84 SAVAGE SUDAN 



imagined that a lion was menacing- them ; but it soon 

 became obvious that sheer exuberance of spirit formed 

 the motive cause. For while we watched, little bouts 

 of sham-fights began between younger bulls, while others 

 coquetted with the females. Half an hour later the 

 whole herd had relapsed into quiescence, enjoying a 

 noontide siesta, mostly afoot though several lay down. 



Although gregarious some herds numbering one 

 hundred and upwards tiang are not social and rarely 

 mix much with other species. Occasionally one sees 

 an odd tttel among the mobs of white-eared cob and, 

 more rarely, with roan. With waterbuck, though the 

 two species often pasture alongside, the tiang never 

 associate. This trait was markedly conspicuous on the 

 Zeraf River, where every afternoon we watched huge 

 aggregations of both these antelopes leisurely filing down 

 towards the water charming pageants in wild-life. 

 However closely their companies might approach each 

 other, yet never did the herds intermingle. The water- 

 buck often came on boldly to drink in broad daylight ; 

 the tiang never. There were giraffe and roan there also, 

 but these never came near the river at all. 



This was in February, 1914, when, by reason of a 

 Nuer outbreak further up the river, all rifle-shooting on 

 the Bahr-el-Zeraf was closed. We had been granted a 

 special permit to collect birds only (for the British 

 Museum), and were therefore free to revel in these 

 delightful scenes undisturbed by ulterior motives or 

 designs. 



Tiang are watchful animals and, on the dead-level 

 grass-prairies, distinctly difficult to stalk, especially when 

 a sentry stands posted on a lo-foot ant-hill. It is curious, 

 however, how much animal-instinct varies. I remember 

 one day when, after shooting two tetel each after a 

 laborious crawl another herd allowed me to walk openly 

 past them within 200 yards (nearer, in fact, than either of 

 my hard-earned shots). Twice, a restless spirit or two 



