188 



ANTELOPES 



attention to the small clearings and narrow open glades, carefully 

 examining each 50 yards of ground in front as he advances up-wind. 

 If numerous spoors and droppings indicate that any particular spot is a 

 favourite resort of the game, it is best to take up a position and watch 

 patiently ; but as soon as the sun casts shafts of light among the trees, 

 the sportsman must leave the open ground and, entering the forest, 

 endeavour to stalk with care. In the pairing-season the bucks may be 

 heard in all directions, and are then easy to approach. Less caution 

 is necessary towards noon, when the antelopes are lying down. All 

 likely spots those well shaded and with a sprinkling of under-bush 

 must be tried, and when the game springs up the sportsman should 

 kneel down and watch its flight till it stands, when an easy shot will be 

 obtained." 



This species exhales the same musky odour as the last. 



SALT'S DIK-DIK 

 (Madoqua saltiana) 



Dik-dik, KASSALA ; Bent Israel, ARABIC ; Inshu, ABYSSINIAN 

 (PLATE vi, fig. 14) 



The curious little antelopes collectively known, from the local 

 name of their typical representative, as dik-diks, constitute a very 

 well-defined generic group of the Ncotragincz, distinguished from all 

 the other members of that subfamily by the more or less marked 

 elongation of the muzzle, which is almost entirely covered with hair, 

 and the presence of a tuft of long hair on the crown of the head. 

 The tail is so short as to be almost rudimentary, and the lateral hoofs 

 are minute. The horns, which vary from half to three-quarters the 

 length of the skull, are straight or slightly curved, with strong basal 

 ribs. Like those of other mammals with trunk -like muzzles, the 

 skull is remarkable for the shortness of the nose-bones and the large 

 size of the nasal chamber ; and it has large but shallow gland-pits, 

 and also unossified spaces. In some species the last tooth in the 

 lower jaw is peculiar in having only two lobes in place of the normal 

 three. None of the species are larger than a hare, and all are of 

 delicate and slender build. 



They naturally fall into two subgeneric groups, as follows : 



i . Madoqua. Two lobes to the last lower tooth ; trunk slightly 



