THE ADDAX ANTELOPE II9 



The addax (Addax nasomaatlatus) stands about 

 thirty-eight inches high at the withers. It is 

 remarkable both for its handsome cyHndrical horns, 

 which curve upwards and outwards in an open 

 spiral, and for its greyish-white colour, which recalls 

 the " milk-white hind " of Dryden. The horns when 

 fully grown attain a length of about thirty-five inches 

 over the curve and exhibit two turns of a spiral ; a 

 fine example with the commencement of a third turn 

 has been recorded by Sir H. H. Johnston. The 

 head of the addax is of a dark brown colour (paler 

 behind the horns) and the face is crossed just below 

 the eyes by a white chevron, which recalls that of 

 two other African antelopes — Hunter's hartebeest 

 and the Nyasaland gnu. The forehead is orna- 

 mented by a thick tuft of hair hanging downward like 

 the fringe of an East End coster "lydy." Young 

 addax are clumsily formed, and at about eight months 

 are as bulky though not so tall as their mothers ; 

 calves at this age have the horns represented by 

 longish spikes, and are of a light fawn colour which 

 is more pronounced on the head and neck. 



The addax is one of the few African animals 

 which exhibit a seasonal change of colour, due to 

 the alternate casting and renewal of the thick pelisse 

 of brown hair which grows on the neck and shoulders 

 in winter. In summer, the hair falls out in patches 

 till almost entirely gone; a specimen examined by 

 the writer in August 1900 retained only a scanty 



