ANTELOPES 161 



Africa as a separate sub-species known as Chanter's 

 mountain reedbuck, and in Abyssinia under the name of 

 the Shoan mountain reedbuck. 



Rooi rhebok favour the lower slopes of hills where 

 there are many rocks and loose stones, mingled with plenty 

 of scattered bush and long grass. They are very wary 

 animals, and partly on that account, and partly because 

 of the noise necessarily made in moving over the stony 

 ground when approaching them, they are difficult to get 

 near. When disturbed they usually run round and round 

 the hill a short way below the top, stopping in the open 

 valleys and necks between adjoining features, to see if 

 they are still pursued. They seldom move more than 

 three or four hundred yards before pulling up to look 

 back. The ears are so long and slender, and the horns 

 so short, that, except for their smaller size, the females, 

 in the absence of a pair of field-glasses, might easily be 

 mistaken for males at a distance. They are found in 

 parties of sometimes as many as eight individuals. Their 

 method of moving is similar to that of the common reed- 

 buck and their fanlike tails are spread over the back in 

 the same way. Their call is a shrill whistle scarcely 

 distinguishable from that of their cousin. 



Rooi rhebok are grass eaters. After dark they come off 

 the hills and feed down towards the nearest water, near 

 which they remain during the night, getting back to the 

 rough ground before dawn. They drink once or twice 

 during the night, according to the state of the atmosphere ; 

 so far as we have been able to observe their habits in the 

 Reserve, when the weather is hot and dry they do so on 

 first getting down to the water, and again just before 

 leaving its neighbourhood. When looking for these 

 animals it is useful to remember that it is the sides, and 

 not the tops of the hills, which they affect. 



BOOK II L 



