352 
ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA 
CHAP. 
difficulties of carrying such heavy and clumsy specimens so 
far, especially through foodless country. It rode on top of 
one of the pack-donkeys between its two loads of meal, where 
it was carefully tied every morning, all the way to Mombasa, 
and eventually reached this country safely. As, however, it 
was not thought of any particular interest in London, while I 
myself rather valued it, I did not think it worth while pre¬ 
senting it to the British Museum. As already pointed out, 
I am convinced that this rhinoceros is merely a small local 
variety ; and, more than this, I am as positive as an unscientific 
observer can be—who has merely studied animals in an 
amateurish way in their native lands and is not qualified to 
critically examine the portions of their tissues to be found in 
museums—that there is only one species of rhinoceros in all 
East Equatorial Africa. The skull of the particular individual 
above alluded to is figured in conjunction with others. The 
photograph also illustrates strikingly the various angles at 
which the horns slope in different specimens. 
It naturally occurs to one to inquire why the rhinoceros 
of these parts should be, as it certainly is, so much smaller 
than those of the same species farther south ? At first I was 
inclined to attribute the difference to the greater sterility of this 
arid region affording less nutritious food. But why, then, 
should it nourish such enormous elephants ? They are not 
an under-sized race ; on the contrary, I believe them to be 
among the largest, both in bulk of body and weight of tusks, 
of their kind to be found in Africa. Thus it would almost 
appear as if the conditions affected these two animals in inverse 
proportion. For, judging by the dimensions given by that 
reliable observer and renowned hunter, Mr. Selous, the rhino¬ 
ceros of South Africa (I refer, of course, only to Rhinoceros bi- 
cornis') attains a greater size than even the largest of the equatorial 
representatives of the species, while (on the same authority) 
the elephants of the south are undoubtedly of smaller average 
stature. Here is a problem which our scientific authorities, 
