12 EINAR LONNBERG, MAMMALS COLLECTED BY THE SWEDISH ZOOLOGICAL EXPEDITION ETC. 



A plumlike fruit of the size and shape of an olive with a flat wrinkled stone and 

 with aromatic taste, although very adstringent before it is ripe, is much liked by 

 the Baboons. This bush has long thorns and the new, still very small leaves were 

 seen a few times and found to be pinnate. Another very common bush has a kind 

 of peculiar » berries* of the size of large pease. These sit on the upper side of the 

 branches and contain a hard seed in the centre, but between that and the exterior 

 brownish cover is a milky looking, wery resinous and sticky but aromatic juice. These 

 » berries* were eaten in quantities by the Gerenuks. Evergreen bushes are not nu- 

 merous but seen here and there, usually along the dry river beds which are not far 

 between. The Grant Gazelles used to feed on the leaves of these evergreen bushes. 

 Large Euphorbias rise above the thornbush but they are few in number. Flat-topped 

 acacias are fairly numerous in some localities, but they are always more widely 

 scattered than on the acacia steppe. Some of these acacias began to get leaves 

 towards the middle of March, but the shade thrown by them was not very effective, 

 and that of the Euphorbias decidedly better, although the latter always are without 

 leaves. A coarse grass growing in tufts is to be found here and there and sometimes 

 it almost covers the ground on some open places in the thornbush, offering pasture 

 lands for Buffaloes, Grevy's Zebras etc. Although this grass looks very dry and 

 coarse it must be nourishing, because as well the wild grazing animals as the cattle, 

 sheep and goats of the nomadic tribes were in fairly good condition. 



Low bushes with wooden stems and branches but more herbaceous tops are 

 common, and the Rhinoceros feeds chiefly on such. At Thera I saw once some kind 

 of such bushes with white flowers. 



Along Guaso Nyiri grows a fringe of doumpalms, and among them also high 

 poplar-like trees of 2—3 different species, and sometimes also big acacias. Among 

 these trees the Tumbili -monkeys (Gercopithecus pygerythrus), live but they are very 

 good runners on the ground and are often met with in the thornbush far from any 

 trees and then know how to save themselves by slipping in among the thick bush. 

 The doumpalms are also commonly found along all more important dry river beds. 

 The Elephants eat the palmnuts but are not able to crush them. I often saw that 

 nuts lying on the ground had been gnawed on the exterior somewhat sweetish layer 

 by small rodents {Acomys?). It is possible that the Baboons also gnaw on these 

 nuts because my gunbearer Kongoni, who knew a great deal about anim»ls pointed 

 to these nuts once and said »cliakula nyani* (»food of Baboons »), 



Here and there rocks of granite rise above the level ground, sometimes forming 

 real Httle mountains. Among such rocks the Hyraxes find their home, and they are 

 often seen basking in the sunshine outside the crevices and cracks into which they 

 flee when any danger threatens. If the rocks are high and steep the Baboons have 

 their stronghold on them. 



With the exception of the river Guaso Nyiri, water is very scarce in this country. 

 The numerous river-beds which are directed as affluents to Guaso Nyiri were all of 

 them dry, at least in Febr. and March, when we were there, and probably many of 

 them, if not all, are permanently dry. A few waterholes exist in the bottom of 



