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their midst… May the Lord protect us from this
misfortune! 123
Missionary Martin Jackel’s records in his 1925 document also reflect the
abundance of animal species in the Makgabeng area at that time:
During the night of 29 May 1868 four lions came close to
the house in which [Rev.] Endemann was sleeping and
killed an ox and a calf. In February of ’69 [Rev.] Beyer was
in great danger. On the way from Matlala he encountered
some lions. In October during the same year he came
across a lioness when he hunted for guinea fowl… In 1919,
a young hunter met his death when he was bitten by a
wounded lioness close to the outside station of
Huilbosch… Numerous leopards (called tigers by the
Boers) can be found near the Blouberg Station. The writer
[Jackel] himself killed five leopards in close range of his
station. At the moment hyenas are exterminated, but wild
dogs (wolves) are common. Wild boars, baboons, giant
snakes and all sorts of poisonous snakes today still romp
around in the Blouberge. Big game, kudus, wildebeest,
hartebeest, sable antelope, etc. are common enough 124 .
123 Rev. Sack, Berliner Missionberichte, “Nachrichten von station Makgabeng”, Vol. 19. No. 20.
1890, p. 1.
124 M. Jackel, Gananoa, p. 11.
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