210 THE HUNTING DOG 



should form the object of pursuit of these 

 heavy, powerful creatures, whose method is one 

 from which escape, except by means of a pro- 

 videntially placed tree, would be absolutely im- 

 possible. 



There are few, if any, influences capable of 

 ridding wide areas of their game beasts with the 

 astonishing rapidity of the hunting dog. He is 

 practically tireless, extremely speedy, possesses 

 an appalling appetite, and eats nothing but 

 freshly killed meat. Herein lie the chief thorns of 

 the scourge he is. Almost if not all the antelopes 

 fall victims to him, and it is generally admitted 

 that from the moment the pack lay themselves out 

 on the spoor of a coveted animal its fate is sealed. 

 It is believed that the only families, apart from 

 the lion, more or less exempt from the hunting 

 dog's attack are those of the buffalo and zebra. 

 Leopards take to the trees on their approach 

 without any unnecessary waste of time, and it is 

 probable that even the lion would hardly be spared 

 if he were found to possess any bodily infirmity 

 calculated to impair his powers of defence. Their 

 method of hunting, moreover, is one which renders 

 them practically irresistible. It should be re- 

 membered that the average African game beast, 

 though speedy over short distances, is not ac- 

 customed, in the ordinary course of events, to keep 

 on his top pace for long periods of time. After 

 a burst of a few hundred yards at the outside he 

 will slacken down to a trot or a walk, and probably 

 stop and listen for the danger which has startled 

 him. On the great plains, as I myself have ex- 



