NYALA 333 



discovered near St. Lucia Bay, in latitude 28^ south ; and northwards 

 from this spot appears to have once existed in the low-lying coast- 

 country, along the banks of all the rivers flowing into the Indian 

 Ocean as far as the Sabi ; while, following the Limpopo, it penetrated 

 a considerable distance inland, a pair having been shot years ago on 

 the lower Oliphants river near its junction with the former. Between 

 the Sabi and the Zambesi nyala appear unknown, though they again 

 occur north of the Zambesi in Nyasaland. In the latter district, 

 according to Sir Alfred Sharpe, " this antelope is found in a piece of 

 thick scrubby country bordering the Moanza, which enters the Shire on 

 the right bank near the Murchison cataracts. I have never heard of 

 it in any other part of Nyasaland." 



Although he has heard of so many as five being found in com pan}-, 

 Mr. Selous is of opinion that as a rule nyala live " either alone or in 

 pairs, sometimes accompanied by a last year's fawn, like bushbuck 

 and situtunga. At night they feed on open spaces in the bush, but 

 are never found in such places between daylight and dark, as they 

 have been so much persecuted by the natives that they have grown 

 very wary and cunning. In the jungles between the Usutu and 

 Pongolo rivers in Amatongaland, where I hunted nyala in 1896, 

 there appeared to be no other game of any kind, with the exception of 

 a few bushbucks and bush-pigs. As the country seemed admirably 

 suited for bushbucks, I do not know how to account for their scarcity 

 in this district, except on the supposition that they are driven out of 

 the jungles frequented by the more powerful, though nearly allied 

 nyala. Nyala rams are said by the natives to become very savage 

 when wounded, and sometimes to charge fiercely." 



The following account, somewhat condensed from the original, 

 records Mr. A. H. Neumann's experiences of nyala in Zululand : — 



" Like its relative the bushbuck (to which it seems to occupy much 

 the same relationship as is presented by the kudu to the lesser kudu), 

 the nyala is essentially a dweller in thick woods, and, like the 

 former, feeds almost exclusively on leaves and weeds, with occasional 

 wild fruit and berries, eating but little grass. Like the bushbuck, it is 

 never found far from water (though it strays farther afield than that 

 thirsty little creature) ; but, unlike its smaller congener, it never 

 frequents hills, its favourite haunts being the dense coverts in the 

 neighbourhood of rivers and lakes. In the daytime it lies concealed in 

 their shady depths, and only ventures forth at night ; although, when 

 not much disturbed, it may sometimes be found browsing in the more 

 open glades just outside their borders during the early morning or late 



