THE BIG GAME OF AFRICA 



one to two inches at the withers. There are five somewhat 

 different species of the oryx family, all of which have 

 nearly straight, long horns, slightly curving backward and 

 growing out almost in line with their straight foreheads. 

 The neck of some of the species has a small mane and 

 also tufts of hair on the throat, while the tail is long and 

 bushy. The oryx family is at present spread over the 

 greater part of South and East Africa, Somaliland, Ara- 

 bia, and even as far north as Syria. 



The most common of the oryx family in East Africa 

 is the lovely oryx beisa. This species is distinguished by 

 not having any tufts of hair on the throat and by its white 

 face being marked with a large patch of black which covers 

 the greater part of the forehead under the horns with the 

 exception of the nose. Then it has two smaller black 

 patches which surround the eyes, and thence run down like 

 a wide ribbon to where the slit of the lips begins. The 

 color of the oryx beisa is a kind of dark bluish gray, sep- 

 arated from the almost snow-white belly by a wide, raven 

 black stripe on either side. 



The horns of this species are very nearly straight, 

 only slightly curving backward, and they have well-defined 

 year rings, reaching up about two thirds of the horn, which 

 tapers up to a very slender and exceedingly sharp point. 

 The average length of good oryx horns is from twenty- 

 eight to thirty-two inches, but horns of a male have been 

 recorded as large as thirty-six and a half inches, and 

 thirty-eight inches of a female. The horns of the female 

 are, as in most cases where female antelopes carry horns, 

 much thinner. This beautiful oryx loves arid country of 

 a parklike nature. Like the impala, it never frequents the 



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