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Show 1905.] MAMMALS AND BIRDS OF LIBERIA. 2 0 1 tusks than those which are developed by the males in the more open regions, where perhaps digging for roots or the desire to uproot trees is more prevalent than in the dense forest, where the elephant can find abundant sustenance in the leaves and fruits of trees which he reaches with his trunk. Extremely little is known by Europeans about the West-African Elephant, as the animal is so rarely killed in that region. I hope that some of the foresters of the Rubber Company may be able to kill a Liberian Elephant, in order to ascertain by photography, or possibly even by preserving the skin, the shape of the ears. Some little while ago it was shown by a German zoologist that an elephant received from the interior of the Cameroons had ears that were smaller and much more rounded than those of the East African type. The Rhinoceros undoubtedly exists-I cannot say in what type-in the northern parts of Liberia, as the Mandingos at once recognised pictures of it, and named it Kowuru. I might mention that the Mandingos talk a great deal about a striped animal which they call Siruku. They recognised a picture of a zebra and called it Siruku, but at the same time described the animal as being extremely ferocious and dangerous to life. As it is impossible to recognise this description as applying to the zebra, I thought from their gestures that they might mean the leopard; but to the leopard they gave a totally different name-Soli. Moreover, they were particular that this animal had stripes. It may be the Striped Hyaena. At the same time, on every occasion when they were shown the picture of a zebra they declared that this was the creature they called Siruku, but that in their country it was ferocious *. As regards Antelopes, they are divisible into two groups, so far as distribution in Liberia is concerned-those that inhabit the forest and those that are confined more or less to the open, parklike country. Cephalophus sylvicultrix and C. jentinki are found in the dense forest. Most of the other Liberian Duikers, including the beautiful Zebra Antelope, are more associated with the forested hills than the lowlands; in fact, they are usually called " Mountain Deer " by the Americo-Liberians. The magnificent Bongo is fairly common. It is called the " Elk " by the Americo-Liberians, who have followed the Americans in their maddening habit of misnaming every living creature they come across; so that the Buslibuck or rather Harnessed Antelope is called the " Red-Deer," while the splendid Blue Plantain-eater is termed the " Peacock," and the Turaco, the " Redwing." Outside the forest, or on the northern verge of it, there are Hartebeests- Bubalis major t- * [Note.- By a curious coincidence, after tliese lines were written I noticed the following statement on p. 293 of ‘ Be la Cote d'Ivoire au Soudan,' by Capt. d'Ollone :- " II me faut mentionnes...............l'existence de deux sortes d'hyenes . . . . beaucoup plus grandes plus fortes et plus hardies que celles d'Algerie ou d'Orient. Mais l'une surtout, que les indigenes appellent ‘ Sowara' (Cheval-panthere), serait formidable et inspire une tres grande terreur. Un Sowara avait tue uu sergent fran^ais dans une case peu avant notre passage. Cette hyene serait, paraitit, tachetee." ] f Horns of this species were brought home by Col. Powney. |