Babault, G., 1949. Notes ethologiques sur quelques mammiferes africains. Mammalia 13: 1-16
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| Location: |
Africa - Eastern Africa - Kenya |
| Subject: |
Behaviour - Towards Man |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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Intelligence is little developed in the rhinoceros which, in actual fact, is just a brute. He attacks what he sees and doesn't realize the dangers of his attack. So every year, some are killed by the locomotives of the Uganda Railway. The poor eyesight of these enormous beasts is maybe reason of his stupidity, because they are incapable to distinguish a man at 50 metres and are surprised to suddenly find a thing or a being that could be an enemy. At this short distance the only defence open to them seems to be an inconsiderate attack.
The small birds that they carry warn them of the approach of a danger while flying off, but when these are absent and when one approaches with a favourable wind, one can come very close to them without bothering them. We had this experience with a car. We drove around in the savanna, far from all roads, in search of interesting photos to take. As we approached a big dry stream, we saw a rhinoceros lying under an acacia. As the place was without stones, we could run away easily, so we tried to raise the pachyderm with warning shots, but, to our surprise, he didn't move. Making a detour, we came back from the other direction, the breeze blowing toward the rhinoceros. It did not take long, in the blink of an eye, he was on his feet and climbed the slope that separated us. The following instant, he charged. It shows that the smell is superior to the hearing among these pachyderms and provoke the defensive reflex more easily.
The Maasais avoid the charge of the rhino by jumping on the side as he lowers the head to hit. 'He is not able to see us at that moment', they say. It is probably right, because these natives are good observers, who, before the European medicines, had noticed that malaria was transmitted by a mosquito.
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Notes ethologiques sur quelques mammiferes africains
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