WITH FLASH-LIGHT AND RIFLE 



and descriptions. My joy was great, and I tried to 

 secure the animal. In the deceptive evening light I 

 missed twice and the gazelle escaped. I told my fellow- 

 travellers of my adventure, but they were sceptical re- 

 garding my claim to having seen a greenuk. But next 

 morning one of them killed a female of this species, and 

 I was fully vindicated. 



The greenuk, which can live far from water, is wide- 

 ly distributed but very hard to hunt. It manages to 

 exist in the desert thorn wilderness. In the midst of 

 Euphorbia, Cissus qnadrangiilaris, Sanseviera cylindrica, 

 and acacia - bushes, it is able to find enough food. 

 This gazelle avoids forests and parts of the steppe with 

 luxuriant vegetation. It spends the day in the shade 

 of acacia-bushes, and seeks its food early in the morn- 

 ing or in the evening. 



When suspecting danger the animal stands for a 

 moment erect and motionless, as if cast in bronze. 

 Then it bends its long neck so that it forms almost a 

 line with its body and moves noiselessly over the ground 

 to the nearest cover. To the pursuing hunter the 

 animal suddenly seems to have vanished into the 

 ground, but from a higher point it can be seen gliding 

 along like a shadow. No wonder that the greenuk has 

 so long escaped the observation of former travellers. 



Stalking the greenuk is very difficult and highly 

 fatiguing in the thorny hunting-ground. Progress is 

 §low and the animal is apt to notice the hunter long 



313 



