The Roan Antelope. 173 



found away to the north in British East Africa and the 

 Sudan. 



They seem to dig with their horns, as I have often seen 

 places where the ground had been routed up by them, and 

 the horns of the oldest animals are often chipped and 

 broken. Their flesh is pretty good eating, if the animal 

 is not too old, but not so good as eland flesh, or even 

 hartebeest. The roan, sable, and gemsbuck have the 

 reputation of being the fiercest antelopes ; and I have 

 often seen the eyes of wounded roan and sable gleam with 

 rage when approached closely, so it is better to finish a 

 wounded beast of either of these species with a bullet. If 

 an animal is sitting up it will often have the strength to 

 rise again, and a stab from roan or sable horns would be 

 equivalent to a dig with a blunt spear, and forced by the 

 power of their necks it would go right through a man's 

 body. When a beast is stretched on its side it seldom gets 

 up again, so if a roan or sable is in this position one can 

 approach carefully and seize the uppermost horn, and put 

 one's foot on the lower one and press it down strongly 

 against the ground. Then the operation of cutting the 

 animal's throat can be performed, but a very strong grip 

 should be kept while this is being done. Roan are found 

 in herds, and the old bulls are not so inclined to lead a 

 solitary existence as are old sable bulls and other animals. 

 An ordinary herd will consist of from ten to fifteen animals, 

 although I have at times seen larger herds. 



SABLE ANTELOPE (Hippotragus m'ger). 



NATIVE NAMES. 

 Chinyanja - - Mpala-pala. | Chingoni - - Nyambuzi. 



Approximate weight, c? 55olb. 



Good average horns, <? 4oin. curve. 



,, ? 28in. 



Most sporting writers give the sable antelope a high 

 place in the list of African antelopes, and he is certainly a 

 splendid looking animal with his long curving horns and 



