ANTELOPES 85 



It has the head and horns of a cow, the mane and tail 

 of a horse, and the body and legs of a deer. I did not 

 discover what it ate, but it is called ' the wild beast ' ! " 

 Really, not a bad description. 



THE BRINDLED GNU, or BLUE WILDEBEEST as its 

 name implies, is of a slaty-blue colour with black trans- 

 verse stripes,* and possesses a shaggy beard and mane. 

 It is a much larger animal than the black wildebeest. 

 At the present time the blue wildebeest is found along 

 the eastern borders of the Kalahari Desert, northwards 

 from the Molopo River, in German South-West Africa, 

 Angola, Ngamiland, Southern Rhodesia, the Transvaal 

 low country, Portuguese East Africa, and Amatongaland, 

 where about three thousand were said to exist a few 

 years ago. North of the Zambezi, it is spread all over 

 Rhodesia and Nyasaland, and thence, through German 

 and British East Africa, to about the latitude of the 

 Equator, which seems to form about the northern limit 

 of the species. The brindled gnu has, therefore, an 

 extensive range, and is, moreover, found in very large 

 numbers throughout a considerable portion of it. 



Blue wildebeests prefer open rolling country, inter- 

 spersed with thick thorn or other bush, to which they can 

 retire for rest and shade during the day. Sometimes, 

 however, they remain in the open, and then choose the 

 middle of a completely bare space or plain, where they 

 can see all round for some distance. The herd nearly 

 always lie down to sleep and chew the cud on these 

 occasions, one vigilant old cow remaining standing as 

 sentry over her companions. At night, which is, of 

 course, their principal feeding-time, they favour open 

 patches or glades, probably as a safeguard against being 

 stalked successfully by lions. Normally they drink 

 * i.e. down the sides, from top to bottom. 



