122 THE KUDU— THE WATER-BUCK 



The smaller variety, known as the lesser kudu, 

 does not occur in Zambezia, being confined in its 

 range to Somaliland and portions of British East 

 Africa, and, I think, Uganda. 



In all the grassy plains of South-East Africa 

 there is no sight so common as an assemblage 

 of Water-buck, their horns dancing in the mid- 

 day sun like weird motes in the heat radia- 

 tion. They are fine, well-set-up animals, and 

 present more of the bodily form of the stag 

 than any African antelope known to me. Not 

 only on the river-banks and wide plains of 

 Zambezia is the water-buck found, but in thin 

 forest also he passes much of his time, and not 

 seldom seems greatly to appreciate the shade 

 it affords, although at other times the tre- 

 mendous heat of early afternoon appears to 

 cause him not the slightest inconvenience. In 

 East Luabo day after day I have seemed never 

 to be out of sight ot herds of water-buck. They 

 are friendly beasts, and fraternise freely with 

 zebras, blue wildebeeste, and Lichtenstein's harte- 

 beeste, in whose company they often pass many 

 hours of the day. The Urema flats in Cheringoma, 

 as also the wide plains through which the upper 

 waters of the Pungwe flow, used at one time to 

 be the haunts of vast numbers of these animals, 

 and may still, in spite of years of murderous 

 and pitiless slaughter, harbour a few. But where 

 they exist to a great extent unthinned by 

 the paid native hunter is to the south of the 

 Kongoni mouth of the Zambezi, on the vast and 

 grassy plains of East Luabo. 



