276 



UNGULATES. 



feverish nature of their haunts, comparatively few are killed by Europeans. The 



ground-colour of the female's fur is reddish. 



west African The third species is the West African harnessed antelope 



Harnessed (T. gratus), from the Camerun mountains and the Gabun district, of 



Antelope. w hich the head is figured in the accompanying woodcut. This 



antelope agrees with the last in 

 having white spots on the head and 

 stripes on the body, but differs 

 from all those yet noticed in the 

 extreme elongation of the main 

 hoofs, which are evidently specially 

 adapted for walking on swampy 

 ground. The lateral hoofs, more- 

 over, which in most of the fore- 

 going species are extremely small, 

 are in this antelope large and 

 elongated. The male stands about 

 3^ feet at the shoulder; and is 

 characterised by the absence of a 

 fringe of long hair on the throat, 

 and the dark olive tint of the coat. 

 In the female the ground-colour 

 of the fur is bright rufous, orna- 

 mented, as in the male, with white 

 spots on the face and stripes on 

 the body. The horns of the male 

 are generally about 18 or 19 inches 

 in length, measured in a straight 

 line. Little or nothing appears to 

 be known as to the habits of this 

 species in its wild state, but several 

 examples have been exhibited in 

 the Zoological Gardens at Amster- 

 dam, where they have bred. 

 The last of the four large species of harnessed antelopes is the 

 nakong or sititunga (T. spekei), of the swamps of Central and South- 

 Central, and East Africa. This species, while agreeing with the last in its elongated 

 hoofs, differs from all those yet noticed in its perfectly uniform greyish brown 

 colour. The young are, however, faintly striped and spotted. The hair is longer 

 and more silky than that of the others ; and the smooth, slender, and strongly- 

 ridged horns form nearly two complete turns, and thus approximate to those of the 

 kudu. The height of the male is 3 feet 7 inches. Mr. Selous states that the 

 longest horns he met with measured 25 inches in a straight line, but a pair of 27 

 inches has been subsequently recorded. Like the other members of the genus, the 

 nakong goes in pairs, and is never found in herds. Mr. Selous observes that he 

 once saw a female nakong " standing breast-deep in the water, in the midst of a 



HEAD OF WEST AFRICAN HARNESSED ANTELOPE. 



(From Sclater, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1883.) 



Nakong. 



