THE ANTELOPES AND GAZELLES 167 



possession of Mr. C. Beddington, and come from the 

 Togoland, West Africa. The habitat of this fine 

 antelope is from Liberia to the Gaboon, where it 

 ranges chiefly in dense bush, feeding outside during 

 the night, and being found occasionally in grassy 

 glades and clearings. In recent years it has been 

 discovered in East Africa, and specimens have been 

 procured from the Mau Forest. Unlike the inyala, 

 the bongo has a short, smooth coat like that of the 

 smaller bushbuck. The rams are very handsome, 

 bright-red chestnut in colour, well marked with five 

 white transverse stripes, two white spots below the 

 eyes on either side, and a white crescent upon the 

 breast. Until quite lately, when it was obtained in 

 British East Africa, no British sportsman had hitherto 

 shot and procured specimens of this grand bushbuck. 

 Its western habitat, it is true, is a feverish and 

 unhealthy one ; but, in the dry season, this part of 

 West Africa might be explored and shot through 

 without inordinate risk. Still, West Africa, although 

 its dense bush and forests hold plenty of game, is 

 not a region much favoured of gunners, one reason, 

 no doubt, in addition to its unhealthiness, being the 

 impenetrable nature of the country and the difficulty 

 of seeing the game which undoubtedly exists. Few 

 specimens even of the horns of this great bushbuck 

 have reached Europe. 



The West African Bushbuck (Tragelaphus gratus} 

 is sometimes known also as the West African 

 harnessed antelope, sometimes as the West African 

 situtunga. It is, undoubtedly, a near ally of the 



