African Nature Notes and Reminiscences. Frederick Courteney Selous
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Frederick Courteney Selous
African Nature Notes and Reminiscences
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4057664606648
Table of Contents
ILLUSTRATIONS
| "Unfortunately, one of these terrific Blows, very probably the first aimed at the Leopard which seized the Calf, had struck the little Creature on the Loins and broken its Back" | Frontispiece |
| FACING PAGE | |
| "He had evidently been sitting or lying by a Fire when caught" | 53 |
| Plate showing Differences in the Development of the Mane in Lions inhabiting a comparatively small Area of Country in South Africa | 76 |
| "A picked Man of dauntless Heart … would rush forward alone. …" | 93 |
| "On the second Night they once more left it alone, but on the third they devoured it" | 103 |
| "Such old Buffalo Bulls were very slow about getting out of one's way" | 146 |
| Photographs of a Struggle between a Rhinoceros and a Crocodile: | |
| No. 1. Shows the Rhinoceros holding its own, but unable to reach the bank | 202 |
| No. 2. Shows the Rhinoceros still struggling, but in deeper water | 202 |
| No. 3. Shows the Rhinoceros after it had turned round, and just before it got into deep water and was pulled under | 202 |
| "I knew it was a male Inyala—the first that my Eyes had ever looked upon" | 242 |
| "The Gemsbucks were now going at their utmost Speed, and when I had passed the Zebras were still sixty or seventy yards in front of me" | 258 |
| "My Gun-Carrier hurled another Lump of Burning Wood at our Visitor" | 273 |
| The Last of South Africa's Game Haunts | 302 |
CHAPTER I
NOTES ON THE QUESTIONS OF PROTECTIVE COLORATION, RECOGNITION MARKS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENT ON LIVING ORGANISMS
Harmony of colour in nature—Theory of protective coloration—Sexual selection—Conspicuous colours not harmful—The influence of environment—The leucoryx—The Barbary sheep—The Sardinian moufflon—African butterflies—Coloration of the musk ox and caribou—Arctic hares and foxes—Coloration of mammals in the Yukon Territory—The chamois in winter—Examples of conspicuous coloration in African mammals—Colour not always protective—Carnivorous animals usually hunt by scent—Wild dogs and wolves—Wild dog and sable antelope—Sense of smell in herbivorous animals—Sight of antelopes—Experience with waterbuck—Dull sight of caribou—Demeanour of wild animals when alarmed—Small antelopes—Lions—Large antelopes—Difficulty of seeing wild animals sometimes exaggerated—Powers of sight of Bushmen—Colour not protective against animals which hunt by night and by scent—Animals in motion easy to see—Restlessness of wild animals—Lions attacking bullocks—Zebras the principal prey of lions since the disappearance of buffaloes—Appearance of zebras—Undoubtedly conspicuous animals in open country—Zebras by moonlight—Strong smell of zebras—Conspicuous antelopes in East Africa—Effect of the juxtaposition of black and white—Bold coloration of the sable antelope.
Although there are certain striking exceptions to the general rule, yet, broadly speaking, it cannot be gainsaid that living organisms are usually coloured in such a way as to make them