64 THE COURTSHIP OF ANIMALS 



must suffice. Thus the late A. H. Neumann, a hunter 

 of experience, remarks that he once or twice saw con- 

 flicts between the Topi (Damaliscus jimela), an ally of the 

 Hartebeestes. The two rivals would stand a little apart, 

 affecting, apparently, to be unaware of one another's 

 presence. Suddenly they would rush headlong at one 

 another, bringing their heads together with a clash, each, 

 at the same moment, falling on his knees. 



Major Powell Cotton, again, once witnessed an affray 

 between two Beisa Oryx. Here the master bull of the 

 herd was infuriated by the advent of an intruder in his 

 harem. Time after time they dashed at each other, their 

 foreheads meeting with a thud; then, with horns inter- 

 locked, they wrestled fiercely ; then, separating, they 

 charged again. Yet neither, he remarks, tried to use his 

 lance-points, as they do when cornered by man or beasts 

 of prey. Nevertheless, encounters of a more sanguinary 

 character appear to be by no means rare, for it is no un- 

 common experience of hunters to kill bulls of this species in 

 which one eye has been burst by a horn-thrust. Another 

 peculiarity of these animals is the extreme thickness of 

 the hide of the neck and withers, which seems to afford a 

 shield against such spear-thrusts during these battles. 

 How powerful is the thrust of these weapons, and how 

 efficiently they can be used, is shown by the fact 

 that lions in making an attack on an old bull are often 

 severely wounded, or even killed. And there are many 

 instances on record of cases where both the lion and his 

 intended victim have died together, the Antelope having 

 been unable to withdraw his horns from his adversary's 

 body. The beautiful Pala Antelope fights furiously with 

 rival rams, and the vanquished, as with so many of the 

 Antelopes, form herds by themselves, till one by one they 



