NATURAL HISTORY OF SOUTH AFRICA 
Birds, their young, and eggs are a favourite diet 
of the muishond. However, it is only those species 
which live and breed upon the ground which are 
levied toll upon. 
The chief diet of this bloodthirsty little animal 
consists of rats and mice. There are a large 
number of species or kinds of these destructive 
rodents native to South Africa, in addition to those 
which have been introduced into the country. 
Rats and mice, as everybody knows, breed with great 
rapidity, and if it were not for the smaller carni- 
vorous animals and birds of prey of this country 
these destructive creatures would become a scourge 
and cause immense damage, and probably dissemi- 
nate many virulent diseases among men and 
domestic animals. 
The muishond hunts these rats and mice above 
ground and underground, and will spend hours 
patiently digging them out of their subterranean 
retreats. 
Another rodent animal which is a curse to the 
agriculturalist is the Springhare or Springhaas (Pe- 
detes caffer). This animal is about the size of an 
ordinary hare, and is kangaroo-like in shape. It 
lives in burrows excavated by itself, and the muis- 
hond is one of its most dreaded enemies, for it 
penetrates to the innermost recesses of its burrow 
and destroys both adults and young. The muis- 
hond in this way confers an immense service upon 
man, for the Springhare is an unmitigated pest 
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