In the West Nile District of Uganda lives a population of white rhino—those relies of a past age, cumbrous, gentle creatures despite their huge bulk—which estimates only 10 years ago, put at 500.
But poachers live in the area, too, and official counts showed that white rhino were being reduced alarmingly. By 1959, they were believed to be diminished to 300.
The Ethiopian Highlands are the home of two major herbivores found nowhere else in the world. One is the Walia Ibex; the other, the Mountain Nyala, Tragelaphus buxtoni.
Many people believe that the Okapi and the Giant Forest Hog were the last major mammals to be discovered in Africa. In fact, this distinction belongs to the Mountain Nyala; and the man who discovered it, Major Ivor Buxton, is still alive. It has been known to science since only 1908.
If one watches a troop of baboons closely, the major categories of individuals present can soon be distinguished. The largest animais are invariably the adult males and, in some areas (such as Nairobi Park), their size is exaggerated by a very heavy mantle of fur around the heads and shoulders.
An adult male baboon has the distinction of possessing perhaps the largest canine teeth of his size in the animal kingdom. These have developed as a means of defence and are sufficiently impressive to keep most other animais at a distance.
