NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
drifting sand which threatened to bury a portion 
of Port Elizabeth. At intervals’ through this forest 
broad belts or roads have been cut to act as fire 
breaks. On these open spaces the meerkats may 
be seen at any time of day lying stretched out in the 
sun, sporting with one another, or in the act of stalk- 
ing a Bush Pheasant (Red-necked Francolin). They 
are often seen in the public roads scratching and 
turning over the dung in search of beetles, which 
they greedily devour. 
Until recently, colonies of these meerkats lived 
on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, but, owing. to 
continued persecution, these colonies have vanished, 
and the individual meerkats composing them have 
scattered and now live in pairs. 
Out upon the karoo, away from the habitation of 
man, the Bushy-tailed Meerkat exists upon Otomys, 
mice, the eggs and young of ground birds, lizards, 
small tortoises, and insects. ‘They at times attack 
and devour larger prey, for if any Ground Squirrels 
should be in the neighbourhood they do not hesitate 
to follow them down their burrows and attack and 
kill them. Even the Springhaas or Jumping Hare 
falls a victim to these little carnivorous creatures. It 
is acommon occurrence to find a pair of these meer- 
kats in possession of a burrow of a Jumping Hare 
or a Ground Squirrel, the rightful occupants having 
either been devoured or driven out. 
There are many species of land tortoises in South 
Africa. They all lay eggs. The parent excavates 
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