SITUTUNGA ANTELOPE 197 
SITUTUNGA ANTELOPE (Tragelaphus spekei). 
The Situtunga, sometimes called Speke’s Antelope (Makong of the 
Lake Ngami Bechuanas), the most shy and retiring of all the water- 
loving antelopes, is, from the very nature of its habits and mode of 
life, seldom accessible to the average sportsman. Even the _ in- 
defatigable Mr. Selous, who tried hard to shoot a specimen on the 
Chobe River swamps some years ago, had to retire defeated, although 
he picked up a fine ram, which had been recently killed—apparently 
by another animal of the same species. The Situtungas conceal 
themselves during the day in the dense reed-beds, and are seldom 
or never seen by hunters, although they may be, and are abundant 
enough. At night they emerge on some reedy island, only to betake 
themselves to the impenetrable swamps again before earliest dawn. 
The natives kill them by firing the reed-beds and spearing the 
antelopes as they cross open water. The name Water Kudu, 
bestowed on this antelope by the Trek Boers during their wanderings 
towards the west coast, is by no means a bad one. The Situtunga is 
very closely related to the Inyala of the south-east coast of Africa, as 
may be at once seen by a comparison of the horns. 
Mr. A. B. Phipps of the B.B. Police, in a letter to me dated 
October 1895, says :—“ The Situtunga locate themselves on the banks 
of the Okavango River and the swamp bearing the same name. The 
reason of these animals being so rare is this: the Okavango River 
altered its course some years ago, and does not now flow into the 
Botletli, but runs about go miles farther north, hence these animals 
come down to the Botletli River for water and are shot down. From 
all sources I fancy they are likely in a couple of years to be extinct.” 
In Uganda and the Lake Region generally Mr. E. Gedge says it 
