300 
AFRICAN GAME TRAILS 
on by jackals and wild cats, and of course by the larger 
beasts of prey also; and the eggs are eagerly sought by 
furred and feathered foes alike. Seemingly trustworthy 
settlers have assured me that vultures break the tough 
shells with stones. The cock and hen will try to draw their 
more formidable foes away from the nest or the chicks by 
lingering so near as to lure them into pursuit; and anything 
up to the size of a hyena they will attack and drive away, 
or even kill. The terrific downward stroke of an ostrich’s 
leg is as dangerous as the kick of a horse; the thump will 
break a rib or backbone of any ordinary animal, and in 
addition to the force of the blow itself the big nails may 
make a ghastly rip. Both cock and hen lead about the 
young brood and care for it. The two ostriches I shot 
were swarming with active parasitic flies, a little like those 
that were on the lions I shot in the Sotik. Later the por¬ 
ters brought us in several ostrich chicks. They also brought 
two genet kittens, which I tried to raise, but failed. They 
were much like ordinary kittens, with larger ears, sharper 
noses, and longer tails, and loved to perch on my shoulder 
or sit on my lap while I stroked them. They made dear 
little pets, and I was very sorry when they died. 
On the day that I shot the cock ostrich I also shot a 
giraffe. The country in which we were hunting marks 
the southern limit of the ‘Teticulated” giraffe, a form or 
species entirely distinct from the giraffe we had already 
obtained in the country south of Kenia. The southern 
giraffe is blotched with dark on a light ground, whereas 
this northern or north-eastern form is of a uniform dark 
color on the back and sides, with a net-work or reticulation 
of white lines placed in a large pattern on this dark back- 
