Antelopes 1 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



133 



The general colour of this species is bright red- 

 dish brown, the under parts being white. 



Colonel Sykes observed a species of Muntjak in 

 the Ghauts ofDukhun, which he states to be never 

 seen on the plains. It is termed BaiUer by the 

 Mahrattas. Mr. Hodgson notices a species called 

 Katwa, proper to the central region of Nepal, but 

 occasionally occurring in the lower valleys of Ka- 

 char. A species from China is described by Mr. 

 Ogilby under the title of Cervus Reevesii. 



HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS. 



1. Antelopes. — The word antelope (antilope), 

 now so generally used, is of very uncertain origin. 

 It appears first to have been adopted as the desig- 

 nation of a species, but was subsequently given by 

 Pallas as the title of a genus. The first occurrence 

 of the word AvdoXoxti is in the ' Hexameron ' of Eusta- 

 thius (fourth century), as the name of an apparently 

 fabulous animal. Bochart supposes it to be derived 

 from the Coptic Panthalops, which signifies the 

 Unicorn ; but it may be derived from the Greek 

 AyOos, a flower, and nif, the eye, or oirrofioi, to see, 

 in allusion to the brightness and beauty of the full 

 beaming eyes which are so remarkable in most of 

 these animals, and which have often rendered the 

 gazelle the theme of the Persian and Arabian poets. 

 The name of the gazelle, dorcas, from SepKo, or 

 Sfp/co^ai, to see, was a common name for women 

 among the Greeks and Romans. 



It is interesting to trace the acquaintance which 

 the ancients had with objects of natural history, as 

 demonstrated by their drawings or sculptured re- 

 presentations : nor is the examination of them un- 

 important ; they often supply us with a hint as to 

 the ancient geographical distribution of animals, 

 or as to facts connected with their history, and 

 prove that many hundred years past the species 

 existed with the same forms and characters as at 

 the present time. It is therefore not out of place 

 to draw our readers' attention to some figures in 

 outhne from the Egyptian sculptures. Fig. 620 

 represents a gazelle caught by the noose or lasso, 

 an in.strument used by the ancient Egyptians, and 

 by the modern Gauchos of South America. Fig. 

 621: a, Ibex; b, Antelope leucoryx ; c. Gazelle; 

 d, a species of Stag. Fig. 622 : a, Antelope ; b, 

 Goat ; c, Aoudad or Kebsch (Ovis Tra^elaphus, 

 Desm.), found in the mountains along the Nile, and 

 on the northern coast of Africa. 



The section or family to which the title of An- 

 telope (Antilope) is ordinarily given, embraces, it 

 must be confessed, a somewhat ill-assorted assem- 

 blage, requiring to be distributed into several dis- 

 tinct genera. The fact is, that every hollow-homed 

 ruminant, which is neither one of the sheep, goats, nor 

 oxen, has been assigned to the antelopes, and hence 

 the diversities of form and habits which we see among 

 the members of this extensive group. Mr. Ogilby 

 ('Zool. Proceeds.,' 1836, p. 132) makes the remark, 

 that " the genus Antelope has become a kind of 

 zoological refuge for the destitute, and forms an 

 incongruous assemblage of all the hollow-horned 

 ruminants which the mere' shape of the horns ex- 

 cluded from the genera Bos, Ovis, and Capra ; thus 

 it has come to contain nearly four times as many 

 species as all the rest of the hollow-horned rumi- 

 nants together. So diversified are its forms, and 

 so incongruous its materials, that it presents not a 

 single character which will either apply to all its 

 species, or suffice to differentiate it from conter- 

 minous genera." 



In analyzing and re-arranging the antelopes, 

 Mr. Ogilby draws his characters from the horns, 

 the form of the upper lip, whether modified for 

 grazing or browsing, the existence of lachrymal 

 sinuses, inguinal sacs, and interdigital pores, and 

 the number of the teats in the female. With respect 

 to interdigital pores, he observes that their exist- 

 ence or non-existence is an important point, as their 

 use appeal's to be to lubricate the hoofs by a fluid 

 secretion : hence are they connected with the geo- 

 graphical distribution of the species, confining them 

 to the rich savannah or the moist forest, or enabling 

 them to roam over the arid mountain, the parched 

 karroo, and the burning desert. Among the ante- 

 lopes, then, there are, on the one hand, species 

 allied to the goats and sheep; on the other, to the 

 oxen ; and as widely differing in form and appear- 

 ance from the gazelle or the Indian antelope as does 

 the wild bull or the ibex. 



But we must not forget, nor do we forget, that 

 our object is not to enter into the minutia; of scien- 

 tific disquisitions, fit only for the pages of works 

 devoted to the more abstruse departments of Zoology. 

 Were we to follow our feelings, we should expatiate 

 on this part of the subject more perhaps to our own 

 gratification than that of our reader: we shall there- 

 fore forbear ; and, allowing the family termed An- 

 telope to remain as it does, we shall merely divide 

 it for the sake of perspicuity into four subdivisions, 

 namely: — True Antelopes, Bush Antelopes, Capri- 

 foim Antelopes, and Boviform Antelopes. 



