Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 53. (Budapest 1961)
Szunyoghy, J.: The scientific results of the first Hungarian zoological expedition to East Africa 1. Preliminary report
the weather was rather abnormal. This manifested itself in sporadic rains with the results that the grass became green and the leaves were sprouting on the trees. Even temperature was lower than usual. It was here that I measured the greatest fluctuation in temperature during our entire trip, 20 °C on 29 January 1960 : the mercury in shadow went up to 34 °C, dropping to 14 °C in the night. The second camp near Nata differred insofar from the first one in Laiverero that there were daily precipitations towards the end of our trip. This foreshadowed the abnormally early beginning of the extensive rainy season. Owing to the daily rains and the frequently overcast sky, the temperature was somewhat milder than in Laiverero. The strong nocturnal dew-formation was also characteristical for both camps. The bulk of our big game quarry was bagged in the vicinity of the first camp. I took, with respect to every big game shot, all scientific measurements and those too which are necessary for eventual taxidermie purposes. After skinning, we preserved the whole skull of every specimen, together with the skeleton of the limbs of one side of the animal. The skins were freed from the flesh, thinned, salted and dried, while the bones were only cleaned and dried. This work was done by the native skinners of the Agency, under my supervision and control. The prey was always skinned in the camp, the game shot some 40 to 60 km away were brought into the camp by trucks, even the heaviest and largest animals. It sometimes happened that large-bodied game, e. g., buffaloes ior eands, shot in the field, lay on the hot sun for some 4 — 5 hours, and still sther kins remained untainted. Indeed, it happened once that a kudu bull, mortally wounded and escaped in the late afternoon, was found in the late morning of the next day, and when it was brought into the camp and our men began ksinning it at 1 p. m., the skin was still wholesome. This can be explained only by the abnormally cool weather. I always gathered the parasites living on their big game hosts, and thus made a considerable parasite collection. I captured my small mammals by spring traps. Collection was greatly hindered by the various kinds of ants in the field, — they ate off the bait of the traps in a few hours. Accordingly, I baited the traps some three-quarters of an hour before sunset, at about 5.15 p. m. They have also gnawed through the strings fixing the traps. Due to the ample dewfall during the night, the traps had to be immersed in oil in the daytime to prevent rusting ; but the smell had no scaring effect on the animals. As a matter of fact, this territory was rather poor in mammals. It was a great help therefore that Dr. L. Sáska, Hungarian physician in Arusha, bade his boy to collect small mammals. Aside of the smaller sized mammalians, I also collected birds, preparing them myself. One of my further tasks was to collect beetles and moths whenever there was a possibility to do so. Beetles were collected by partly the sweeping net partly by tapping nets. Sweep-netting was made in both camps in the dry, knee-high grass, or later, in the fresh, green grass after the rainy days set in. I sweep-netted usually twice a day, namely in the forenoon, after the dew had evaporated, about 10.30 to 11 a.m., and in the afternoons, between 4—5 p.m. Mv beetle collecting in Tanga forms a certain exception, as this was done in the green grass in several places of the coast.
