ORDER ARTIODACTYLA: EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 669 



usually in pairs among the most precipitous rocks, and inaccessible 

 summits, the Klipspringer would appear in Southern Africa to sup- 

 ply the place of the ibex and chamois." (Harris, 1840, quoted in 

 Sclater and Thomas, 1896, vol. 2, p. 8.) 



"In the Cape Colony it is said that the Klipspringer, when taken 

 young, is easily tamed and makes a most sagacious pet; but it does 

 not appear to live long in captivity" (Sclater and Thomas, 1896, 

 vol. 2, p. 10). 



"In the Cape Colony they are far less numerous than formerly, 

 but throughout . . . Bechuanaland are still plentiful" (Kirby, in 

 Bryden, 1899, p. 236) . 



"The klipspringer seems to be recorded from almost every district, 

 where there are rocky hills; the South African Museum possesses 

 examples from . . . Worcester and Beaufort West, and there is 

 still a considerable number of these antelopes on the hills running 

 from Table Mountain to Cape Point in the immediate neighbourhood 

 of Cape Town. . . . 



"They can be easily shot, especially if hunted by dogs, when they 

 generally take refuge on some more or less inaccessible pinnacle and 

 form an easy mark for the bullet. . . . 



"Mr. Bryden relates a curious story to the effect that the Bechu- 

 anas are in the habit of catching the young klipspringers alive and 

 carrying them about, pinching them from time to time to make them 

 squeal; this they do as a charm to bring down rain." (W. L. Sclater, 

 1900, vol. 1, pp. 168-169.) 



Shortridge (1934, vol. 2, pp. 477-479) writes as follows: 



Klipspringer from the Orange River Valley and Great Namaqualand are 

 provisionally referred to the typical subspecies. . . . 



The Orange River. Found on rocky plateaux and in comparatively level 

 stony country, as well as among hills, between Kakamas and the coast; but 

 absent from the isolated kopjes that rise out of the plains between Kakamas 

 and Upington. Farther east along the river, klipspringer are said to reappear 

 in Prieska District. 



Great Namaqualand. Klipspringer inhabit the coastal ranges and the few 

 inland mountains, such as the Karas Ranges and Great Bukaros Mountain; 

 said to be scarce in Bethanie District; in Luderitz District, occurring chiefly 

 around Aus; klipspringer are reported from the western parts of Gibeon, 

 Maltahohe, and Rehoboth Districts. . . . 



Klipspringer have either died out or become exceedingly rare in most of 

 the farming areas of the Cape Province, except in the sub-coastal region 

 between Uitenhage and Cape Town, where they are partially protected. 



"A small antelope that disappears rapidly before settlement. 

 Still fairly plentiful in Little Namaqualand, and probably else- 

 where in the thinly populated parts of the N. W. Cape but rare and 

 rapidly disappearing in the Eastern Cape Province. Extinct in 

 Kaffraria." (G. C. Shortridge, in lift., October 14, 1937.) 



