CHAPTER XXVII. 



THE ANTELOPES. 



THE ANTELOPES — THE ELAND — THE KOODOO — THE BOSCH-BOK — THE NYLGHAU — THE PASSAN- -THE 

 BEISA — THE SABRE ANTELOPE — THE ADDAX — THE SABLE ANTELOPE — THE BLAU-BOK. 



THE eleven sub-families of Hollow-horned Ruminants which we 

 are about to describe in this and the subsequent chapter, are 

 often grouped together as Antilopince, and called Antelopes. But 

 the number of Antelopes is so great, and the differences in their form so 

 immense, that a further subdivision is necessary. Some of the Antelopes 

 are as clumsy as cows, others as agile as the roe, some approach the 

 horse in appearance, others the musk-deer, already mentioned. The 

 horns present nearly every form ; they are curved, forward, backward, 

 downward, upward, they rise straight, or sweep gracefully aloft like a 

 lyre ; they are round, or angular, or, as in one species, forked. The 

 anatomy of them all is very like that of the deer. With one exception, 

 the Prong-horn, they are all denizens of the Eastern Hemisphere, and 

 are especially abundant in Africa. 



The first sub-family, Tragelaphin^E, represents to a certain extent 

 the connecting link with the Ox-tribe. The body of the animals con- 

 tained in it are heavy, thick, and strong, the neck short, the head large, 

 the tail like an ox-tail ; the neck has a dewlap, the horns are common to 

 both sexes, and are formed like a screw. The sub-family contains three 

 genera. 



GENUS OREAS. 



The Eland, Orcas canna (Plate XLVII), of which two species are 

 known, is the largest of all the African Antelopes, and attains the dimen- 

 sions of a large ox ; it stands six feet high, and is stout in proportion. 

 Its color varies with age, but usually is a pale grayish-brown. The 



