CHAPTER II

FURTHER NOTES ON THE QUESTIONS OF PROTECTIVE COLORATION, RECOGNITION MARKS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT ON LIVING ORGANISMS

Occasional resemblance of African mammals to natural objects--Hartebeests--Elephants--Giraffes--Coloration of the Somali giraffe--Giraffes not in need of a protective coloration--Koodoos and sable antelopes--Acute sense of hearing in the moose--Possible explanation of large size of ears in the African tragelaphine antelopes--Coloration of bushbucks, situtungas, and inyalas--Leopards the only enemies of the smaller bush-haunting antelopes--Recognition marks--Must render animals conspicuous to friend and foe alike--Ranges of allied species of antelopes seldom overlap--Hybridisation sometimes takes place--Wonderful coloration of the bontebok--Coloration distinctly conspicuous and therefore not protective--Recognition marks unnecessary--Coloration of the blesbok--The blesbok merely a duller coloured bontebok--Difference in the habitat of the two species--The coloration of both species may be due to the influence of their respective environments--The weak point in the theory of protective coloration when applied to large mammals--Hares and foxes in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions--The efficacy of colour protection at once destroyed by movement--Buffaloes and lions--General conclusions regarding the theory of protective coloration as applied to large mammals Pages 24-43