358 Great and Small Game of Africa 



it is present almost everywhere ; but how far east of this line it extends 

 I am unable to say accurately. 



Both sexes have horns ; those of the male, which are most gracefully 

 curved and corrugated almost to the tips, measuring as much as 26 inches 

 and upwards in fine specimens ; the female has thin horns of some 1 2 

 inches or so in length. 1 



Grant's gazelle is among the species of antelope which eat both grass 

 and leaves ; a kind of wild fruit or berry borne by a plant common in 

 some parts, and which the large paauw is partial to, is also frequently 

 among the contents of its stomach. It may be seen far from water, but 

 I do not think it is entirely independent of it, as some creatures appear to 

 be. It certainly drinks, for I have seen it ; and it seems generally more 

 numerous where water is obtainable in the vicinity. But probably its 

 needs in this respect, as is the case with some other antelopes, depend to a 

 great extent on the character of the herbage it is subsisting on. 



On Lake Rudolph the does seem to drop their fawns about April ; but 

 the breeding season must vary in different districts. I have certainly met 

 with young fawns myself in September a little farther south, and near 

 Machakos I remember seeing them in January ; while Mr. Buckley, who 

 has shot in the Kilimanjaro country, tells me that there the does begin to 

 drop their fawns about the end of February. But where there is so little 

 difference between the seasons, as is the case under the equator, animals 

 are not very regular in their times of breeding. The newly-born fawns are 

 left lying alone, as with other antelopes ; and while they are very young the 

 mothers often feed apart from the herd near where their young are concealed, 

 either one by herself or in company with one or two others similarly situated. 



The only sound I have heard this antelope emit is a kind of goat-like 

 sneeze, which is its cry of alarm. 



When in good condition the meat of this gazelle is excellent ; and, being 



1 The longest recorded pair of horns measure in the male 28 j inches, in the female 17^- inches. — Ed. 



