The Hartebeest. 179 



HARTEBEEST (Bubalis lichtensteim}. 



NATIVE NAMES. 

 Chinyanja - Ngondo. | Chingoni - - Nkonze. 



Approximate weight, $ ...... 4Oolb. 



Good average horns, $ ...... iQin. curve. 



All over Africa various varieties of hartebeest exist, 

 although only one variety is present here Lichtenstein's. 



These antelopes used to be much more plentiful 

 than they now are. They are unusually foolish animals, 

 unless when much hunted, and then they become 

 very wary and difficult to get shots at, especially in thick 

 bush. 



Hartebeests are of a companionable nature, and I have 

 often seen them consorting with sable, zebra, and gnu. They 

 are sometimes found in herds up to thirty or forty, but the 

 usual number is from ten to fifteen in places where they 

 have been much molested. Both sexes bear horns, and 

 these are peculiarly shaped, being well curved inwards, 

 and then taking an abrupt bend backwards. The 

 hartebeest has a long skull, and he is not a prettily 

 shaped antelope, like a w r aterbuck. In moving, they have 

 a stiff action, rather mechanical, and not graceful. They 

 inhabit much the same type of country as sable antelopes, 

 are often found in the the open in the cooler hours, and 

 when the sun gets hot they retire to the shelter of the 

 bush. 



I think their meat is very good eating and prefer it to 

 most of the other species except eland, bushbuck, impala, 

 and klipspnnger. There is not a very noticeable difference 

 between the weight of fully grown adults of the two sexes, 

 although the bull is slightly heavier. 



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