NOTES MADE BY LORING 497 
pockets just off the main runway. Most of them were empty,, but one 
was filled with the animal’s droppings. 
Kapiti Blesmol (.Myoscalops kapiti). This mole-rat, which proved to be new 
to science, was first encountered at Potha, on Kapiti Plains, and it was 
again met with at Ulukenia Hills. I was shown several skins that were 
taken about fifteen miles east of Nairobi. They were the most difficult 
of all mole-rats to catch, because they lived in the very sandy soil, and 
almost invariably covered the trap with sand without themselves getting 
into it. 1 found a number of their skulls in the pellets of barn and other 
species of owls. 
Springhaas (.Pedetes surdaster). Very common at Naivasha station, where 
their burrows were numerous, on a sandy flat practically in the town, 
and many were taken within a hundred yards of the station. They are 
nocturnal, although one instance came under my observation where a 
springhaas was seen on a dark day to run from one burrow to another. 
By hunting them on dark nights, with the aid of an acetylene light, we 
were able to secure a good series of skins. When the light was flashed 
on them, their eyes shone like balls of fire the size of a penny, and it was 
not uncommon to see from two to five and six within the radius of the 
light at one time. They were usually flashed at a distance of about a 
hundred yards, and as the light drew near they would watch it, frequently 
bobbing up and down. Often they hopped away to right or to left, but 
very seldom did their fright carry them into their burrows unless a shot 
was fired ; in fact, even then we sometimes followed up one of their 
companions and secured it. Some allowed us to approach within ten 
feet before moving, and then off they would go in great bounds, but I 
was never able in the dim light to see whether or not their tails aided 
them in jumping. I once shot a fox from a cluster of eyes that I am 
positive were those of springhaas ; this, together with the fact that the 
stomachs of all of the foxes killed contained termites and insects, leads 
me to believe that these two animals are more or less congenial. Dr. 
Mearns saw a springhaas sitting with its tail curled around to one side of 
its body, similar to the position often assumed by a house cat. 
Several small colonies of springhaas were discovered on sandy flats near 
Ulukenia Hills. Two females taken from the same burrow showed great 
variation in size, one having a tail several inches longer and ears larger 
than the other. Although I never discovered a burrow that was com¬ 
pletely blocked with sand, in the morning one could find quantities of 
fresh sand that had been thrown out of the entrance during the night. 
Great-eared Fox ( Otocyon virgartus). This new species of fox we discovered 
at Naivasha, and found it very common there. All of the seven specimens 
secured were taken by “jacking” at night, although while travelling 
over the Uganda Railroad we frequently saw them singly or in pairs in 
broad daylight. The white people knew nothing of a fox in this country, 
and had always called them “jackals/’ They seemed to live in pairs, 
and groups of three to six. On dark nights it was usually easy to shine 
their eyes, and approach within shooting range. We would shine a fox, 
then suddenly the glare of its eyes would disappear, and we would walk 
about, casting the light in all directions, until we again saw the two balls 
of fire glaring some fifty or a hundred yards away. Often the foxes 
would slink about for some time before we got within gunshot range. 
Frequently we saw two, and sometimes three and four, standing so close 
together that it was surprising that the spread of the shot did not kill 
more than one. One evening Dr. Mearns and I started out about nine 
o’clock, and returned about midnight. Most of the hunting was done 
on an elevated brushy plateau, within short distance of a native village. 
