282 



UNGULATES. 



head OF gemsbok. — After Nicolls and Eglington. 



black area on the haunches extending as a line on the back, and continued over 

 the whole of the tail. In addition to this, there is also black on the upper-parts 

 of the limbs, on the front of the legs above the fetlocks, and along the throat ; the 



throat-stripe dividing and run- 

 ning up the sides of the head 

 nearly to the ears. On the face 

 a black stripe runs from each 

 horn through the eye nearly to 

 the muzzle, which is connected 

 by a narrow stripe with a broad 

 black patch on the centre of the 

 forehead, thus completely isolat- 

 ing the white of the muzzle 

 from that of the upper part of 

 the face. Mr. Selous states that the longest male horns of this species which he 

 saw measured 42 inches in length, while those of the female may reach 46 \ inches. 

 Horns have, however, been recorded measuring 47 § inches. 



Distribution and Gemsbok inhabit the desert regions of South- Western Africa, 



Habits. anc i are still fairly common in the Kalahari Desert, while in 

 Damaraland they are reported to occur in large herds: north of the Chobi 

 River they appear to be unknown. On the west coast they occur in Senegambia, 

 Timbuctu, and the Niger district. Mr. Selous says that they are generally met 

 with where the country is either completely open or covered with stunted scrub. 

 Gordon Cumming writes that the gemsbok " thrives and attains high condition 

 in barren regions where it might be imagined that a locust would not find 

 subsistence ; and, burning as is the climate, it is perfectly independent of water, 

 which, from my own observation and the repeated reports both of the Boers and 

 aborigines, I am convinced it never by any chance tastes. Its flesh is deservedly 

 esteemed, and ranks next to the eland." Mr. Selous states that the gemsbok is by 

 no means fleet, and that it can be run to a standstill by a hunter on foot. According 

 to Boer reports, the gemsbok is enabled to beat off the lion with its spear-like 

 horns ; and several instances are recorded where the skeletons of the two animals 

 have been found together, the body of the lion having been transfixed by the horns 

 of the antelope, which remained too firmly fixed in the flesh to admit of their 

 withdrawal during life. 



In Abyssinia and Somaliland as well as on the Red Sea littoral 

 near Suakin, the gemsbok is replaced by the beisa (0. beisa), 

 readily distinguished by the absence of the tuft of hair on the throat, and 

 by the black patch on the front of the face being completely separated from 

 the stripe running through the eye. There is no black on the haunches and 

 thighs, and the horns also are shorter and less divergent, their maximum 

 recorded length being 36 inches in the male and 37 inches in the female. The 

 beisa is probably the true oryx of the ancients, and may be the animal which 

 gave rise to the legend of the unicorn. Mr. Blanford says that in Abyssinia these 

 animals are found in herds of considerable size, when they present an imposing 

 appearance. Their favourite pace is a quick walk or trot, and they only break 



Beisa. 



