io8 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



Once existing in immense numbers on all the high 

 open plains of Cape Colony, the Transvaal, and the 

 Orange Free State, the springbuck in these provinces is 

 now seldom found except as a preserved animal on fenced 

 farms. There are, however, a considerable number of 

 the animals on the Springbuck Flats in the Waterberg 

 district of the Transvaal, where Government has pro- 

 vided for their partial protection. The species ranges 

 beyond the above limits through German South- West 

 Africa and Bechuanaland as far north as Benguela. 

 The springbuck is essentially a lover of high open table- 

 lands, and in South Africa is never found in a bush or 

 forest country, except sometimes in the lambing season. 

 Its pace is considerable, and, when frightened or in play, 

 it indulges in the remarkable leaps whence it derives its 

 name. The animal, as it gallops, takes several successive 

 bounds, sometimes of nearly eight feet into the air, in a 

 manner forcibly reminiscent of an india-rubber ball : the 

 head is held down, the body curved in an arc, and the 

 legs kept quite stiff and close together, while the white 

 hairs on the back are erected to their full height. 



Springbucks associate in fairly large herds under 

 normal conditions ; but when forced by lack of food or 

 water to move from their usual haunts, these herds join 

 together and form what is called a " trek." In former 

 days these treks were of almost inconceivable magnitude, 

 consisting of hundreds of thousands of individuals, and 

 naturally the country over which they passed was denuded 

 of every blade of grass, and for the time rendered useless 

 for stock. Such an immense concourse of antelopes was 

 followed by every description of carnivorous animal, 

 which, together with wild creatures of other species, and 

 even domestic beasts, were often seen being borne 

 irresistibly forward in the midst of the congested throng. 



