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BRITISH CENTRAL AFRICA 
extinct and, so far as we know, is confined in its range to Africa south of the 
Zambezi. It is very asinine in its affinities. 1 
The zebra is still extremely common almost all over the Protectorate, and 
measures have now been taken to preserve it from undue diminution at the 
hands of sportsmen and natives. I have several times tried to tame the young 
but have had great difficulty in rearing them away from their mothers, and all 
experimented on have died within a few days of their capture. 
When our system of Game Reserves is perfected we shall be able from time 
to time to make drives and possibly catch some of the young zebras sufficiently 
old to be independent of a milk diet and yet not so old as to be quite 
intractable. They might then be broken in and tamed as is now being done 
increasingly in South Africa. 
The zebra of British Central Africa is slightly larger than his South African 
congener and is, perhaps, the largest representative of the zebra group. 
When I first came to this country I found the hippopotamus so numerous on 
the Shire as to be a serious danger to navigation in vessels smaller than a 
steamer. They were very vicious and fond of pursuing and upsetting canoes. 
Mr. Sharpe in travelling down the Shire in 1892 was, as I have already related, 
upset by a hippopotamus and nearly drowned. I have been in a boat myself on 
the Upper Shire which was so far tilted over by a hippopotamus that most of 
the men fell into the water and I only saved myself by clinging to the doorway 
of the house. This being the case, we have never attempted to check the 
slaughter of these animals and they are now so far reduced in numbers on the 
Shire as no longer to be a source of danger. They are still abundant on parts 
of the coasts of Lakes Nyasa, Tanganyika, and all the other big lakes, and are 
found in every river with a sufficient amount of water to immerse their bodies. 2 
They are said to visit Lake Chilwa at certain times of the year, travelling 
overland from the Shire. When we have reduced the numbers of the hippo¬ 
potamus to something more compatible with the safety of canoe travelling we 
shall probably add him to the list of protected animals, as we have no desire 
to bring about the absolute extinction of one of the few great survivors of the 
Tertiary Epoch. 
Pigs are represented in British Central Africa by the bush pigs (Potamochcerus 
Africanus and P ’. johnstoni) and the wart hog (Phacochoerus cethiopicus). 
The bush pigs chiefly frequent the hills and mountains, though they are also 
found in the plains near rivers. They are weird looking creatures with long 
wiry hair which is yellow and grey with a few white marks. Along the back 
1 Summarized the revised classification of the horses might stand thus : 
A. True horses— Equus caballus. 
Eqitus prjevalski. 
B. Asses— Equus kiang. 
Equus hemionus. 
Equus asinus. 
Equus somalicus. 
C. Striped horses— Equus quagga. 
Equus tigrinus. 
E.t., burchelli. 
E.t., chaptnani. 
E. t ., granti. 
Equus grevyi. 
Equus zebra. 
2 Though the hippopotamus will go into the Indian Ocean off the mouths of big rivers and though it 
can if need be swim across any African lake, still one never meets with them as a rule much out of their 
depth. They do not care for swimming but prefer walking along the bed of rivers or shallow lakes below 
the surface or resting thereon, rising every now and then to the surface to breathe and float. 
