_ ANTELOPES 305 
Tana river in 1891, that many of these antelopes had fallen 
victims to the cattle disease (anthrax), and that they found 
several dead in the bush between the river and the northern 
boundariesof Ukambani. These beautiful beastsare bush feeders. 
They should be sought for in the early morning, and again in the 
evening in the open bush which usually fringes thick bush, in 
which they take up their quarters for the day. They are gene- 
rally found in small parties of two or three does and a buck, 
though, like the bush-buck, both single bucks and does are 
often seen by themselves. At Merereni, in 1886, I witnessed 
a fight between two bucks. On emerging from the bush I 
suddenly came across them, and watched them for about a 
quarter of an hour as they fought with great fury, in spite of 
my being to windward of them, and not more than 4oo yards 
off at the time. They fought so furiously, and kept their 
heads together so long, that I thought they had got their horns 
locked together, and I attempted to take advantage of them 
whilst in this position, and ran across the sandy open space 
intervening between us, but before I got within range they 
separated and bolted. The jumping powers of the lesser 
kudu are simply marvellous. When I first went to Africa, I 
kept a record of the length of the strides of the various 
game-beasts when at full gallop, but unfortunately lost it, and 
never took it up again. I remember, however, measuring the 
jump of one of these beasts, which struck me at the time as 
being very wonderful. She had been chased by a hyzena 
along a narrow footpath in dense bush. In the middle. of the 
path there was a thick green bush about 5 ft. high, round 
which the path took a turn, and then went straight on again. 
_ The kudu had taken a flying leap over this bush, and the 
_ distance between the spoor of her hind feet where she took off 
and the edge of the bush was 15 ft. The diameter of the bush 
. was 6 ft., and the distance from the edge of the bush on the 
|| further side to where she landed—i.e. to the spoor marks of 
_ her hind feet—another ro ft., in all 31 ft. The hyena had 
@ given up the chase some thirty yards further on, where the 
14 I. x 
