CHAPTER XV. 



THE ANTELOPES. 



BY F. C. SELOUS. 



rTIHE TRUE ANTELOPES (including the Gazelles) are strictly 

 1 confined to the Old World, the Prongbuck of North 

 America differing so much from all other living 

 ruminants, in its horn growth and other particulars, that 

 it is considered to be the sole representative of a distinct 

 family. 



THE HARTEBEESTS. 



With the exception of one species the Bubal which is 

 found both in North Africa and Arabia, the HARTEBEESTS are 

 entirely confined to the African Continent. They are animals 

 of large size, standing from 43 to 48 inches at the shoulder, 

 and are characterised by their long, narrow faces, high withers, 

 and doubly curved horns, which are present in both sexes. 

 Nine different species of this group are known to exist. 



Although the ranges of these various species of harte- 

 beest cover the greater part of the African Continent, it is 

 noteworthy that each species keeps to its own ground, their 

 several ranges but rarely overlapping. 



All the hartebeests have a strong family resemblance, 

 and are very similar in their habits. They are never found 

 either in dense forests or in swampy or mountainous country, 

 but are inhabitants of the arid deserts of Northern and 

 South-western Africa, and of the open grassy plains and 

 thinly forested regions of the high plateaux of the interior 

 of that continent. They are extraordinarily fleet and enduring, 

 and in my own experience I have never heard of one of 

 these animals, of whatever species, having been overtaken or 



ridden to a standstill by a man on horseback. They are very inquisitive, and where they 

 have not been molested will allow any unaccustomed object such as a European in clothes 

 to walk to within easy shot of them before running off. They soon gain experience, however; 

 and in countries where they have been most persecuted hartebeests are the keenest-sighted 

 and the most wary of all African game. They are very fond of climbing to the top of the 

 large ant-heaps with which the plains of Africa are profusely studded, and from this point of 

 vantage surveying the surrounding country. They live, I believe, entirely upon grass, and 

 in the desert areas of their range seem able to subsist for long periods without drinking 

 water. Their meat I have always thought very palatable. They are generally in fairly good 

 condition, though they seldom carry much fat. Their fat, after being melted, becomes solid 

 again immediately on cooling, and clogs on the teeth whilst being eaten. But very few African 

 species, except the eland, ever become really fat ; their life is too active, and the food-supply 

 too uncertain, for them to put on flesh like European deer. 



239 



Photo by Miss E J. Beck. 



BUBALINE HARTEBEEST. 



A small species, found in Syria as well as in 

 North Africa. 



