438 Great and Small Game of Africa 



horns, the points being worn down. The bull stands some seventeen or 

 eighteen hands high, and is of prodigious weight. There is a dark brown 

 stripe of hair running down the centre of its back, the body having a 

 slate-blue colour with a few light stripes passing downwards, as in the 

 koodoo. The head of the full-grown bull has a large tuft of black hair, 

 which extends from between the horns almost to the muzzle, the rest of 

 the face being of a light gray colour. The hair on the neck is longer 

 than on the rest of the body, and is of a light brown colour. The bull 

 always carries a large quantity of fat, the heart being encased in a mass 

 of fat, the whole weighing some 20 or 30 lbs. Although so large 

 and heavy, he is on occasion very active, giving great bounds in the air. 

 His favourite pace when disturbed is a trot, out of which he seldom breaks. 

 The eland is a very soft-boned animal, and is not so tenacious of life as most 

 of the African game. Elands are met with in Angola, sometimes in troops 

 of sixty or seventy, and occasionally in even larger numbers ; but more often 

 a troop will consist of from twelve to fifteen, mostly cows, very commonly 

 one or two bulls being amongst them. It is often very difficult to get a 

 shot at the bulls, by reason of the aggravating way they have of pushing 

 themselves in amongst the cows. Very old bulls leave, or are driven from 

 the troop altogether, and wander about by themselves in solitude. An 

 eland is a great walker, and his long stride takes him over a great deal of 

 ground, so that one has generally to go far on their spoor before coming 

 up with these animals. 



The hide of an eland has a peculiar odour, which is by no means 

 unpleasant ; it on the neck exceeds an inch in thickness. The dried hide 

 of a large bull, which I preserved as a museum specimen, weighed 80 lbs. 

 The spoor is very similar to that of a buffalo, but rather neater in 

 appearance ; the two need never be confused, as an eland, being longer in 

 the body, and standing higher on the legs than the buffalo, takes a much 

 lengthier stride. These animals are very keen of sight, and when on the spoor 



