172 Wild Life in Central Africa. 



Elands are easy beasts to track, as, being heavy, they 

 leave a prominent spoor, especially if the earth is damp or 

 wet. At certain times of the year they pack together, and 

 they probably do this before leaving for some well-known 

 haunt. Lions kill a good many of them, and they must find 

 them much easier to kill than buffaloes. In South Africa 

 it was considered an easy task to run down elands with 

 horses, but in this country they are shot on foot. 



In conclusion I may say that when elands are in good 

 condition they yield a quantity of nice fat, which, when cut 

 into small pieces and boiled, makes most excellent dripping 

 for cooking purposes. It should not be cleaned in water, 

 which is inclined to make it rancid. It is better not to 

 keep it in tins for the same reason, and native pots made 

 of earthenware are the best receptacles. 



ROAN ANTELOPE (Hippotragus equinus). 



NATIVE NAMES. 

 Chinyanja - - Chilembe. | Chingoni - - Twacambwa, 



Approximate weight, $ ...... yoolb. 



Good average horns, $ ...... 26in. curve. 



This animal evidently got its name from its colour, 

 which is usually strawberry roan, although some animals 

 are a blue roan, and I think the old animals are usually the 

 latter. Roan are fine beasts, but their horns are insignifi- 

 cant compared to the fine trophies that sable antelopes 

 grow. A roan has very large ears, and his hair is 

 longer than most other antelopes, except waterbuck, or 

 the water-loving situtunga and the inyala. They seem to 

 fight more with one another than do most antelopes, and I 

 never saw roan consort much with other species as do 

 zebra, sable, and hartebeest. 



The roan is a good deal localised, but where they exist 

 they are numerous, and they are particularly so in Central 

 Angoniland and North-Eastern Rhodesia ; they are also 



