CHAPTER XII 



THE HARTEBEEST AND ZEBRA 



The hartebeests are certainly the ugliest looking of all 

 antelopes. They are easily recognizable from all other 

 game, even at long distance, by their peculiarly shaped 

 heads, long, straight and narrow faces, and pointed noses. 

 Another characteristic of the most common, or Cook's 

 hartebeest, is the singular twist of the horns. When the 

 animal looks straight at a person, it appears as if it 

 had a double set of ears, the horns growing out from 

 the forehead at almost right angles over the ears, leav- 

 ing a space between of some three to four inches. An- 

 other thing which makes the hartebeest so different 

 looking from all other antelopes is his contrast in build, 

 standing a great deal higher at the withers than over 

 the pelvis. 



There are several species of hartebeest in British East 

 Africa, of which the Jackson's and Cook's are the most 

 common. These two dififer from each other chiefly in their 

 color and shape of horns. The Jackson's hartebeest has 

 a more light reddish brown hue than the Cook's, and his 

 horns differ very much from the latter's; they first turn 

 upward a few inches, then curve slightly outward and 

 again upward, after which they bend in almost a right 

 angle backwards. I also believe, from specimens that I 



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