THE ROAN ANTELOPE 



6l 



horns, though comparatively small for so sturdy 

 a beast, are very stout, heavily annulated with 

 from twenty to thirty rings, and curve backwards 

 to end in sharp points. A curious brush of long 

 white hair, springing from just beneath the eye, 

 passes downwards and outwards across the face : 

 the ears are enormous and curved at the tips, 

 which droop markedly, and are frequently orna- 

 mented with a pencil of black hair. The flat, 

 muscular neck of the roan antelope is surmounted 

 by a thick, upstanding mane, which extends from 

 occiput to withers : the throat is heavily ruffed. 

 The body is stout and markedly equine in contour, 

 the legs are slender and clean, and the tail is short, 

 barely reaching the hocks. 



The coloration of this antelope is extremely 

 variable. All forms have the muzzle white and the 

 cheeks black, with a white patch about the eyes in 

 addition to the white brush of hair already alluded 

 to : the abdomen is also whitish, and the anterior 

 surface of the legs blackish brown. The general 

 body colour, however, varies a good deal, and 

 naturalists are by no means agreed as to the 

 number of species or subspecies now grouped 

 together under the name of roan antelope. The 

 typical form from the Cape is very inconstant in 

 colour, ranging in hue from a dark brown to a 

 strawberry roan, which in some individuals becomes 

 almost white : a good example of the brown phase 



