48 THE SOCIETY FOE THE PEESEEVATION OP 



1892, there was a fine herd of giraffes living in the Zoological 

 Society's Gardens. No less than seventeen young ones were bred 

 there during this period, and of these nearly all attained adult 

 age. 



In many of the Continental gardens giraffes have also been 

 bred, and it was the entire stoppage of the supply of imported 

 specimens by the Sudanese rebellion that mainly caused these 

 most interesting experiments to come to an end. But giraffes are 

 now again reaching the European market, and there can be little 

 doubt that in the course of a few years they will be again found 

 in most of the larger zoological gardens of Europe. 



4. The Eland {Taurotragus oryx).— The eland is not only the 

 largest and finest of the great group of African antelopes, but is 

 one that has been shown by actual experiment to be admirably 

 adapted for captivity. About 1842 elands were first imported 

 alive into England for the celebrated menagerie of Edward, 

 thirteenth Earl of Derby. At Knowsley they did exceedingly 

 well, and calves were produced in many successive years. At the 

 dispersal of the Derby menagerie in 1851 the two males and three 

 females, which then represented the species, passed by bequest 

 into the Gardens of the Zoological Society of London, and made 

 the foundation of a herd of this magnificent antelope, which has 

 been kept up with varying fortunes ever since. 



In former days Viscount Hill had also a fine herd of elands at 

 Hawkstone, in Shropshire; and at the present time the Duke of 

 Bedford maintains a herd at Woburn, so that there can be no 

 doubt of the capability of the eland to endure even a British 

 climate, and to reproduce its species in captivity. 



The eland may now be said to be extinct in the Cape Colony, 

 but exists under slightly varying forms all along the eastern side 

 of Africa up Mount Kenia and the White Nile. 



The flesh of the eland is allowed by all who have had the 

 privilege of tasting it to be most succulent and nutritious, so that, 

 in case this animal could be kept in a domestic state on a large 

 scale, a fourth meat could be added to our present restricted diet 

 of mutton, beef, and venison. At all events, let us try the experi- 

 ment, and endeavour to preserve this splendid animal for the 

 benefit of future ages. 



5. The Zebbas (Equus Burchelli, E. zebra, and E. Grevii).—The 

 zebra, though last on the list, is by no means the least important 

 of the larger African mammals that call for protection against the 

 advancing tide of civilisation. Its closely allied brethren, the 

 horse and the ass, have been the servants of mankind for ages, 

 and there seems to be no reason whatever why the zebra, if 

 properly treated, should not take a place along with them in the 

 domestic equine series. The strength and hardiness of the zebra 

 are known to those who have met with it in its native wilds, and 

 its beautiful and compact form are manifest to all who view the 

 zebra in captivity. It cannot, however, be expected that wild- 

 caught animals, or even their immediate progeny, can be easily 



