CHAPTER IX 



CHEETAH : HYENA : JACKAL : HUNTING DOG : 

 SERVAL : CIVET : GENET : MUNGOOSE 



Cheetahs or Hunting Leopards are not very 

 numerous in the Zambezi valley, occurring per- 

 haps most plentifully between Muterara and the 

 Lupata Gorge, where reedbuck and other smaU 

 antelopes are common. I have also seen them in 

 the Mlanje district of Portuguese East Africa, in 

 the Barue to the south of Tete, and in the open 

 country south of the Shupanga Forest. 



At first sight you think you are looking at an 

 ordinary leopard, but a moment's reflection re- 

 moves this impression. The cheetah is not quite 

 so long or so sinuous, while at the same time he 

 is longer-legged and stands higher. He lacks the 

 rich coloration of the leopard, and instead of 

 being rosetted, his spots are spots, so to speak — 

 that is to say, they are simple round dots of deep 

 black. The cheetah possesses a small shapely 

 head, large luminous eyes, and a further pe- 

 culiarity, which distinguishes him from the ordin- 

 ary leopard, is a singular thickening of the coat at 

 the neck and shoulder, which gives him the ap- 

 pearance of wearing an imdeveloped mane. 



There is probably no member of the flesh- 

 eating families of African game which can develop 



