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THE ‘ GADETT ’ OR BRAIN-EATER 
THE ‘GADETT’ OR BRAIN-EATER 
By Cara Buxton, F.R.G.S. 
A short time ago a ‘ Gadett ’ visited this district. This 
name is given to the animal by the Lumbwa and signifies 
the * brain-eater.’ 
Its first appearance was on my farm, where the sheep were 
missing. We finally found all ten, seven dead and three still 
alive. In no case were the bodies touched, but the brains 
were torn out. Below is a tracing from a photograph of one 
of the sheep that was still alive. It will be noticed how very 
small the hole is by which the brain was extracted. 
During the next ten days fifty-seven goats and sheep were 
destroyed in the same way ; of these thirteen were found 
alive. The Lumbw x a were all in a state of great terror, and 
weird stories were told me of the ‘ Gadett’ : how it walked 
on its hind legs, pulled babies out of huts, and was even able 
to kill a man. Finally it was tracked to a ravine and killed 
by the Lumbwa with their spears. It turned out to be a 
very large hyaena of the ordinary spotted variety. It had 
evidently turned brain-eater through some sort of madness. 
V 
■L 
Printed by Spottiswoode, Ballantyne & Co. Ltd. 
Colchester, London & Eton, England 
