Daly, M., 1937. Big game hunting and adventure 1887-1936. London, MacMillan, pp. i-xi, 1-322
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| Location: |
Africa - Eastern Africa - Kenya |
| Subject: |
Behaviour - Memory |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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One evening, camped on the banks of the Upper T'savo River, I had another chance to study the black rhino by night. My tent was pitched near the bank of the river, running some six feet below the tipper level of the bank where my tent stood. Just behind and a little to one side stood my natives' tent. The night was moonlight clear and beautiful, and most of the natives slept outside, all round about.
Hearing rhinos feeding close by, I quietly picked up my rifle and went outside and sat against a tree in the shade watching, my rifle standing against the same tree. Two big full-grown rhinos approached eating the short green grass. They both fed right up to the tent, pausing to listen every now and again. One of the natives sleeping outside was snoring like a foghorn, while some now and again spoke in their sleep. The rhinos would listen for a while and continue feeding and moving right up and between the sleeping natives; they smelt at the tent ropes but never touched them. They both looked hard several times my way. Giving them time to get away from the sleeping natives towards the centre of the opening (about one acre), I quietly rose from my sitting position in the shade and walked towards my tent and back again to my watching position. They both looked up at me while going and coming from the tent, till I again sat down; and they then went on feeding and several times grazed up to quite near again. The natives were sleeping quietly and they knew it, and their nerves were at rest. They must also have judged that I was not aggressive and only wanted peace and rest. Slowly they grazed back and were soon lost to sight in the thick thorn-bush. Next morning there was quite an alarm among the natives, one and all pointing out where the rhinos had passed during the night right amongst them, and calling on me to come and see for myself if I didn't believe them, not knowing that I had watched the rhinos' movements the whole time.
With the rhino-nerves passive they are quite docile, but one never knows when the nerves are going to buzz. In the bush at night or other dark spots, when they or the hippo can be heard feeding and not seen, and one is uncertain as to whether it is a hippo or a rhino (which is sometimes very important to know), listen carefully to the mastication which in each of them is exactly the same time, a very steady rate of one to a second. A rhino is identified by the regular pauses in between each time it swallows a mouthful; generally, about every twenty seconds, for about five seconds it pauses and then continues mastication. Sometimes it will stop chewing with a mouthful and listen for three or five seconds before continuing to chew its food. A hippo carries straight on, swallowing its food as it masticates, never pausing unless moving away. All other animals masticate at twice this rate. A buffalo blows and puffs like an ox when feeding and is continually moving.
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Big game hunting and adventure 1887-1936
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