XXII 



ANTELOPES 



Antelopes are almost as peculiar to the Ethiopian 

 Region as Marsupials are to Australia. Jn East Africa 

 they occu^Dy the plateaus and grassy plains in thousands, 

 l)ut are becoming less abundant as the country is 

 opened up by European settlers. Some of the big 

 antelopes, especially tlie kudus, have diminished in 

 number since 1890 ; when the rinderpest destroyed these 

 magnificent animals wholesale. Buffaloes and gnus also 

 suffered badly in this epidemic. Antelopes belong to 

 the family Bovidw, which contains oxen, sheep, and 

 goats. So far as the external characters of these 

 animals are concerned the chief distinction between 

 them and the deer family (^Cervidce) is the horns. An 

 antelope is an easily recognised animal, but there is 

 scarcely any term less easy to define than antelope. 

 To-day it is applied to any sheath-horned ruminant not 

 coming under the designation of ox, sheep, or goat. 

 The term has a popular but not a scientific significance. 



That Africa is the headquarters of antelopes may be 

 gathered from the fact that out of thirty -five genera no 

 fewer than twenty -four are African. In the course of a 

 journey from Mombasa to Uganda an observant traveller 

 will note examjjles of a dozen genera of these interesting 

 and beautiful manimals. 



In describing them I shall follow the classification 



adopted in the catalogue guide published for use in the 



Natural History Museum, London. 



276 



