The Eland 435 



and Kahe, and in the Arusha wa Chini country. The numbers in a herd 

 varied from three or four — an old bull with two or three cows to look 

 after him — up to sixty or more. The large herds would consist of a 

 couple of old bulls and six or eight younger ones, the rest being cows and 

 calves. Old bulls, both singly or in couples, were often met with, and 

 sometimes three together. These old fellows, so far as my experience 

 goes, never associated with other game, such as G. granti, as an old bull 

 oryx or wildebeest so often does. Elands, I believe, can, like most, if not 

 all, of the antelopes and gazelles which frequent the open plains, go for two 

 or three days, perhaps more, without drinking, the heavy dew that falls 

 during the night being quite enough for their requirements. At all events, 

 I have seen a particular herd two or three days running in exactly the 

 same spot and a long way from water, both in the late evening and again 

 early next morning, and found no water in the stomachs of those I killed. 

 They affected park-like and sparsely-timbered country and the open bush 

 so often found bordering the plains, rather than the plains themselves, 

 but sought safety and beat a retreat to the open plains when disturbed. 



It may be noticed that so far I have spoken of this grand beast in the 

 past tense. I am sorry to say that rinderpest in 1890 carried off the great 

 majority of them, at the same time that it swept off the buffalo, and they 

 are now no longer so plentiful as they were. They are, however, beyond 

 doubt on the increase, as a few have been shot within the last two 

 years near Kilimanjaro, and between Kibwazi and Machakos, and I have 

 heard on reliable authority of several fair-sized herds having been seen in 

 these places. Since these were all within a few miles of the main road 

 to Uganda, it is possible that they may be steadily on the increase in the 

 now almost uninhabited country north of Kilimanjaro. There are also a 

 fair number still to be found north of Lake Baringo on the road to Lake 

 Rudolph. The eland is at all times a local beast, and appears to be very 

 partial to one particular spot, within a very short radius of which it will 



