142 ANIMAL LIFE IN AFRICA 



leopard and the caracal, while the young not infrequently 

 fall victims to the larger birds of prey. 



THE ORIBI. Perhaps the most graceful of all the 

 smaller antelopes, the oribi, in slightly variant forms, is 

 met with throughout most of Africa wherever there exists 

 open grass country, or plains not too thickly forested 

 The special characteristics of the genus are the bare spots 

 behind each ear, and the tufts of hair which are developed 

 below the knees. 



In the Transvaal, oribis are not met with in the eastern 

 bush country, except in the very occasional instance of 

 a wanderer on the extreme edge of it. Their home is 

 what is generally known as middle veld, that is to say, 

 fairly open country between 1500 and 3500 feet above sea- 

 level. They lie close, and when put up go away in a 

 series of long graceful bounds. They are grass feeders, 

 and are seldom found at any great distance from water. 

 Their call is -a shrill, thin whistle. The flesh is excellent 

 eating. 



The following are the various known species of oribi : 



1. The Abyssinian oribi. 



2. The Gambia oribi. 



3. Haggard's oribi, from British East Africa. 



4. Gosling's oribi, from the Congo. 



5. Cotton's oribi, from the north-east of Lake Victoria. 



6. The Kenia oribi, from the Kenia district of British 

 East Africa. 



7. Peters' oribi, from Mogambique and Nyasaland, and 



8. The typical form of Cape oribi, from south-central, 

 south-east, and south Africa, which is a slightly larger 

 animal than any of the others. 



THE STEENBUCK. The steenbuck, thanks to its habits 

 and its ability to do without water for long periods, still 

 contrives to exist in the civilized portions of South Africa, 



