TIANG 93 



HARTEBEESTS OF THE SUDAN 

 (TRUE HARTEBEESTS Bubalis) 



Whereas in British East Africa the true hartebeests compose 

 one of the most conspicuous elements in its fauna, in the Sudan, 

 on the contrary, they are rather conspicuous by their absence, 

 their place therein being taken by the allied genus of Dama/iscus, 

 of which the tiang, just described, forms the prevalent type. 



Three species of the true hartebeest, nevertheless, find 

 place in the Sudan game-list, as follows : 



(i) JACKSON'S HARTEBEEST. Although in the forest-region 

 of Kordofan I only thrice met with these big antelopes, yet 

 further south, in the steppe-country by Lake No, they become 

 numerous. 



In the Bahr-el-Ghazal province beyond, Jackson's becomes 

 the predominant species and may be seen in hundreds in such 

 localities as N.W. of Rumbek, west of Wau on the Dem Zubeir 

 road, and to the N. and N.E. of Tonj, associated with tiang, 

 white-eared cob, waterbuck, and gazelle, as well as with giraffe 

 and ostriches in lesser numbers. The saddle-backed lechwi 

 extends up the Tonj River so far as swamp and sudd-like 

 conditions prevail. Tonj is, in fact, an excellent hunting-ground, 

 quite healthy, and in the dry season practically free from 

 mosquitoes. Round 'Mvolo lies a haunt of elephants, the 

 great pachyderms sometimes invading the settlement and 

 evoking frantic appeals by telegram until the beasts have 

 broken down the wires ! 



South of the Sudd also, Jackson's hartebeest is plentiful. 

 All seen by myself in that region certainly belonged to this 

 species, an animal I knew well in British East, and which it is 

 difficult to mistake. These Nilotic " Jackson's" have neverthe- 

 less been described as differing in some trifling detail from the 

 typical form, and a subspecific title of more than doubtful 

 value has been assigned to them. 1 



1 Personally I reject such differentiations on two grounds. First, all 

 are based upon inadequate evidence and material such, for example, as 

 a flat skin or two ; on a few skulls with or without masks, and so on, but 

 ignoring the life-conditions and economies of the creatures themselves, 

 such factors being unknown to many of the describers, and apparently 



