

   were 
  affected 
  differently 
  in 
  different 
  localities. 
  The 
  fly 
  were 
  either 
  (a) 
  apparently 
  

   unaffected 
  ; 
  or 
  (b) 
  markedly 
  reduced 
  innumbers, 
  temporarily 
  or 
  permanently 
  ; 
  or 
  

   (c) 
  reduced 
  to 
  the 
  point 
  of 
  ultimate 
  extinction. 
  Generally, 
  however, 
  the 
  passage 
  

   of 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  throughout 
  the 
  fly 
  country 
  was 
  marked 
  by 
  a 
  great 
  diminution 
  in 
  

   the 
  numbers 
  of 
  the 
  tsetse. 
  

  

  (4). 
  That 
  the 
  rinderpest 
  affected 
  some 
  species 
  of 
  game 
  very 
  severely 
  and 
  left 
  others 
  

   almost 
  untouched, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  that 
  a 
  large 
  number 
  of 
  animals 
  escaped 
  destruction. 
  

  

  