CHAPTER VIII

EXTINCTION AND DIMINUTION OF GAME IN SOUTH AFRICA--NOTES ON THE CAPE BUFFALO

Extinction of the blaauwbok and the true quagga--Threatened extermination of the black and white rhinoceros and the buffalo in South Africa--Former abundance of game--Scene in the valley of Dett witnessed by the author in 1873--Buffaloes protected by the Cape Government--But few survivors in other parts of South Africa--Abundance of buffaloes in former times--Extent of their range--Still plentiful in places up to 1896--The terrible epidemic of rinderpest--Character of the African buffalo--A matter of individual experience--Comparison of buffalo with the lion and elephant--Danger of following wounded buffaloes into thick cover--Personal experiences--Well-known sportsman killed by a buffalo--Usual action of buffaloes when wounded--Difficult to stop when actually charging--The moaning bellow of a dying buffalo--Probable reasons for some apparently unprovoked attacks by buffaloes--Speed of buffaloes--Colour, texture, and abundance of coat at different ages--Abundance of buffaloes along the Chobi river--Demeanour of old buffalo bulls--"God's cattle"--Elephants waiting for a herd of buffaloes to leave a pool of water before themselves coming down to drink Pages 130-148