THE SNAKE MUISHOND 
hanging tenaciously to its throat, and will bound 
away until it either falls exhausted or becomes 
paralysed through terror. | 
Once a Snake Muishond secures a firm grip with 
its jaws it will not let go, and stoically endures the 
terrific bumping it gets when its victim races off 
in the hope of getting rid of the incubus. 
In Great Britain the destruction of the smaller 
native carnivorous animals by the gamekeepers is 
the cause of financial losses to the farmers of many 
millions sterling annually, through the destruction 
caused by rats and mice. 
In captivity the Snake Muishond soon becomes 
tame, and makes a gentle and interesting pet. 
I have kept them alive at various times, both in 
Natal and the Cape Province. They will eat any- 
thing of the nature of flesh. Both they and the 
Striped Muishond devour locusts with avidity. 
These curious little weasels are termed Snake 
Muishonds because of their elongated bodies, not 
because of their snake-eating propensities, al- 
though snakes do form a portion of their very 
varied diet. 
From the nose to the tip of the tail the length 
of an adult averages eighteen inches. The head 
is as broad as the body, and consequently where- 
ever the head can go, the body can follow. 
Although widely scattered in the eastern parts 
of South Africa, the Snake Muishond is rarely seen, 
because of its secretive and nocturnal habits. 
179 