The antelopes differ essentially from the deer in 

 the structure of the horns. In the deer the horns, 

 or more properly antlers, are deciduous ; but in 

 the antelopes, and the same observation applies to 

 the goat and ox, these organs consist of a horny 

 sheath, investing a conical support of bone; their 

 increase is gradual, and they are not yearly shed 

 and renewed. The bony central support, or core, is 

 a process from the frontal bone : in most antelopes 

 it is solid, or nearly so ; it commences small at first, 

 and assumes various directions in the various spe- 

 cies. One antelope has four horns. The horny 

 sheath consists of fibres analogous to those of whale- 

 bone, or rather hair, running longitudinally orspirally, 

 and agglutinated into one uniform mass. If this 

 sheath be stripped from its bony core, the latter 

 will be found covered by a highly vascular perios- 

 teum, from which the fibrSs in question are secreted. 

 They are formed in regular succession as the bone 

 grows, so that the horn which covered the whole 

 process or core in the youns: animal will in due time 

 be thrown to its summit. The outermost layer was 

 once in contact with the core, but was gradually 

 pushed outwards and upwards. In some groups of 

 antelopes both sexes are furnished with horns, in 

 others only the male : and it is difficult in many 

 cases to discriminate between the hornless females 

 of one of the antelope and of one of the deer tribe. 

 It is chiefly to the warmer latitudes that the ante- 

 lopes are confined, and Africa may be regarded as 

 their great nursery; many, however, are Asiatic; 

 the Saiga and the Chamois are natives of Europe ; 

 the Prongbuck and a closely-allied species (if they 

 can be called antelopes) are natives of America. 



True Antelopes. 



Gazella, Ogilby. Horns in both sexes, lachrymal 

 sinuses distinct and moveable. Interdigital pits 

 and inguinal pores large. Female with two teats. 

 Horns lyrate. 



623, 624, 625, 626, 627, 628.— The Ariel G.\zelle 

 (Antilope Arabica). This beautiful species inhabits 

 Arabia and Syria, where it is seen in large herds, 

 bounding over the desert with amazing fleetness. 

 Its eyes are peculiarly large, dark, and lustrous, and 

 have supplied a simile to the Oriental poets and 

 orators; indeed, to say of a woman "she has the 

 eyes of a gazelle," is a most flattering commen- 

 dation. The Ariel antelope is an object of the 

 chace in Arabia, as it was among the antient 

 Egyptians, whose delineations of it are abundant. 

 Its'flesh is said to be excellent. So swift are these 

 animals, that the greyhound unaided cannot over- 

 take them : the falcon, therefore, is brought into 

 service. The huntsman advances as near as pos- 

 sible to the herd, the dogs are then slipped, and 

 the falcon thrown off; the individual which the dogs 

 have singled is attacked by the falcon, which is 

 trained to strike at the head and eyes, so as to con- 

 fuse the game, and check its speed, thereby enabling 

 the dogs to come up to it. It is a common practice 

 to shoot the gazelle. Burckhardt informs us that 

 on the eastern frontier of Syria are several places 

 allotted for the hunting of this animal, or rather for 

 its entrapment and destruction. An open space on 

 the plain, about one mile and a half square, is en- 

 closed on three sides by a wall of loose stones, too 

 high for the gazelle to leap over. Gaps are left in 

 different parts of the wall, and at each gap a deep 

 ditch is sunk on the outside. The inclosure is situ- 

 ated nearsomerivuletorspringto which the gazelles 

 resort in summer. When the sport is to begin, 

 many peasants assemble and watch till they see a 

 herd of gazelles advancing from a distance towards 

 the enclosure, into which they drive them. The 

 gazelles, frightened by the shouts of the people and 

 the discharge of the fire-arms, endeavour to leap 

 over the wall, but can only effect this at the gaps, 

 where they fall into the ditch outside and are easily 

 taken, sometimes by hundreds. The chief of the 

 herd always leaps first, and the others follow him 

 one by one. The gazelles thus captured are imme- 

 diately killed, and their flesh sold to the Arabs and 

 neighbouring Fellahs. Of the skin a kind of parch- 

 ment is made, and used to cover the small drum 

 with which the Syrians accompany some musical 

 instruments or the voice. When taken young, wild 

 and timid as the gazelle is, it is readily tamed, and 

 becomes familiar and quite at ease. Tame gazelles 

 are frequently seen at large in the courtyards of 

 houses m Syria, and their beauty, exquisite form, 

 and playfulness render them great favourites. The 

 Ariel gazelle is about one foot nine inches high at 

 the shoulder; its limbs are slender, but vigorous; 

 and all its actions are light and spirited. In full 

 flight it lays the horns back almost on the shoulders, 

 and seems to skim over the level plain, almost with- 

 out touching it. 



