864 



THE UNGULATES, OR HOOFED MAMMALS 



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 grayish-brown color. 

 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 

 kudus. The height of the male is three feet seven inches. Mr. Selous states that 

 the longest horns he met with measured twenty-five inches in a straight line, but a 



MALE AND FEMALE GUIB. 

 . (One-fourteenth natural size.) 



pair of twenty-seven inches has been subsequently recorded. Like the other mem- 



bers of the genus, the nakong goes in pairs, and is never found in herds Mr 



lous observes that he once saw a female nakong "standing breast deep in the 



water, m the midst of a bed of reeds, feeding on the young shoots that just appeared 



xm i the water. When she saw us, she at once made off, making a tremendous 



splashing as she plunged through the water. The natives told me that very often 



those antelopes are met with under similar circumstances they do not attempt 



un, but, sinking down in the water, submerge their whole bodies, leaving only 



their nostrils above the surface, and trusting that their enemies will pass them 



