248 



The Living Animate of the World 



ledland, F.Z.S.'} [Sortlt. Fincldey. 



SPEKE'S GAZELLE. 



Found in the interior of Northern Somaliland. 



GAZELLE, with its allies PETERS'S 

 GAZELLE and THOMSON'S GAZELLE. The 

 well-known DORCAS GAZELLE is an 

 inhabitant of Morocco and Algeria, 

 ranging through Egypt into Palestine 

 and Syria ; the MARICA GAZELLE, the 

 MUSCAT GAZELLE, and the ARABIAN 

 GAZELLE inhabit the deserts of Arabia ; 

 the EDMI GAZELLE is found in the 

 mountain-ranges of Morocco, Algeria, 

 and Tunis ; while LODER'S GAZELLE 

 inhabits the sandy tracts of the interior 

 of Algeria and Tunis. In Asia, besides 

 the four species of gazelle already 

 enumerated in which the females are 

 hornless, one other member of the 

 group is met with. This is the INDIAN 

 GAZELLE, a species very closely allied to 

 the Arabian form. 

 Of the whole genus GRANT'S GAZELLE is the most beautiful. This handsome animal, which 



was first discovered by the explorers Speke and Grant in 1860, is an inhabitant of Eastern 



Africa, from the neighbourhood of Lake Kudolph southwards to Ugogo. In size the average 



height at the shoulder of males of this species is about 34 inches. The coat is close and 



short and of a general fawn colour, the rump and belly pure white, and the face marked with 



a rufous band from the horns to the nose and with streaks of white on each side. The upper 



surface of the tail is white, with a black and tufted tip. The horns, which are very elegant 



in shape, being first curved slightly forwards and then backwards, are much longer and more 



powerful than in any other gazelle, and attain a length of 30 inches in the males and 17 inches 



in the females. 



Grant's gazelles, though they undoubtedly find their most congenial home in open 



country, have also been met with by recent travellers in bush-sprinkled wastes and stony, 



rugged hills. They are, however, never found in dense jungles or high mountains. They live 



in herds of from half a dozen to twenty or thirty individuals, though in certain localities as 



many as 200 have been seen together. They 



are fond of consorting with other game, such as 



Burchell's and Grevy's zebras, Coke's hartebeest, 



and the beisa oryx, and are often met with at 



long distances from the nearest water. They 



are keen-sighted and wary, and from the open 



character of the country in which they are 



usually encountered are often difficult to stalk. 



When in good condition, the meat of this gazelle 



is said to be excellent. 



The nearest ally of the true gazelles is 



undoubtedly the SPRINGBUCK of South Africa. 



Owing to the protection which it has received 



of late years, this graceful antelope is now a 



common animal in many parts of South Africa, 



and in the north-western portions of the Cape 



Colony still sometimes collects into prodigious P hoto i y w. p. Dando] [Regent* Park. 



herds, which travel through the country in dense GAZELLES FROM EGYPT. 



masses, destroying every Vestige of graSS On the Seen in great numbers when our troops crossed the Bayuda Desert. 



