T r
Aug. 1833.
zebras, and the quaccha, two gnus, and several antelopes
even larger than these latter animals. It may be supposed
that although the species are numerous, the individuals
of each kind are few. By the kindness of Dr. Smith, I am
enabled to show that the case is very different. He
informs me, that in lat. 24°, in one day’s march with the
bullock-waggons, he saw, without wandering to any great
distance on either side, between one hundred and one hundred
and fifty rhinoceroses, which belonged to three species.
That the same day he saw several herds of giraffes, amounting
together to nearly a hundred; and that, although no
elephant was observed, yet they are found in this district.
At the distance of a little more than one hour’s march from
their place of encampment on the previous night, his party
actually killed at one spot eight hippopotamoses, and saw
many more. In this same river there were likewise crocodiles.
Of course it was a case quite extraordinary, to see
so many great animals crowded together, but it evidently
jiroves that they must exist in great numbers. Dr. Smith
describes the country passed through that day, as “ being
thinly covered with grass, and bushes about four feet high,
and still more thinly with mimosa-trees.” The waggons
were not prevented travelling in a nearly direct line.
Besides these large animals, every one the least acquainted
\rith the natural history of the Cape, has read of the herds
of antelopes, which can he compared only to flocks of
migratory birds. The numbers indeed of the lion,* panther,
and hyiena, and the multitude of birds of prey, plainly tell
of the" abundance of the smaller quadrupeds. As Dr. Smith
remarked to me, the carnage each day in Southern Africa
must indeed be terrific! I confess it is truly surprising, how
such a number of animals can find support in a country producing
so little food. The larger quadrupeds no doubt roam
over wide extents in search of i t ; and their food chiefly con-
« D r . Sm ith m e n tio n e d to me, t h a t o n e e v e n in g sev en lio n s w ere
c o u n te d a t o n e tim e w a lk in g o n th e p la in , ro u n d th e e n c am pm en t.
Ü.
sists of underwood, which probably contains much nutriment
in a small bulk. Dr. Smith also informs me that the
vegetation has a rapid growth; no sooner is a part consumed,
than its place is supplied by a fresh stock. I apprehend,
however, that our ideas respecting the quantity necessary
for the support of large quadrupeds are exaggerated.
It should have been remembered that the camel, an animal
of no mean bulk, has always been considered as the emblem
of the desert.
The belief that where large quadrupeds exist, the vegetation
must necessarily be luxuriant, is the more remarkable,
because the converse is far from true. Mr. Burchell
observed to me that when entering Brazil, nothing struck
him more forcibly than the splendour of the South American
vegetation, contrasted with that of South Africa, together
with the absence of aU large quadrupeds. In his Travels,*
he has suggested that the comparison of the respective
weights (if there were sufficient data) of an equal number
of the largest herbivorous quadrupeds of each country would
be extremely curious. If we take on the one side the
elephant,! hippopotamus, giraffe, bos caffer, elan, certainly
three species of rhinoceros, and probably fiv e ; and on the
* T ra v e ls in th e in te r io r o f S o u th Afric a , vol. ii., p . 2 07.
! T h e e le p h a n t w h ich was k ille d a t E x e t e r C h a n g e , was e s tim a te d
(b e in g p a r tly w e ig h e d ) a t five to n s a n d a h a lf. T h e e le p h a n t a c tre ss , as I
was in fo rm e d , w e ig h ed o n e to n l e s s ; so t h a t w e m ay ta k e five as th e
a v e ra g e o f a fu ll-g rown e le p h a n t. I was to ld a t th e S u r re y G a rd e n s , th a t a
h ip p o p o tam u s w h ic h was s e n t to E n g la n d c u t u p in to p ieces, was e s tim
a te d a t th r e e to n s a n d a h a lf ; w e will c a ll it th r e e . F rom th e s e p rem ise s
w e m ay give th r e e to n s a n d a h a lf to ea ch o f th e five rh in o c e ro se s ; p e r h
a p s a to n to th e giraffe, a n d h a lf to th e b o s c a ffer as w e ll as th e e lan ,
( a la rg e o x weighs from 1200 to 1500 p o u n d s ). T h is will give a n a v e ra g e
(from th e a b o v e c o n je c tu re s ) o f 2 .7 o f a to n fo r th e te n la rg e s t h e rb iv o ro u s
a n im a ls o f S o u th e rn A fric a . I n S o u th A m e ric a , a llow in g 1200 p o u n d s
fo r th e tw o ta p ir s to g e th e r, 5 5 0 fo r th e g u an a co a n d v icu n a , 5 0 0 fo r th r e e
d e e r, 3 0 0 fo r c a p y b ara , p e c ca ri, a n d a m o n k ey , w e sh a ll h a v e a n av e ra g e o f
2 5 0 p o u n d s , wh ich I b e lie v e is o v e rs ta tin g th e re s u lt. T h e r a tio will
th e r e fo r e be , as C048 to 2 5 0 , fo r th e te n la rg e s t a n im a ls from th e tw o
c o u n trie s .