WHITE WATERBUCK 



There were about twenty antelope in all, with 

 the unmistakable white elliptical ring on the rump 

 from which these waterbuck obtain their specific title 

 {Cobus ellipsiprymnus). In this group there were 

 but three young bucks, the rest being does, and 

 none of them was worth shooting. One of the 

 latter, however, was feeding apart, and her appearance 

 was so unusual that she immediately caught my 

 attention. Instead of the grizzled grey-roan coat 

 so characteristic of the waterbuck, she was of a 

 uniform yellow-white colour, and the hair long and 

 more or less shaggy, and the muzzle dark. This 

 was an albino, a few specimens of which have been 

 obtained in the Lorian district. Being a doe, I did 

 not attempt to shoot her, but I was very disappointed 

 at not seeing a buck, as I should very much have 

 liked to obtain one of these so-called white water- 

 bucks. According to Colonel Broun the eyes are 

 of normal colour, and the nose and feet dark. They 

 are some freak of nature, and are unlikely to form 

 a separate species, being probably descendants from 

 the same parents. It is at least a curious coincidence 

 that Mr. A. B. Percival obtained an albino zebra in 

 the Lorian district to the south-west of the main 

 swamp, and I believe one or two more were shot later 

 in the same region. 



On reaching the bush, I found my tent pitched 

 in the shade of a large acacia. The scenery was 

 most lovely and picturesque, while the trees afforded 

 pleasant shade in which relief could be obtained from 

 the trying glare of the open plains. I spent a day 

 at this camp, wandering through the bush that covers 

 the banks of the river ; I found traces of a Borana 

 boma, and more remains of dead elephants. Old 



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