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

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Tomus 53. PARS ZOOLOGICA 1961. The Scientific Results of the First Hungarian Zoological Expedition to East Africa 1. Preliminary Report By J. SZUNYOGHY, Budapest The Zoological Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum suffered heavy losses in the autumn of 1956. A considerable part of its scientifical collections and the Africa Exhibition were destroyed by fire. There was no possibihty to draw on the financial resources of the Museum as such, and thus the hun tig and collecting trip to Tanganyika, sponsored by the Hungarian Directorate of Forestry, was of the utmost importance. The main target was the replacement of the annihilated big game material of the Africa Exhibitior. The expedition was proposed and organized by I. Dénes, Head of the Hunting and Game Department of the Directorate of Forestry ; its members Zs. Széchenyi, named big game hunter and author, K. Böröczky, gam. warden, I. Schuller, camera-man, and, from the part of the Museum, the present authore The actual work was divided among the participants as follows : Dénes and Széchenyi, and eventuaUy Böröczky, too, were hunting, but the latter, for the most part, was helping Schuller in shooting the pictures, whilst I directed and controlled the conservation of the quarry, and, as far as my time permitted it, also collected smaller animals and invertebrat es The expedition set off from Budapest on 28 December 1959, returning on 25 April 1960. The actual hunting and collecting happened between 19 January and 28 February 1960. The safari was organized by the Trans-Africa LTD Hunting Agency (Nairobi, Kenya). The Agency placed at out disposal the white hunters, the native staff, the camping equipment and the various cars. The English big game authorities of Tanganyika gave every assistance at all times. E. g., they not only granted the shooting of the females of the species we needed, but they waived in their entirety the fees due for these animals. For their magnanimity and cordial support, it is my pleasant duty to express my gratitude also in this place. The expedition started from Arusha, North Tanganyika, on 19 January 1960. The two sites of the hunting activities were in Laiverero, 201 km south of Arusha, and in the neighbourhood of Nata, near Lake Victoria, 315 km nort-east of Arusha, in North Tanganyika. The vegetation of the two collecting and hunting sites are very similar. The grassy styep-land of both places changes into sparsely wooded savannas, or, locally, into dense shrubberies. The first camp was pitched in the sparsely wooded forests (mainly Acacia species) of the extremely dry and hot Masai plains. The dcy season failed to show up in all its characteristical features, instead, as all over the world in 1960,