768 ON MAMMALS FEOM SOMALIL.USD. [NoV. 15, 



" Its flesh has a disagreeable musky flavour, owing perhaps to its 

 habit of feeding on a species of Solanum which grows near old 

 zerebas. I found in the stomach of one Gazelle several whole fruits 

 of this Solanum, quite an inch and three quarters in diameter. The 

 Somalis will not eat the flesh of this animal unless they are very 

 hungry." (E, M. H.) 



31. Oetx beisa Riipp. 



"We saw tracks of this Antelope within twenty-five miles of 

 Berbera, but they are very scarce until one gets south of Hargeisa. 

 Between Hargeisa and Jig Jiga they were fairly numerous, and 

 around the SubuUo Hills there were many herds of about thirty 

 females with single males. 



" They were very shy in the plain, being hunted by Midgans with 

 dogs and when brought to bay shot with poisoned arrows. The 

 Midgans also stalk them, using camels or donkeys as stalking 

 horses. On the heads of the latter they fix Oryx horns, so that it is 

 almost impossible to tell the donkey from an Oryx at any distance. 



" The Somali shield is made from the hide oif the neck and 

 shoulders of the male Oryx, which is about | of an inch thick. 



" Oryx when disturbed suddenly rush sideways with their faces 

 towards the cause of the disturbance before they gallop off. This 

 habit is evidently intended to receive the rush of some beast of prey. 

 They are dangerous animals to approach when wounded, as even 

 Avhen lying down they can sweep their horns round very quickly and 

 can even reach right over their rumps with them." {B. M. H.) 



32. Stebpsiceros steepsiceeos Pall. 



" The greater Koodoo is getting rather scarce in Northern 

 Somaliland, as the Midgans hunt it persistently on account of the 

 value of its horns at the sea-coast, whence they are sent to Aden 

 and sold. 



"It lives on the rocky hills in the daytime, but comes down on 

 to the flats in the evening to feed on the aloe bushes and the beans 

 of the acacias. We saw a fair number of female Koodoos, but the 

 males were very scarce, and once we saw a herd of seven females 

 without a single young one. 



" The male Koodoo is a magnificent-looking animal when seen 

 standing upon a rock on the sky-line looking for the cause of some 

 noise he has heard before retiring. 



" In daytime they lie very close in the thick bushes until they 

 think they have been seen, and then they go off with a tremendous 

 crash through the bushes." {R. M. If.) 



33. Steepsiceeos imbeebis Blyth. 



" This beautiful Antelope is still fairly common in the country 

 round the Goli range where there are plenty of aloes. We found 

 them quite close to villages, lying hidden in the thick clumps of 

 aloes, from which they would dash out when disturbed and hide 

 in some other favourite retreat." (B. M. II.) 



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