another, but probably British East Africa or Somaliland offer the best field for sportsmen. On open ground a good deal of hunting can be done on horseback—except in those districts where the tsetse fly exists—and antelopes are occasionally ridden down, but a very stout-hearted horse is required to overtake such animals as sable antelopes, eland or gemsbok. Caution should always be exercised in approaching the larger varieties of antelope when at bay, whether wounded or not, as some of them, notably the roan and sable, and the oryx, are inclined to be very savage, and will charge desperately home. It is said that even a lion is chary of attacking the oryx, owing to its long rapier-like horns.
The African carnivore include the lion, leopard, cheetah, hyena and other smaller varieties, but it is only necessary to deal with the first named, which, where not exterminated or driven away by civilizationngnay be said to be common to the whole continent. As with all game, big or small, the conditions of lion-shooting vary with the locality; thus, on the open plains of Somaliland, lions can be spied from a distance and stalked on foot, or even ridden to bay on horseback, while in densely bushed districts, unless chanced on in open ground, the most usual method is to sit up at night over a bait or kill, inside a zareba of thorn bushes. This method, however, makes aiming with any degree of accuracy a matter of difficulty, but a German, Herr Schillings, has demonstrated the use of a flashlight in such circumstances. Lions frequently lie up or shelter in detached patches of scrub, whence they may be driven by a “ bobbery ” pack of dogs, or as a last resource the bush may be set on fire, the sportsman having previously concealed himself down wind. Lions when emboldened by hunger will fearlessly attack human beings, especially at night, and, like tigers that have once developed a taste for human flesh, become positive scourges of their neighbourhood. Mr F. C. Selous, than whom there are few better authorities, considers the lion the most dangerous of all African big game, a distinction that other writers award to the buffalo.
Of the pachyderms the commonest is the rhinoceros (R. bicornis), usually termed the black rhinoceros to distinguish it from the so-called “ white ” variety now almost extinct. Though the first-named is by no means so widely distributed as formerly, it is still plentiful in Equatorial Africa, and to a lesser extent in Somaliland. It bears rather a mixed character for ferocity, but most hunters agree that while it will charge with little or no provocation, it does so blindly, and rarely turns to renew the attack. This is probably due to its exceedingly poor sense of sight, but its sense of smell is correspondingly extraordinarily acute, while an additional cause that renders it a difficult beast to stalk is the presence of the “ rhinoceros birds " which are its almost invariable companions, and which warn it of danger. Though so huge an animal, the rhinoceros is easily killed by a bullet in front of the base of the ear, or midway along the neck; the shoulder shot is only employed when the hunter has stepped aside to avoid a charge. The hippopotamus is still plentiful throughout most parts of uncivilized Africa. In narrow rivers where they can be shot from the bank, they are easily killed by a brain-shot, the best spot to aim at being the base of the ear. If the bullet be properly placed the animal will sink to the bottom of the stream and rise to the surface within a few hours. Hippopotami are nocturnal feeders, and can be occasionally shot at night when at a considerable distance from water; but owing to the difficulty of placing the bullet accurately, they are apt to escape wounded. Hippopotamus shooting does not rank high as a sport, but the meat, when young, is excellent, and the huge size of the animal enables a hunter to provide a large number of followers with food; this can be the only excuse for killing these comparatively harmless animals in any number.
Elephants still exist in considerable numbers in parts of Africa, but, unless more stringent methods of protection are afforded, their ultimate extermination at the hands of professional ivory hunters, white or coloured, is inevitable. What can be done in the direction of preservation is shown in Cape Colony, where elephants, which have been rigidly protected for many years, now exist in considerable, and increasing, quantity. Elephants have an extraordinarily keen sense of smell, which, coupled with their habit of roaming over vast expanses of country, forms their chief safeguard against the relentless persecution to which they are subject. They may be hunted either on foot or horseback; where feasible, the latter is the preferable method, as it not only enables the hunter to follow up his quarry with greater ease—and when startled, or wounded, elephants will travel enormous distances—but in open country gives him a better chance of escape from a charge. The heart, or broadside, shot is usually employed. Incredible as it may seem, these enormous creatures can be killed by a single pellet of hardened nickel, discharged from a .303 rifle. A weapon of heavier calibre is, however, to be recommended, and a .450 rifle, or 10 or 8 bore Paradox gun, are most suitable; the closer the hunter can safely get to the animal the better. A charging elephant can usually, but not invariably, be turned by a shot in the chest; to fire at the head is useless.
The buffalo (Bos caffer), formerly one of the commonest of African wild animals, has been practically exterminated in many parts by the plague of rinderpest, but is still plentiful in the malarious swamps between the mouths of the Limpopo and the Zambezi, and even more so in the Beira district of Portuguese East Africa. Like most wild animals, the buffalo is naturally disinclined to take the offensive, but when roused to action, it will pursue a hunter with relentless ferocity, and is held by many authorities to be the most dangerous of African big game. The greatest care should therefore be exercised in following up a wounded animal, or in approaching one that is apparently dead, for as long as a spark of life lingers in it, it will endeavour to destroy its destroyer. A wounded buffalo will nearly always make for the nearest thicket, where it will await its pursuer, and in such circumstances, it should be left alone for an hour or two, when it will probably lie down, and be less active in attack owing to its wound having stiffened. A charging buffalo always carries its head at such an angle that a frontal shot is useless, unless the bullet penetrates through the nose into the throat or chest. A .500 or .450 rifle with a solid bullet, or an 8-bore Paradox gun is the best weapon for buffalo-shooting. Other varieties of the African bovines are the smaller, Abyssinian, the Senegalian, and the dwarf, or Congo buffaloes.
The only other species of African big game calling for special mention is the giraffe, which is usually ridden down, and killed by a raking shot at the root of the tail; but except when required for food or specimens, the destruction of this inoffensive animal, which offers no trophy of the chase, is to be deprecated. Great numbers are annually destroyed by professional skin hunters, and their carcases left to rot. Bears, though little known, exist in North-West Africa, and the ubiquitous wild goat, or ibex, is also found in the north of the continent. A .450 cordite rilie, a .303 small bore, and a 10 or 8 bore Paradox gun, is an ample battery for African big game shooting.
Useful books of reference for African shooting are: Selous, A Hunter's Wanderings in Africa; Travel and Adventure in S.E. Africa, by the same author; Baker, Wild Beasts and their Ways; Swayne, Seventeen Trips through Somaliland; Powell Cotton, Travel and Adventure in the Congo Free State, A Sporting Trip to Abyssinia; Melliss, Lion Hunting in Somaliland; Willoughby, East Africa and its Big Game; Neumann, Elephant Hunting in East Equatorial Africa; Hay, Western Barbary; Bryden, Aloof and Karroo; Millais, A Breath from the Veldt; Thomson, Through Masai-Land, and Theodore Roosevelt, African Game Trails (N.Y. 1910).
Big game in North America has been rapidly disappearing for
several decades before the advance of civilization armed with
breech-loading rifles. Among the carnivore, bears andNorth
America.
pumas are the only species that need be taken into
account as far as shooting is concerned. Of the former
three[1] varieties exist, the grizzly, rarely found east of the Rocky
Mountains, the brown bear, and the black bear, common to practically
- ↑ The Polar bear may be claimed as a fourth species, as it is found on the mainland of the ice-bound north, but it can hardly be included as far as big game shooting is concerned. American naturalists recognize many sub-varieties of both the grizzly and brown bear.
