504 AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 



some master bull of failing thews; whereupon the latter, in 

 his turn, begins a life of solitude. The master bull is not 

 generally the herd leader; this function, as with the American 

 wapiti, is usually performed by some old and wary cow. 

 The carriage of the waterbuck is like that of the wapiti, 

 proud and graceful, with the neck erect, instead of held 

 almost in line with the back, as with the oryx; this 

 proud port, and the long, shaggy hair, give it a look like 

 that of some big northern stag. White waterbuck are in 

 certain places not uncommon; it is certainly a singular thing 

 that in a land teeming with beasts of prey any individual 

 of such a strikingly conspicuous color should be able to 

 reach maturity, and, as is frequently the case, to breed. I 

 heard of one white waterbuck cow with a calf of the ordinary 

 color. 



The waterbuck is not a water antelope in the sense that 

 is true of the lechwi and sitatunga. It lives on dry land, 

 feeding and resting among the trees and bushes. But it is 

 never found very far from water, and when hunted it takes 

 to the water readily, even when there are crocodiles near; 

 it swims well and boldly, and if hunted by dogs it will, if 

 possible, come to bay in a pool. In the early morning we 

 found waterbuck feeding a mile or two from any cover, on 

 the bare, short-grass plains of the Athi, but when alarmed 

 they at once fled for the trees along the river course. In one 

 instance we found a small party of waterbuck taking a 

 siesta under some small, almost leafless thorn-trees, miles 

 away from water, on a bare plain swarming with zebra. 

 Ordinarily, however, the waterbuck keeps to the groves and 

 glades, feeding and resting alternately at all hours through 

 the day and night. The cow keeps by herself for a few days 



