ANTELOPE 



278 



ANTENNAE 



THREE OF THE ANTELOPES 

 (a) Male pronghorn ; (b) female pronghorn ; (c) chamois; (d) eland. 



these animals. Antelopes are the most grace- 

 ful and fleetest of animals, are shy and timid, 

 quite defenseless against flesh-eating animals 

 and trust only to their speed when attacked. 

 They possess slender, usually cylindrical, horns, 

 which, unlike those of the deer, are not shed 

 annually, but are permanent (see MOLTING). 



Antelopes differ greatly in their manner of 

 life. Some live on open plains, some in for- 

 ests and shady nooks. Mountainous regions 

 are the favorite haunts of some species, and 

 others are found only in well-watered valleys. 

 As regards size, they vary from a foot in height 

 to nearly the size of a horse. These animals 

 are not so numerous as formerly, for they are 

 everywhere in danger of being hunted out of 

 existence. In many parts of Africa whole 

 herds numbering many thousands have been 

 destroyed as ro< klc.ly as the bison was exter- 

 minated in North America. Some of the most 

 beautiful species are found only on private 

 estates. 



Most Important Species. The most widely 

 known and characteristic species are the bush- 

 buck, also called the harness antelope, because 

 of a peculiar white stripe on the body, resem- 



bling a harness; the steinbok, common in 

 South Africa, a small, alert antelope, reddish 

 in color and having short, ringed horns, curved 

 forward; the bluebuck, or blaaubok, the most 

 diminutive species, a dainty, timid little crea- 

 ture about as large as a hare; the koodoo, or 

 kudu, one of the largest, with long, twisted 

 horns and vertical stripes on the sides of its 

 body; the sable antelope, of South Africa, 

 remarkable for its shiny black coat; the oryx, 

 also a native of Africa, with large, sword-like 

 horns, curving backward; and the saiga, one 

 of the few antelopes occurring in Europe, found 

 in Southern Russia. 



The true antelope family is not represented 

 in North America, but the pronghorn and the 

 Rocky Mountain white goat are locally called 

 antelopes. The flesh of all antelopes is con- 

 sidered a delicacy, and the hides of the larger 

 animals make good leather. See ADDAX; 

 GAZELLE; GNU; PRONGHORN; CHAMOIS; ROCKY 

 MOUNTAIN WHITE GOAT. In connection with 

 these articles are illustrations of the various 

 types. F.ST.A. 



ANTENNAE, an ten' nee, the plural of an- 

 tenna, are feelers with which insects and other 



