Wild Mammals of Zimbabwe

178 Pages·1975·30.044 MB·English

by  Dale Kenmuir, Russell Williams

W i l d M a m m a l s
D a le K e n m u ir
a n d
R u s s e ll W illia m s
B U N D U S E R I E S
B ook
i
Centre
W i l d M a m m a ls
A field guide and introduction
to the mammals of Zimbabwe
Dale Kenmuir
and
Russell Williams
L o n g m a n
Longman Zimbabwe (Pvt) Ltd
Tourle Road, Ardbennie, Harare
Associated companies, branches and
representatives throughout the world
© D. Kenmuir and R. Williams 1975
All rights reserved. No part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior permission of
the Copyright owner
First published 1975
Fifth impression 1986
ISBN 0 582 64164 0
Printed in Zimbabwe by Mardon Printers (Pvt) Limited, Harare
Contents
page
Acknowledgements v
Introduction 1
Points to ponder 3
What is a mammal ? 3
How and why are mammals classified ? 3
The most important classification groups 6
Structure and function 6
The distribution of species 8
Game spotting by sign 10
Some mammals to be seen in the game reserves of Zimbabwe 13
Order Insectívora: insectivores 18
Order Chiroptera: bats 22
Order Primates : primates 27
Order Pholidota: pangolins 34
Order Carnivora: carnivores 36
Order Tubulidentata: antbear 71
Order Probosddea: elephants 73
Order Hyracoidea: dassies 77
Order Perissodactyla: odd-toed hoofed mammals 80
Order Artiodactyla: even-toed hoofed mammals 85
Order Lagomorpha: hares 117
Order Rodentia: rodents 121
Bibliography 132
Index 134
Dale Kenmuir, a biologist, wrote the text for this book ; Russel Williams,
a game ranger, did the illustrations.
Both are former employees of the Department of National Parks and
Wildlife Management of Zimbabwe.
The Bundu Series of books has been derived from the earlier series
published with the aid and help of the Standing Conference of National
Voluntary Youth Organisations in Zimbabwe.
Acknowledgements
A great many people helped us during the preparation of this book. We
should like to thank the following, in particular, for very kindly assisting
us in numerous ways: the Ossie Bristow family, Errol Button, Mike
Coke, Dr John Hanks, Mr B. L. Mitchell, Sid and Shirley Robbins,
and Mrs A. G. Williams.
In addition, we; should like to acknowledge the help, at various times
and in various ways, of the following:
J. Anderson Mr and Mrs D. F.
G. W. Begg McKinlay
G. Bell-Cross W. T. Miller
Mrs R. Black G. Mills
D. K. Blake Tim and Jill Paulet
B. Brien P. H. Read
Dr G. Child R. B. Rees
Dr T. Choate Dr H. Van Rompaey
B. Couper D. Rowe-Rowe
M. Drury R. dTvry Russell
J. H. Grobler John Russell
D. Hughes R. M. Smith
H. D. Jackson P. Steyn
H. Jordaan J. Stutchbury
Dr M. Keep The late J. M. C. Uys
Dr A. Kemp A. J. S. Weaving
Mr and Mrs N. S. Kenmuir V. J. Wilson
M. A. Kerr N. A. Wright
Mr and Mrs K. Loubser P. J. Wright
L. Magarangomah
We are grateful to Professor G. Fortune and his assistants, Mr A. C.
Hodza, Mr S. J. Mhlabi and Mr K. G. Mkanganwi, at the Faculty of
Languages, University of Zimbabwe, for preparing the list of African
names. We should also like to thank the Department of Information
and the Zimbabwe National Tourist Board; the staff of the Queen
Victoria Museum and the Department of National Parks and Wildlife
Management for allowing us to make use of their library facilities; and
the directors of the National Museums and Monuments of Zimbabwe,
v
and the Durban Museum, for kindly permitting us to use their
specimens for illustration purposes.
It would not have been possible to write this book without the
wealth of written information about mammals which is available
today. Our thanks are therefore due to the many individuals and
organisations who have contributed, through their research 'efforts, to
this fund of knowledge.
Introduction
This book aims at serving as a field guide* to the larger mammals of
Zimbabwe, as well as introducing the reader to the entire range of
mammals to be found in Zimbabwe, from the smallest to the largest.
All too often the smaller mammals are left out of field guides simply
because the author feels that, unless he or she can do full justice to the
subject of smaller mammals, they should not be touched at all. The
result is a paucity of information on all the smaller mammals, a prolifera­
tion of information on the larger mammals, and a great many people
who know the difference between a kudu and an impala, but for the life
of them couldn’t tell you what a mole rat is, or looks like, or how it
differs from a golden mole, or what a dormouse is, and how it differs
from an ordinary mouse, or what an elephant shrew looks like, and so on.
Hopefully, this book will help the reader to become slightly more
familiar with the smaller members of the mammal community, and
possibly whet his or her appetite for the more detailed studies on the
subject which will undoubtedly appear in future years. With the aid of
this book the reader should have no trouble in identifying, as far as the
family level, any smaller mammal found or seen. Although there are
sixty species of bats, for example, these can be easily grouped into
several different families, and any bat found can quite easily be identified
according to its family grouping. The same is true of other small
mammals. All mammals found in Zimbabwe have been mentioned,
together with their common and scientific names (from Smithers, 1973;
Smithers and Wilson, 1979), and therefore this book should be useful
as a source of reference as well as for identification purposes.
With regard to the larger mammals, from the hedgehog upwards, the
combination of colour illustrations and black-line drawings should
assist the reader in identifying a species in the field by bringing out
salient features as well as the colour of the animal in question. Written
description has therefore been kept to a minimum, and only con­
spicuous features mentioned. For the benefit of the holidaymaker a list
of the larger mammals that may be seen in Zimbabwe’s many game parks
and reserves has been provided (see Fig. 3 and accompanying table).
Illustrations of the spoor and droppings of the majority of large
mammals have been included for those interested in tracking, hunting or
simply identifying mammals in the field from sign. A word of warning,
however. These drawings should be regarded rather as a guide than as a
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dogmatic assertion. Droppings of a single species can vary tremendously
from area to area, depending on the diet of the animal at that time of the
year, its size, condition and so on. Similarly, spoor can differ depending
on the substrate it was made on, the size of the animal, the speed at
which it was moving, and so on. Nevertheless, the majority of these
drawings and the measurements were made in the field and as such they
are reliable representations of the originals drawn.
The mass (weight) of a species can also vary from area to area, and
the figure given in the drawings is merely an indication of the mass of
the species, and should not be taken as an exact figure.
With regard to distribution of a species within Zimbabwe, this refers,
unless otherwise stated, to the natural distribution, and not distribution
as modified by artificial introductions of the species to various game
reserves.
The section Points to ponder has been included to encourage the reader
to think of mammals in terms of the environment and the habitat in
which they live rather than simply as isolated objects to be viewed from
an indifferent distance in an unthinking way. Animals should be thought
about and not simply looked at, and, for those with a deeper interest in
mammals, perhaps this section will start the cogs rolling and the mind
questioning, and make game viewing an absorbing pastime.
Vernacular names
Where there are two entries for the Shona name, the one to the left of
the oblique line is that found in the Zezuru dialect, the other is that of the
Karanga dialect. Where there are two entries for the Ndebele name, one
is simply an alternative for the other and either name may be used.
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