ANTELOPES AND DEER 121 



the young bucks, are yellowish fawn-colour on the upper parts 

 instead of the darker dress of the adult buck. The tail is short, the 

 lateral hoofs are small, and the fine horns cylindrical, V-shaped and 

 ridged throughout. As Fig. 94 shows, the horns have a number 

 of "turns in the spiral," and these may be from three to five. 



This Antelope is found in greatest quantities in the north-west, 

 and in grassy or cultivated districts may be located in small and 

 large herds numbering as few as ten to thirty, or sometimes as 

 many as thousands of individuals. It is akin to the Springbok 

 of South Africa in regard to the habit of springing into the air 

 when running, and is a splendid traveller when well under weigh 

 on good ground. 



In the pairing season battles wage fast and furious between 

 the males, and when alarmed the latter utter a short grunt and the 

 does give vent to a hissing sound. The does hide their fawns 

 among long grass, for they do not resort to forests or bushes, and 

 although on occasions these Antelopes appear to be fond of drinking, 

 some individuals inhabit districts where water is only procurable 

 in deep wells. 



RED AND FALLOW DEER. The first representative of the second 

 group of animals in our present section is rightly the handsome 

 Red Deer (Fig. 95), and it is accorded pride of place because it is 

 a British species. Mention may also be made of the Fallow Deer, 

 and the following account of these two animals is taken from my 

 book, Nature Stalking for Boys. This gives a fairly comprehensive 

 sketch of the life and habits of these two species, and it need only 

 be added here that outside the British Isles the Red Deer is widely 

 distributed in the temperate regions of Europe and Asia, whilst what 

 is regarded as a variety only is found in Morocco and Algiers. The 

 Fallow Deer "is a native of Northern Africa and the countries 

 bordering the Mediterranean, and in a wild state is still abundant 

 in Sardinia, Spain and some of the islands of the Grecian 

 Archipelago." From these countries it was introduced into Central 

 Europe. 



Although there are over three hundred parks in England that 

 contain Deer, besides a few spots where they are still found in a 

 wild state, it is surprising how little information there is to be 

 found in the many books on natural history and sport concerning 

 their habits. In only about eighty of these parks Red Deer are 

 kept, the two species living quite peacefully together. 



