Some animals, like the rhino and the eland, have tick birds that sit upon their backs and eat the ticks.

The egrets police the eland and capture all predatory ticks, while the rhino usually has half a dozen little tick birds sitting upon him.
However, we were starting out in a day or so, and in a few days expected to learn a lot more about ticks than we then knew.
It is supposed to require a certain amount of nerve to go lion shooting.
It is also supposed to require an additional amount to face an angry rhino or to attempt to get African buffalo.

The last-named creature is a vindictive, crafty beast that is feared by old African hunters more than they fear any other animal.

In consequence of these dangers we decided that it might be well to give our nerves a thorough test before going out with them.

If they were not in good condition it would be well to know of it before rather than after going up against a strange and hostile lion.
That is why we went up in the balloon in Nairobi.