THE CHEETAH— THE HYENA 199 



dispatched with much circumspection and a 

 heavy stick. In the meantime, another of my 

 people who had gone off to investigate the cause of 

 her interest in the locaMty, returned in due time 

 bearing two deUghtful Uttle cheetah cubs about 

 a fortnight old, which he had discovered in the 

 shelter afforded by a somewhat curiously formed 

 ant-bear hole. These, of course, were the secret 

 of the eagle's repeated swooping ; and from what 

 I know of the habits of these birds, I have never 

 been able to understand why she did not succeed 

 in carrying one of them off. One of these httle 

 beasts became very tame, and was in my pos- 

 session until he had arrived at quite three-quarter 

 growth. During a somewhat prolonged absence, 

 in which I had to leave him in other hands, he was, 

 I fear, neglected, and one morning it was foimd 

 that he had made his way back to the bush, for 

 he was never seen again. Personally, I look upon 

 the cheetah as being a fine, bold, sporting type of 

 animal, and although he may lack a good deal of 

 the interest which is lavished — for inadequate 

 reasons, as I think — ^upon such better-known forms 

 as the Uon and the leopard, I am far from sure 

 that he is not infinitely worthier of it, and that if 

 he were better known he would be much more 

 highly esteemed. 



Zambezia possesses only one Hyena — namely, 

 the larger or spotted variety. It is the fashion, I 

 beUeve, to refer to the hyena in terms of op- 

 probrium and disgust, and to look upon him with 

 that virtuous loathing which is rightly felt for 

 anything of a furtive, underhand, treacherous, or 



