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THE STORY OF THE ANTELOPE. 



THE ELAND. 



The African eland is the largest of the antelope tribe. They vary in color 

 from a tawny yellow to a slaty blue, while in the extreme northern part of 

 their range they are sometimes marked with white stripes. An average-size 

 bull eland stands five feet nine inches at the withers and will weigh from 

 i,ioo to 1,500 pounds. 



Eland are found both in the desert-country, and in wooded districts, both 

 hilly and flat. In Nyasaland, their favorite haunts are undulating, well- 



A BUCK ELAND. 



timbered country, where the grass is not too long, and where there are 

 intervening open plains; as a rule, they visit the plains at night or in the 

 early mornings to drink, and then wander back long distances to the forest, 

 where they spend the hot hours of the day. In the great Kalahari Desert, 

 where they are still common, the eland go a long period without drinking 

 any water, except that which they may obtain by eating watermelons and 

 other plants. Eland are generally found in large herds, numbering from 

 fifty to upwards of a hundred head, but solitary bulls or small parties of bulls 

 are not unfrequently observed. 



