I I 



4 Great and Small Game of Africa 



The buffaloes found on the Man plateau, where it is much colder than 

 the Masai country, were still more thickly coated with black hair, one 

 old bull, killed at an elevation of 8000 feet, having large tufts on its face 

 almost as shaggy as a wildebeest. 



In size they never varied much in different localities, an average bull 

 standing 5 feet at the shoulder, and measuring 10 feet 6 inches in length, 

 including the tail, which is 2 feet 6 inches. 1 The horns, however, as 

 indeed with most other game, varied a good deal locally. On the coast 

 and in the Kilimanjaro district the great majority of the heads were wider 

 in the palm in proportion to the spread, whilst those found farther north 

 towards Lake Baringo had a very much wider spread in comparison with 

 the width of palm. 



It is of course purely a matter of opinion as to which is the finer 

 trophy — a thick massive head, or one with a wide sweeping spread. 



In 1890 rinderpest appeared amongst the native cattle, and unfor- 

 tunately spread amongst the buffaloes so rapidly that by the end of April 

 they were literally decimated, and there are now very few left. There 

 are still two small herds whose habitat is fortunately within the limited 

 area of the Game Reserve in the Kikuyu district, so there is now a chance 

 of this grand beast being saved from extermination. There are also in 

 the Mau district three or four other small herds, which, however, confine 

 themselves so closely to the dense undergrowth in the forest that they are 

 practically unapproachable even to the Wanderobbo hunters, who can creep 

 about in such places with far less noise than is possible for an European. 



Since they are now so scarce and are no longer found in the plains and 

 comparatively open bush as formerly, but confine themselves to the thickest 

 jungle, from which they only emerge late in the evenings to feed, it is 



