Page:Africa by Élisée Reclus, Volume 1.djvu/192

 The diversity of climate and flora naturally gives rise to a corresponding variety in the animal kingdom. On the lowlands the fauna resembles that of Arabia or the Sahara, on the outer spurs that of Senegal, that of the Mediterranean on the plateaux, whilst it is almost European on the mountain summits. On the lower plains are found the giraffe, the zebra, the wild ass, and the ostrich. Of the numerous species of antelopes inhabiting Abyssinia, few advance far up the plateaux, although the wild goat is found on the crests of the Simen range, at a height of over 13,000 feet. Numerous varieties of the monkey family, amongst others the colubus guereza, noted for its beautiful black-and-white fur, are confined to the lowland forests of Shoa, Gojam, and Kwalla-Woggara. But a certain species of cynocephales are found at an altitude of some 6,000 feet. The rhinoceros has also been met at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The elephant also frequents the mountains, although he prefers the thickets of the valleys, where he conmiits extensive depredations on the plantations. But this pachyderm is disappearing before the attacks of the hunter, who eagerly pursues it, as much for the sake of its ivory as to retaliate for the havoc it commits on the cultivated lands. According to the Arab lowlanders, the elephant knows when to expect the caravans laden with durrah, attacks them from its ambuscades, and takes possession of the supplies. The hippopotamus is also forced by want of water as far into the interior as the foot of the cascades, and is also numerous in Lake Tana, where, however, it does not grow to such a size as those of the large African rivers.

The lion is rarely found above the lowlands or beyond the Beni-Amer territory in the north. It differs from its Central African congeners by its deep black mane; indeed, one variety, infesting the banks of the Takkazeh, is almost entirely black. A more dangerous animal is the leopard, which roams throughout the country to a height of 11,000 feet. Like the Indian tiger, these carnivora often become man-eaters, for when they have once tasted human flesh they prefer it to all other prey. A still more formidable beast is the woho or abasamho, believed by Lefebvre to be a wolf, and said to partake of the qualities of the lion and the leopard. The spotted hyaena is also very common. The buffalo, which frequents chiefly the riverain kwallas, is of all other savage beasts the readiest to attack man; it fears no enemy, and its furious rush is checked neither by quagmires, rocks, nor prickly thickets. The wild fauna also includes the wild boar, which, to spite the Mohammedans, is occasionally eaten by the Abyssinian Christians, although usually regarded as impure. The Abyssinians also reject the flesh of the tortoise, and of all animals show the greatest repugnance to the hare, in this latter respect strictly adhering to the law of Moses. It is usually stated that Africa possesses no song-birds, but Abyssinia best shows how erroneous this statement is, as it possesses numerous varieties of these birds, nearly all of gorgeous plumage. The sacred ibis (geronticus æthiopicus), no longer seen on the banks of the Egyptian Nile, is still met in the Upland Abyssinian valleys. The branches of trees overhanging rivers and pools are covered with the nests of the textor alecto