SPORT ON THE GUASO MARU 



and three-quarter inches ; distance between tips, six and three- 

 quarter inches. The shape of the horns of these northern 

 Grant's gazelles, inhabiting Laikipia, and, I understand, known 

 as Gazella granti notata (which we commenced to see when 

 about thirty miles north of Nyeri), w^as quite different from 

 those seen on the Athi plains from the Uganda Railway, which 

 are supposed to be the typical Grant's gazelle. The horns of 

 the last - mentioned animals have quite a flare and a wide 

 spread at the tips, while those of the more northerly variety 

 are very close together with little flare. The largest heads 

 we secured averaged six inches between the tips. Of the 

 seven finest heads of this gazelle shot by us while in Africa, 

 the length of the horns varied from twenty and one-quarter 

 inches to twenty - three and one - quarter inches, the base cir- 

 cumference from six to eight inches, and from four and five- 

 eighths inches to eight and three-eighths inches between the 

 tips. 



The next day our caravan moved steadily westward through 

 the same character of country, seeing a few Granti, ostriches, 

 and Burchell's zebra in the distance. About noon we filed by 

 a herd of about forty of a species of zebra new to us, Grevy's 

 zebra {Eqiats grevyi). These wild horses, whose main range is 

 in the desert country of Abyssinia to the north, are much 

 larger than Burchell's zebra, and of different appearance. Our 

 men, who had never seen them before, immediately dubbed 

 them pundas (Swahili for donkeys) , on account of their mule-like 

 ears and faces and grayish appearance. Dozens of small, w^hite, 

 egret-like birds, probably the cattle heron (Bubulcus lucindus), 

 were fluttering from back to back of the feeding zebra, devour- 

 ing the ticks and troublesome insects w4th which these animals 

 were afflicted. Out of this herd we had abundant opportunity 

 to shoot all the specimens of this rather rare animal ■ that we 

 wished, but concluded to wait until we were farther in their 

 range, as we did not know how long a journey we had ahead 



. 185 