The general colour above is dark fawn or yellow- 

 ish brown ; the under parts are white, divided from 

 the colour of the upper parts by a black or deep 

 brovrn band along the flanks ; the nose has a broad 



mark of dark brown, and on each side of the face a 

 broad stripe of white passes from the horns over the 

 eyes to the nose, while a narrow stripe of black, 

 from the inner angle of the eye to the nose, separates 

 the white streak from the f^n-colour of the cheeks; 

 the knees are furnished with dark brushes of hair. 



A closely allied species, the Ahu or Tseyran (A. 

 subgutturosa) is common in Persia and the country 

 round Lake Baikal. Whether it be truly a distinct 

 species or only a mere variety of the Ariel gazelle 

 remains to be decided. It is hunted in Pereia with 

 greyhounds and falcons, which mutually asstst each 

 other. 



629. 630.— The Dorcas Gazelle 

 {A. Dorcas). This species differs from the Ariel 

 gazelle chiefly in being of a much lighter colour, 

 presenting, however, the same markings and ar- 

 rangement of tints. It is a native of Northern 

 Africa, and lives in large herds upon the borders of 

 the Tell, or cultivated country, and the Sahara, or 

 desert. When a troop of these gazelles are pursued, 

 they fly to some distance, then stop, turn round 

 and gaze at the hunter, and again take to flight. 

 If hard pressed they disperse in different directions, 

 but soon reunite ; and when surrounded and brought 

 to bay, they defend themselves with spirit and 

 obstinacy, uniting in a close circle, with the females 

 and fawns in the centre, and presenting their horns 

 at all points to their enemies. This gazelle is the 

 common prey of the lion and panther. 



Another gazelle (perhaps a variety), called the 

 Kevel (A. Kevella, Pallas), resides in vast flocks 

 on the open stony plains of Senegal. 



631. — The Blessbok 

 (Antilope Py/jarga). Southern Africa is the na-- 

 five country of this fine antelope, which is also 

 called Bontebok, or Painted Goat, by the Dutch 

 colonists. It is superior in size to the stag of Eu- 

 rope, exceeding, when adult, three and a half feet 

 in height at the shoulder. The horns are sixteen 

 inches long, large, and regularly lyrated. 



The blessbok was once very common within the 

 districts of the Cape Colony, where in some parts 

 it still exists, but not in such multitudes .as formerly, 

 when it was said to cover the plains in troops of 

 thousands. In the country beyond the colonial 

 borders it is tolerably abundant. The blessbok is 

 fleet and active ; and its markings are very orna- 

 mental. The colours of the head and body are most 

 singularly disposed ; the whole animal appears as 

 if it had been artificially painted with ditt'erent 

 shades, laid on in separate masses. The head and 

 neck are of a brilliant brownish bay, so deep as to 

 resemble the colour of arterial blood : this is par- 

 ticularly visible upon the cheeks and about the 

 root of the horns, from the central point between 

 which descends a narrow stripe of the purest white 

 as far as the orbits, immediately above which it 

 expands and covers the whole face and nose down 

 to the muzzle, forming a broad mark, or, as it is 

 called in horses, a blaze, and giving origin to the 

 name of blessbok, or blazebuck, by which this 

 species is known among the Cape colonists. The 

 back is of a brownish bay, thickly overlaid, or, as it 

 were, glazed or japanned with dull purplish white, 

 and there is a very broad purplish brown band on 

 the flanks passing from the fore-arm backwards, 

 and extending obliquely over the outer face of the 

 thighs. The breast, belly, and interior of the fore- 

 arms and thighs are white, and this colour also 

 shows itself on the posterior face of the hips and 

 thighs, and passes in a small crescent over the rear 

 of the croup, forming a white disc around the tail, 

 and giving origin to the specific name of Pygarga, 

 which has been rather arbitrarily bestowed upon 

 this animal, the real pygarga of the ancients being 

 certainly a different species, and an inhabitant of 

 Northern Africa. The tail is long and switched, 

 nearly naked at the root, and terminated by a tuft 

 of very long black hair. The knees are without 

 brushes. The young are at first of a brownish red 

 colour on the body, partially glazed, as in the 

 adults; but what is most remarkable of all is, that 

 the face, instead of being white as in the grown 

 animal, is of a very deep brownish black colour, 

 slightly mixed with scattered grey hairs. 



It was from a young animal that our engraving 

 (Fig. 631) was taken. 



632. — Scemmering's Antelope 

 (Antilope Sammcringii) . This light and graceful 

 antelope, which exceeds the Ariel gazelle in size, 

 is a native of Abyssinia, where it was discovered by 

 Ruppel during his journey through the northern 

 provinces of that country, and afterwards described 

 by Cretzchmar in the zoological portion of RUppel's 

 account of his travels. 



It frequents hilly districts, but is not gregarious 

 like the common gazelle : it lives in pairs, and is 

 fleet and vigorous. Beyond these points we know 

 nothing of its history. The horns of this elegant 

 antelope are regularly lyrated, bending boldly out- 



