NOTES ON SPORT IN SOMALI LAND. 93 
goes, there is no difference whatever between the horns of the 2 species. The 
Somali gazelle closely resembles the Indian chinkara (@. bennett’) in behaviour 
and general character ; it would be difficult, if not impossible, to distinguish 
between the hours of the African and Indian species. 
The larger kudu is not a desert antelope. He lives on steep hillsides, chiefly 
among well-wooded ravines and in good shade. In character he always reminded 
me of sambar, living in much the same style of country, and having the same 
capacity of dashing at full speed through, what at first sight might appear, an 
impenetrable thicket. He is seldom found very far from water, although he 
does not drink daily. I believe that in South Africa these antelope can be 
ridden down and killed off horse-back. This would be impossible in Somali Land 
owing to the nature of the ground. The does have no horns and are of a pale 
brown colour, the bucks being dark blue, very much like Indian nilgai in 
colour. Both sexes have a ridge of hair along the spine and transverse white 
stripes running down the sides. The stripes on the female are more numerous 
than thoge on the male, but I cannot say exactly how many the females have. 
The number of stripes on the males differs with different animals, I shot 2 
males, one of which, a very old animal, had 7 stripes on each side, the other 
having 6 stripes on one side and 5 on the other. The Somalis say that the number 
of stripes diminishes with increasing years. This I do not believe. The old male 
which I shot had lost large patches of hair all over his body and head, evidently 
from old age ; but the remains of the 7 stripes on each side can easily be counted, 
If any one of these had entirely disappeared, it would have been because all the 
hair had gone, leaving the skin exposed to view, not because the hair had 
changed colour. The number of white spots on the cheeks also varies in differ- 
ent animals, some having 2, some 3 spots. ‘The Somalis say that young kudu 
are born in April and May. ‘This is very likely correct, as I saw, at the end of 
November, fawns which might have been 6 or 7 months old. The following are 
the dimensions of the horns of the 2 larger kudu which I shot :— 
Straight line from} Along the curve ray ti) a Circumference 
base to tip. from base to tip. Pures round base. 
3 5 
1 362 A472 82 97 
2 36 494 213 102 
No. 1 was an older animal than No. 2 ; he measured 4 ft. 8 in. at the shoulder, 
and 6 ft. 7 in. from the nose to the insertion of the tail, 
The lesser kudu, like the larger kudu, is, I believe, seldom found far from 
water, but, unlike him, does not live on hill-sides, He prefers dense milk bush 
jungle and rough broken ground at the foot of the hills, He is not an easy animal 
to shoot, owing to the thick cover in which he lives, enabling him at the first 
sign of danger to put a bush or other shelter between himself and the sportsman, 
