THE LARGER EAST AFRICAN ANTELOPES 



shuns the plains during the day, visiting them only at 

 night for the purpose of drinking and feeding, returning 

 at dawn of day to his favorite haunts, where he loves to 

 stand, or lie down to rest and sleep during the heat of the 

 day, preferably in the shadow of big trees. Native hunters 

 have repeatedly assured me that the eland is one of those 

 animals which are able to go for a long time without 

 drinking any water, and this has been corroborated by the 

 experiences of a good many hunters. It is possible that the 

 eland for days, and perhaps for weeks, at a time may be 

 satisfied with the water he gets, when he feeds on the dew- 

 drenched grass in the early morning. Mr. Selous thinks 

 that in Southern Africa the eland used to feed on melons, 

 which temporarily satisfied his need of moisture. 



As the eland is also one of the many African animals 

 which is bothered with a great many ticks, he is very often 

 accompanied by the " rhinoceros bird," which, as in the 

 case of the rhino, not only helps the eland to get rid of 

 most of the parasites, but also warns him of any approach- 

 ing danger. Being, besides this, an exceedingly wary ani- 

 mal, with evidently very good eyesight, he is most difficult 

 to stalk, and I have spent hours and hours trying to get 

 close enough to the eland to secure a good snapshot, but 

 failed to do so without first wounding the animal. 



When a herd of eland is disturbed, the animals are able 

 to run ofT at great speed, and it is amusing indeed to see 

 how these heavy creatures are able to make such high 

 leaps as they do when they stampede. When an eland ob- 

 serves the hunter at a distance, he generally stands still for 

 a moment, squarely facing him and switching his tail to 

 and fro, just a few minutes before he is ready to gallop 



155 



