pip had been niutilated but not in the same way that the cats and other animals 
kill their prey. 
The author concludes, while discussint? the authenticity of these accounts, 
by sug^estin^ that the animal si?,htin':s mi^ht be of old specimens of tha Honey 
Badser *Iellivora capensis, as old specimens are normally black in colour. 
Who knows? maybe a new species of Anthropoid remains to be discovered, 
only time will tell, 
REFERENCE 
Bernard Heuvelmans 1959. On the track of Unknown Animals, 
Pritpal Sinf’h Soorae, Box 44919, Nairobi. 
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 
Sir; 
On a recent visit to the Sokoke-Arabuku forest, we inadvertantly parked the 
car - in the vicinity of several animal middens. One, in current use, converged 
with the track we h.sd been travellin'^’ alonp;. It measured approximately two 
metres in length and one metre wide, and was in progressive 8ta<?es of decay. 
At one end, most of the orvsanic matter had been broken down, while at the 
opposite end there was an accumulation of recent dung deposits; a few intact 
fresh droppin-sS of 2 cm in diameter and between 6-10 cm lon^?, were distin«^“ 
uishable. 
The composition of the droppings indicated that the animal was an omnivore: 
there were insect carapaces ~ mainly millipedes and some beetles - and vegetable 
matter, notably the seeds of a recently devourel fruit. In addition, mats of 
xrey-coloureJ animal hair were evident in the fresh faecal matter. It was 
thought unlikely that these were the indigestible remains of a prey raamiaal, 
but belonged to the animal visiting the midden. The colour and length of the 
fur (about 3 cm) suggested that it was from the pelt of a civet Viverra civetta 
or a ratel Mallivora capensis possibly swallowel by the animal durin,^ cleaning. 
The droppings lay on the surface, no attempt had been made to dig a pit or 
cover them up. 
The other middens in the area were no longer in use. 
We are curious to know what species of animal is responsible for creating 
these middens. Civets are known Co frequent particular places to ^efaecate 
and the retells European counterpart has a latrine area quite seperatc from 
its living quarters. Does the ratel have a similar habit? As described, the 
animal always visits the fresh end of the midden, anl we wonder whether the 
reason for this is known. 
Carol Reid and Colin Ryall, Box 88692, Mombasa. 
Sir, 
On Tuesday, November 13 1984, my wife and I were en route to Namanra. 
After passing through Bissel at about noon, we noticed a large flock of birds 
which at first reminded us of Black Kites, then as we drew nearer they looked 
like Tawny Eagles. But upon stopping to check with our binoculars, it became 
Apparent that we had met up with a large flight of Steppe Eagles Aerttila 
nipalonsis. There were more than 50 birds - dark brown adults predominated - 
7 
