NATIONAL ZOOLOGICAL PARK—-BAKER. 449 
rock to rock with the greatest ease and obtain a foothold on a pinna- 
cle that scarcely seems large enough to hold their feet. Their hook- 
like horns are very sharp and dangerous. They thrive well here, as 
they have bred and raised young. 
The park has also specimens of the tahr, an Asiatic mountain goat 
from the Himalayas. These look like our domestic goat, but have 
no beard. Their horns are black, the general color of their hair dark 
brown. They live on extremely precipitous cliffs. These animals 
have bred in the park and seem to endure captivity well. 
ANTELOPES. 
Notwithstanding the advance of European settlement, Africa 
still exhibits a remarkable variety of wild game. Antelopes in great 
numbers and of great variety of form and size, together with giraffes 
and zebras, still roam over its vast grassy plains. The park is fortu- 
nate in having a number of specimens of this teeming animal life, 
but only a few will be mentioned. 
The bontebok (pl. 5), was formerly very numerous in South Africa 
but has been nearly exterminated by hunters, only a few small groups 
remaining. It derives its name, given it by the Dutch colonists (pied 
goat, when translated), from the marked contrast between the white 
coloring of its face and rump and the brown or fawn color of its body. 
Its horns are black. The blessbok (blazed goat) is another rare ani- 
mal of quite similar character. 
There is a pair of Coke’s hartebeests, a rare species inhabiting east- 
ern Africa, having widely expanded horns capable of inflicting a dan- 
gerous blow. 
The waterbuck (pl. 5), or defassa, from the same region, lives among 
the high grass of swampy regions and is also found on higher ground, 
fleeing to the valleys when pursued. It is reddish brown in color. 
The white-tailed gnu is the animal often styled the horned horse. 
The Dutch call it the ‘ wildebeest,”’ as if it were a wild form of domes- 
tic cattle. The specimen in the antelope house is very fond of danc- 
ing and curveting about his inclosure, uttermg sharp barking cries. 
The harnessed antelope is from western Africa and is another water- 
frequenting animal. It receives its name from the peculiar narrow 
white markings, that make it appear as though wearing a harness. 
It has hoofs especially adapted for walking on swampy ground. 
An animal related in its structural formation, though much larger, 
is the nilgbai from India. It lives in small groups on grassy plains 
or among thin brushwood. 
The largest of all the antelopes is, however, the African eland, which 
formerly ranged over a large extent of country, but is now confined 
to central and eastern Africa. It is quite oxlike in its appearance, 
73176°—sM 1914 29 
