THE BLACK OR PREHENSILE -LIPPED RHINOCEROS 
“ Putting aside these, however, we have to deal with the rhino which 
have been made aware of your presence either by sound, smell, or 
possibly sight. These will, as a general rule, run away from you. About 
one out of five, however, will make as if he was coming for you. Of 
those which do this, the greater part will subsequently think better of 
it, and so, after coming towards you for a short distance, will swerve 
away and make off or will pass you at a distance to either flank. But 
about one out of five again, of these, will press straight on. Thus, out of 
twenty-five rhino which have got your wind or in some way perceived 
you, we have on an average one pressing home an attack. He may be 
shot coming at you, and he may be wounded. If he is wounded, it will 
probably alter his frame of mind according to the gravity or otherwise 
of the wound he has received and his individual temperament. He may 
also just miss you and then decide to go straight on without turning. 
Possibly he never really intended to hit you off. 
“ If rhinos were left alone and not fired at, I believe the greater 
number would be found to make a blind charge. That is to say, they 
would come straight for your wind, and if they did not actually run 
right up against something or some one, they would then rush straight 
through and off the other side, still going up -wind. If one met anything 
directly in his way he would toss it. The chances are, however, that 
he would just miss you by a few yards and go straight on. When you 
came into his range of vision he might also not like the look of you, 
and swerve so as to pass you. 
“Out of these rhino who press home an attack, I take it that, 
say, one in ten again are really bad rhino and mean to do harm. 
Instead of passing by at a few yards, they will, directly you come 
into view, whip round on you with surprising agility, and they really 
mean business. 
“ So we get out of every two hundred and fifty rhino about one which 
is a really bad rhino, and which will, if he gets your wind, without any 
act of aggression on your part, try his best to do some damage.’’ 
This is the opinion of a very experienced hunter as to the character of 
the black rhinoceros in East Africa, but it is only fair to say that many 
sportsmen who have had considerable experience in that country believe 
that not a small minority, but a large majority of these animals are really 
savage and aggressive in disposition, and can give what seem to be very 
valid reasons for the opinions they hold; and it certainly will be advisable 
21 
