XXVIII 
THE BLACK LIST 
279 
Rhino are especially numerous in the following 
localities : round Lake Marsabit, the Yatta plains, the 
northern Guaso Nyero, the South Guaso Nyero, the 
Tana and Thika rivers, especially towards the junction 
of the two ; in this neighbourhood a few years back I 
counted sixty in one day, the Tsavo river, and all bush 
country where there is any water, more especially the 
large tract lying between Kitui and the lower waters 
of the Tana, the Ithanga hills, and the country all 
round Lake Baringo. There remains one female with 
an exceptionally long horn, at least 36 inches, in the 
Ngong forest. 
Next to the rhinoceros the common Zebra is the most 
unmitigated pest to farmers in the Protectorate. He 
is almost ubiquitous throughout the Highlands, and is 
found, not only on the plain, but through the bush and 
even on hills of considerable height. Zebra nearly 
always congregate in herds, which herds constitute the 
favourite prey of the lion. Most travellers through 
the country know the zebra's note of alarm, like the 
bark of a terrier dog, followed by the clatter of a 
hundred hoofs which tells of the stampede of a herd 
from a real or imagined attack. It is these stampedes 
that no ordinary fence can withstand and which render 
the presence of zebra so absolutely fatal in the 
proximity of agriculture. The beast, moreover, has no 
advantages to compensate ever so slightly for the 
damage he inflicts. The meat has the same nasty 
sweet taste as horse, and one must be hungry indeed 
to eat it with any relish. Natives, however, prefer it 
to any other and it enables them to perform astonishing 
digestive feats. Also those who should know say that 
pigs will eat it with avidity. The hide is soft and of 
little local value. It is sometimes used for the backs 
