286 LIG GAME SHOOTING 
ELAND 
The striped variety of the eland is the only one found in 
East Africa. It is known to the Swahilis as ‘ Mpofu,’ and is 
decidedly a local beast. It is seen more often in open bush 
and country thinly wooded with mimosa-trees than quite out 
in the open. In 1887 it was plentiful round Taveta, where I 
have seen as many as sixty to seventy in one herd. In the open 
bush country west of Mount Kisigao elands are fairly numerous. 
Other places in which they are found are the park-like country 
belew Ndi in Teita ; the open country east of Ndara and north 
of Mount Maungu; and the Siringeti plains. I have also 
seen them between Lakes Nakuro and Baringo, and again in 
Turkwel, in the Suk country. Asa rule they go about in herds 
of four or five up to fifteen or twenty. Sometimes two or three 
bulls will be found together, and very often an old bull quite 
by himself. 
Very old beasts, both bulls and cows, are of a dark slatey- 
blue colour, owing to the skin showing through their scanty 
covering of hair, and these old fellows lose all trace of the 
white stripes. The bulls grow to a huge size and become 
enormously fat. Elands are decidedly difficult to stalk, both 
on account of the watchfulness of the cows and the nature of 
the ground they generally frequent. They are, however, fairly 
easy to drive. JI remember having one eland drive which was 
one of the grandest sights I ever witnessed, on account of the 
enormous number of game which passed close to me. 
I had gone up to the top ofa large ‘ earth boil’ to reconnoitre 
the country, and from it sawa large herd of some fifty elands, a 
herd of about 120 buffaloes, besides innumerable hartebeests 
and zebras, two rhinos, and a small herd of five giraffes. 
Although they were all well to windward, a stalk was out of the 
question, as the grass had lately been burnt and the zebras and 
hartebeests were scattered in all directions. 
As I had not yet shot a good eland, and was particularly 
anxious to get one, I decided on a drive, for which the country 
