92 THE BUFFALO 



small animals are at times not difSficult to capture 

 on the stampeding of a herd, and several attempts 

 have been made within my knowledge to rear 

 them ; but I never heard of one proving successful. 

 The calves die, sometimes after having become 

 strikingly and quite touchingly tame, of some 

 curious malady, but not infrequently from pneu- 

 monia. 



Buffaloes drink twice in the twenty-four hours, 

 and are seldom found far from water ; but whilst 

 slaking their thirst at night in a clear, cool river 

 or running stream, their morning draught may 

 be from the marsh or bog, or from any source 

 which involves no trouble to reach. They are 

 night feeders, and, if undisturbed, lie up during the 

 day in moderately thick, bushy country ; or if it 

 be very hot, they will spend some time rolling in 

 wet mud, or standing, or at times lying, in marsh 

 water shaded by thickets of high spear grass — 

 surroundings in which, needless to say, it is most 

 difficult to approach them. 



Buffaloes are exceedingly wary, and seem at 

 times possessed of a degree of intelligence second 

 only to that of the elephant, whose neighbour in a 

 game country they will usually be found. It is a 

 common experience, for example, having spoored 

 a herd of these animals for hours from dawn 

 onward, to find that before selecting the spot 

 for their daily rest they have described a half- 

 circle in such a way as to lie up down wind from 

 their tracks, with the natural result that the 

 hunter, following on their spoor, has no chance 

 whatsoever of coming up, being given hopelessly 



