THE REIGN OF TOOTH AND CLAW 265 



owing to the number of people taken. In these 

 districts it is not unusual for the native huts to be 

 enclosed in a high palisading designed as a pro- 

 tection, and interwoven with thorn bushes, but in 

 spite of these precautions great numbers of casualties 

 occur. 



Leopards, though undoubtedly more numerous, 

 are much less frequently seen. They are, however, 

 constantly trapped by the natives, who have several 

 well-devised means of effecting their capture. 

 Leopard skins are often brought in for sale, usually 

 minus the claws, which are extracted and worn as 

 potent charms against the animal and its depre- 

 dations. Servals also are fairly numerous, and, 

 there is no doubt, cause great destruction among 

 the smaller antelopes, monkeys, and lesser forms. 

 They are beautiful creatures, often nearly four feet 

 long, and possessed of a curious lynx -like tuft on 

 the ears. A Wild-cat {Felts caffra), a Genet, and 

 a small Civet exhaust the chief members of the 

 Felidse, if one omit the common Cat domesticated 

 by the natives all Africa over. I do not think any 

 hunting varieties similar to the Cheetah are known 

 here. They occur, it is said, in some of the northern 

 portions of the Province of Mozambique, but I 

 have not heard that their range extends south of 

 Angoche. 



The Hyena represented here is the spotted 

 variety {H. crocuta), which is found all over 

 Central and South Central Africa, with the common 

 Jackal {Canis adustus). 



A serious scourge is the Hunting Dog {Lycaon 

 pictus), found all over these parts of the continent. 



