66 THE MAMMALS OF SOMALILAND 



males. They are almost straight, but with a slight anterior curve, 

 and are prominently ribbed for the first two inches and smooth 

 and polished for the remainder of their extent. They closely 

 resemble the horns of the oribi. 



From the above measurements it will be seen that the beira 

 female is very much the same size and weight as a klipspringer. 



Distribution. — The beira has a wider distribution than is 

 generally supposed, as it is to be found on most of the flat-topped 

 hills in British Somaliland. It is perhaps commoner among the 

 Gadabursi Hills than elsewhere, but on the hills to the westward of 

 Bulbar, around Issituggan, on Hegepo and the Dubar Range, and 

 further south on Negegr and the hills south of Sogsodi, it is 

 frequently met with. 



Habits. — The habits of the beira are peculiar in many respects, 

 the chief of them being its unwillingness to leave the place of its 

 choice. Even when hunted it will return again and again to the 

 same spot. They are usually seen in herds of six or seven, 

 consisting of one or two males and the remainder does ; but I have 

 found them sometimes only three or four together, and on one 

 occasion I saw as many as twelve in one herd — this was a single 

 herd, as I saw them again some months later together. When the 

 sportsman first encounters them, it is almost invariably on the flat 



* Captain Swire's specimen. 

 t With terminal hairs . . . . 6 in. 

 Ear 4I ,j (post-measurement). 



