KLIPSPRINGER 1 6 7 



developed lateral hoofs are present. In texture the hairs are comparable 

 to those of the Asiatic musk-deer ; while in colour they are olive-grey 

 tipped with golden yellow, thus giving to the whole coat its peculiar 

 and characteristic speckled appearance. The ears are large for so 

 small an animal, attaining in the race from the north of the Zambesi a 

 length of about 4 inches, or rather more. In height bucks stand 

 from about 20 to 22 inches at the shoulder, and does from 18 to 19 

 inches. The record horn-length is 5^ inches, but 4 inches is a good 

 average length. 



Klipspringers are found in rocky and mountainous districts over 

 a large area in southern and eastern Africa, from Cape Colony to 

 Abyssinia, inclusive. The species has been split up into the following 

 local races by Mr. O. Neumann in a paper published in Sitzungs- 

 Berichte Ges. Naturfor. Berlin, 1902, p. 169 : 



The first is the typical Cape Colony race (Oreotragus saltator typicus\ 

 of which the northern limits are not yet ascertained. It differs from all 

 the others in having the whole body of one uniform colour, with the 

 under-parts somewhat lighter than the back, and the absence of a 

 black patch on the front of the fetlocks just above the hoofs, and of 

 a white spot on the outer side of the ears ; the general colour being 

 brownish olive, and the spot on the outer side of the ears yellow. The 

 ears are shorter than in the races to the north of the Zambesi. 



The Abyssinian race (0. s. saltatrixoides], which has a wide range 

 in north-east Africa, exclusive of Somaliland, agrees with all the 

 following in having white under-parts, a black patch on the front of 

 the fetlocks, and a white spot on the outer side of the ears. It is 

 specially characterised by the uniformly greyish olive of the upper- 

 parts, the white or whitish bases of the hairs, especially on the back, 

 and by the body-colour extending on to the thighs, which arc only a 

 little lighter than the back. 



Nearly allied is the Masai klipspringer (O. s. schillings?), from British 

 and German East Africa, in which the thighs are distinctly different in 

 colour from the body, being clear grey or rufous, while the middle line 

 of the back is very dark. From both the above the Somali race 

 (O. s. somalicus) differs by having the bases of the hairs, especially on 

 the back, reddish grey or reddish brown. 



Finally, the Nyasa klipspringer (O. s. aceratos) differs from all the 

 rest in that the fore-quarters are reddish or ochery yellow, and only the 

 hind-quarters olive (or roebuck-colour, as Mr. Neumann calls it). 



The following account of the klipspringer in southern Africa is 

 slightly abbreviated from one written by Mr. Vaughan Kirby : 



