292 THE GT^ASO NYEKO [ch. xi 



wary as the common gazelle was tame. It seemed to 

 prefer browsing, while the common gazelle grazes. 



The handsome oryx, with their long horns carried by 

 both sexes, and their colouring of black, white, and dun 

 grey, came next to the gazelle in point of numbers. 

 They were generally found in herds of from half a dozen 

 to fifty individuals, often mixed with zebra herds. There 

 were also solitary bulls, probably turned out of the herds 

 by more vigorous rivals, and often one O'" these would 

 be found with a herd of zebras, more merciful to it than 

 its own kinsfolk. All this game of the plains is highly 

 gregarious in habit, and the species associate freely with 

 one another. Tlie oryx cows were n(3w generally accom- 

 panied by ver}^ young calves, for, unlike what we found 

 to be the case with the hartebeest on the Athi, the oryx 

 on the Guaso Nyero seem to have a definite calving- 

 time — September.^ I shot only bulls (there was no 

 meat, either for the porters or ourselves, except what 

 I got with the rifle), and they were so wary that almost 

 all those I killed were shot at ranges between three 

 hundred and five hundred yards ; and at such ranges 

 I need hardly say tliat I did a good deal of missing. 

 One wounded bull which, the ground being favourable, 

 I galloped down, turned to bay and threatened to 

 charge the horse. \^"e weighed one bull ; it tipped the 

 scales at four hundred pounds. The lion kills we found 

 in this neighbourhood were all oryx and zebra ; and 

 evidently the attack was made in such fashion that the 

 oryx had no more chance to fight than the zebra. 



^ Of course this represents only one man's experience. I wish 

 there were many such observations. On the Atlii in May I found 

 new-born wildebeest and hartebeest calves, and others several 

 months old. In June in the Sotik I saw new-born eland calves, 

 and topi calves several months old. In September on the Guaso 

 Nvero all the oryx calves were new-born. The zebra foals were 

 also very young. 



