THE WILDEBEESTS 



903 



length of each horn along the hinder curve was nineteen and one-half inches, and the 



basal girth thirteen and one-half inches. Mr. Selous states that the blue wildebeest 



is met with on the western borders of Griqualand West and the eastern edge of the 



Kalahari desert, and from Mashonalaud to Lake Ngami in suitable districts. Near 



Kilima-Njaro it is found in large herds, as is likewise the case in some other districts. 



Wildebeests are found in the open country, and never, according to 



Livingstone, wander far away from the neighborhood of water. When 



quagga were abundant, both these animals were frequently found together, and Mr. 



Selous states that at the present day a solitary wildebeest may frequently be ob- 



THE BUTE WILDEBEEST. 

 (One-twentieth natural size.) 



served feeding among a herd of sassaby or zebra. Both species of wildebeests are 

 characterized by their speed and endurance. Describing the habits and appearance 

 of the white-tailed species, Gordon Gumming writes as follows: ' The black wilde- 

 beests, which also cover the entire length and breadth of the blesbok country, in 

 herds averaging from twenty to fifty, have no regular course, like the blesbok. 

 Unless driven by a large field of hunters, they do not leave their ground, although 

 disturbed. Wheeling about in endless circles, and performing the most extraordi- 

 nary varieties of intricate evolutions, the shaggy herds of these eccentric and fierce- 

 looking animals caper and gambol round the hunter on every side. While he is 



