3 i6 UNGULATES. 



haul the intruder, when the bulls will often commence fighting in the most violent 

 manner, dropping on their knees at every shock ; then, quickly wheeling about, 

 they kick up their heels, whirl their tails with a fantastic flourish, and scour across 

 the plain enveloped in a cloud of dust." In addition to their speed, wildebeest are 

 remarkable for their extreme tenacity of life ; and, owing to the vigorous use they 

 make of their horns, are awkward creatures to hunt with dogs. Mr. Drummond 

 states wildebeest are " so extremely wary that fewer are killed by native hunters 

 than of any other species. Europeans, however, find them good practice in rifle- 

 shooting, as they will stand in herds at a distance which they think secure, say 

 three hundred or four hundred yards, and watch the passer-by." Only occasionally 

 can they be approached within easy range by fair stalking ; although they may be 

 killed by watching at their drinking-holes at night. Mr. Drummond writes that, 

 during a thunderstorm of unusual intensity, " I walked, hardly knowing where I was 

 going, right into a herd of gnu. I did not see them until I was almost among them ; 

 but even had my gun not been hopelessly soaked, the fearful storm made self-preser- 

 vation, and not destruction, one's chief thought. They were standing huddled in a 

 mass, their heads together, and their sterns outwards, and they positively only just 

 moved out of my way, much the same as a herd of cattle might have done " 



HARTEBEESTS, BLESSBOK, AND BONTEBOK. 

 Genus Bubalis. 



The well-known hartebeest of South Africa (so called on account of a fancied 

 resemblance to a stag) is the type of a genus which may be taken to include several 

 nearly-allied species, and likewise the aberrant blessbok and bontebok. 



All these animals differ from wildebeests by their long and pointed heads, 

 terminating in a narrow muzzle ; their ringed and often lyrate horns, the absence 

 of a mane on the neck or throat, and their shorter and less thickly-haired tail. In 

 consequence of the narrowness of the muzzle, the nostrils are closely approximated. 

 The horns are compressed, and ringed for a considerable portion of their length ; 

 and in form are more or less lyrate, with their tips frequently bent suddenly back- 

 wards. In the typical forms the withers are much higher than the haunches, and 

 this feature, together with the great length of the face, communicates an ugly and 

 ungainly appearance to the whole animal. These characters are, however, far less 

 strongly marked in the blessbok and bontebok, and some of the intermediate 

 species. The cows of this genus differ from those of the wildebeests in the presence 

 of only two, in place of four, teats. 



The titel, or bubaline antelope (Bubalis mauritanica), of North 

 Africa, Syria, and Arabia, is the only member of the genus not 

 confined to the African continent. It is the smallest representative of the group, 

 standing only 3 feet 7 inches at the shoulder ; and is of a uniform bright bay 

 colour throughout. The face is extremely elongated, and the horns are perched on 

 a crest situated on the very summit of the skull. The horns are comparatively 

 short and thick, of a deep black colour, with the rings extending nearly to their 

 tips. They diverge from one another in a U-shaped form ; and have their tips 



