MAMMALS 
2Q9 
ceros. His sight being bad, he will often twist round and round, and then 
dash off in any direction, and often right into you. This, of course, is not 
a determined charge, but, nevertheless, when there are several men it is 
often very difficult for all to clear out of the monster’s way, as he comes 
snorting and thundering by amid a cloud of dust. That this animal can 
be so infuriated as to make a determined charge I have before shown. 
I should advise hunters never to be conspicuous when firing at this 
animal, but to kneel or sit down if possible under shelter of some thorn- 
bush, however thin, or at least to have some thorn bush close at hand to 
which to repair after firing. Above all, never show yourself to a wounded 
rhinoceros — or any other animal, for the matter of that. 
The skin of the rhinoceros comes off very easily, and looks on the inside, 
together with the denuded body, exactly like the peel and freshly-peeled 
DEAD RHINOCEROS. 
body of an orange. The skin dries to about half the thickness it possessed 
when first taken off the body, and becomes so hard that the edges will cut 
your hand if you do not lift a ‘ plate ’ of hide with care. The natives 
prize this skin, as it makes them excellent shields and whips, but they do 
not care for the flesh. When stripped of the epidermis and highly 
polished, the hide resembles clouded amber, and is semi-transparent. 
Dimensions of four killed by me in the Boorgha country : 
Length from Tip 
of Nose to End 
of Tail. 
Girth. 
Length round 
Curve of 
Anterior Horn. 
Length round 
Curve of 
Posterior Horn. 
12 feet. 
9 feet 10 inches 
164 inches. 
74 inches. 
11 ,, 6 inches. 
9 6 
164 „ 
7 „ 
11 >. 6 !. 
9 ,, 6 ,, 
114 
7f „ 
10 „ 2 „ 
7 „ 
Hi „ 
54 1, 
