MIMICBY. 551 



a similar experience: — "In the case of the Giraffe which is in- 

 variably met with among venerable forests, where innumerable 

 blasted and weather-beaten trunks and stems occur, I have 

 repeatedly been in doubt as to the presence of a troop, until 

 I had recourse to my spyglass, and on referring to my savage 

 attendants I have known even their optics to fail, at one time 

 mistaking these dilapidated trunks for camelopards, and again 

 confounding real camelopards with these aged veterans of the 

 forest."* Mr. Vaughan Kirby says : " They stand perfectly still, not 

 even swishing their tails like wildebeeste, and thus bringing about 

 instant recognition ; their mottled or dark colour, great height, 

 and comparatively narrow bodies give them a striking resemblance 

 to the many old vari- coloured relics of the forest, blasted by 

 lightning or by bush-fires." t Col. Pollok attributes the same 

 habits to the Indian Elephant (Elephas indicus) : — " If nature 

 has not given intellect to these animals, it has given them an 

 instinct next thing to it. One has only to hunt them in their 

 wilds to learn how wonderfully Providence has taught them to 

 choose the most favourable ground, whether for feeding or 

 encamping, and to resort to jungles where their ponderous 

 bodies so resemble rocks or the dark foliage that it is most 

 difiicult for the sportsman to distinguish them from surrounding 

 objects." I Gordon Cumming relates a similar experience in 

 South Africa with regard to Elephas africanus : — "The ashy 

 colour of his hide so corresponds with the general appearance of 

 the grey thorny jungles which he frequents throughout the day, 

 that a person unaccustomed to hunting Elephants, standing on a 

 commanding situation, might look down upon a herd and fail 

 to detect their presence. "§ An even stronger case, or more 

 pronounced opinion, as to active mimicry is given by the American 

 naturalist E. S. Thompson, and a Fox is the animal referred to: — 

 "A fire had swept the middle of the pasture, leaving a broad belt 

 of black ; over this he skurried till he came to the unburnt 

 yellow grass again, when he squatted down and was lost to view. 



* 'Five Years' Hunting Adventures in S. Africa' (compl. pop. edit.), 

 p. 132. 



t ' In Haunts of Wild Game,' p. 337. 



I ' Zoologist,' ser. iv. vol. ii. p. 167. 



§ ' Five Years' Hunting Adventures in S. Africa ' (compl. pop. edit.), 

 p. 132. 



