The Antelopes 



251 



a length of from 26 to 34 inches. In the female the horns are shorter and slighter, and 

 not so strongly ringed. 



Eoan antelope are usually met with in small herds of from six to a dozen members, and 

 never congregate in large numbers. I do not think I have ever counted as many as thirty 

 together. I have found them fairly common in certain districts, but nowhere very plentiful. 

 They frequent open plains and thinly forested country, and are never found far away from water. 

 Bucks often become savage when wounded, and will sometimes charge viciously if approached 

 incautiously. They can use their horns with great dexterity, and play havoc with a pack of dogs. 



The SABLE ANTELOPE, though considerably smaller than the roan, is yet a handsomer 

 animal. In colour the adult male, when in high condition, is jet-black all over with the 

 exception of the white face-markings and the snow-white of the belly and insides of the 

 thighs. The mane is longer and more bushy than in the roan antelope, and often hangs down 

 on either side over the withers. The horns, too, are much finer, and, sweeping backwards 

 in a bold curve, are commonly upwards of 42 inches long, and have been known to reach 

 50 inches. The striking colour, large size, and horns of this creature make it one of the 

 most-prized trophies of the sportsman. The skin, when prepared and laid down as a rug 

 in halls or dwelling-rooms, is far more handsome than that of any deer. The female of this 

 species is usually of a rich 

 red-brown in colour instead 

 of black as in the male. 

 South of the Zambesi, how- 

 ever, old cows become almost 

 absolutely black. North of 

 the Zambesi both male and 

 female sable antelopes are 

 dark red in colour rather 

 than black. The horns in 

 the female are slighter and 

 less curved than in the 

 male, and are also consider- 

 ably shorter, as a rule not 

 measuring over 30 inches in 

 length. 



The range of the sable 

 antelope extends from the 

 northern districts of the 

 Transvaal to German East 

 Africa. In the country be- 

 tween the Limpopo and the 

 Central Zambesi it used to 

 be a very common animal, 

 especially in the northern 

 districts of Mashonaland. It 

 is partial to open forests 

 intersected by grassy, well- 

 watered glades, and is never 

 found on open plains entirely 

 devoid of bush. It is usually 

 met with in herds of from 

 twelve to twenty individuals, 

 but I have often seen as 

 many as fifty, and once 



Photo ly S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild. 



SABLE ANTELOPE. 



A near ally of the Boan Antelope, from which it is broadly distinguished by its striking colora- 

 tion black and white. 



