BOHOR REED BUCK 



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move at close quarters, they go off at first with a rush, and in a 

 crouching position with the neck held straight out, and the head so 

 low as to prevent one from seeing whether it is a buck or doe, and 

 thus offer a very difficult and uncertain shot with a rifle, as they 

 almost invariably go straight away and double from one side to the 

 other with such extraordinary speed that it is almost impossible to 

 draw a bead on them. They are usually found in small parties of two 



Fig. 50. — P'ront view of Horns of Abyssinian Bohor Reedbuck. 



or three, but sometimes as many as five or six, and on one occasion I 

 saw eight. Old bucks are frequently found by themselves. During 

 the rutting-season, which is towards the end of June or the beginning 

 of July, the young bucks are driven from the herds by the older and 

 stronger animals, and are found in small parties of three or four — these 

 bucks being never worth shooting. The reedbucks found on the Mau 

 plateau are finer and heavier than those found on the eastern slopes 

 of the escarpment, and in the Masai valley, and also have much finer 

 heads. The best can, however, in no way be compared with the heads 



