THE SPORTSMAN IN SOUTH AFRICA. 65 



for completeness to mention the characteristic points that distin- 

 guish it from the R. Mcornis. Why it was ever called "white" it 

 is difficult to imagine, as it was almost similar in colour to the 

 previous variety. It occasionally attained a height of 6^ feet, the 

 head being enormously large in proportion ; the ear conch long, 

 the ear itself very much pointed and almost devoid of any appear- 

 ance of hair on the tips ; the nostrils elongated and not round, while 

 the eyes were situated high and far back. From its habits of pro- 

 ceeding with the nose low down, the anterior horn always presented 

 a partially flattened front, caused by continual scraping on the sur- 

 face of the ground ; and specimens have been obtained in which 

 this horn has attained a length considerably exceeding 4 feet. The 

 posterior horn was rarely so much developed as in the case of 

 the R. Mcornis^ and seldom exceeded 3 or 4 inches in length. The 

 mouth was square, betraying no appearance of a projection of the 

 upper lip. The food consisted solely of grasses, and on this account 

 it preferred to frequent a flat rather than a hilly country. The young 

 calves of the R. bicornis invariably run behind their mothers when pur- 

 sued, whereas those of the R. simus proceeded in front, the course 

 of the little ones being directed and guided by the point of their 

 parent's horn. The White Rhinoceros was last observed fre- 

 quenting a small district in North-east Mashonaland, and also in 

 the neighbourhood of the Sabi River. Although the Zoological 

 Society have made every effort to procure a living specimen, they 

 have up to the present been wholly unsuccessful. 



The Hippopotamus {Hippopotamus amphibius). — [Zee-kue of 

 the Dutch ; Cubu of the Bechuanas ; Imfuhu of the Mata- 

 bele.) 



\The appearance and characteristics of the Hippopotamus are so 

 well known that it will be sufficient to say the spoor can be easily 

 distinguished from that of the Rhinoceros by its superior size and 

 impress of four in the place of the three toes.] 



Tt is many years since the last Hippopotamus was killed in the 

 rivers of the Cape Colony, and although some herds are said to 

 exist at the mouth of the Tugela on the East Coast, they are other- 

 wise extinct South of the Crocodile. Eastward of the junction of 



