THE BUSHBUCK— THE REEDBUCK 147 



be seen feeding in the grassy clearings and on the 

 edge of the bush until a late hour. They are, as 

 a rule, by no means difficult to approach while 

 stiU unsuspicious, and even when they realise 

 the nature of the pursuit will often lie low, starting 

 away on nearer approach with a frantic rush and 

 the characteristic bark. But while feeding, es- 

 pecially away from one, I have sometimes, with a 

 favourable "oind, succeeded in gaining a point 

 not more than 60 or 70 yards away. But when, 

 as occasionally happens, there are several of these 

 animals together, and a male happens to be of 

 the party, the females are more wary and, I 

 have sometimes thought, give him the alarm. 



The natives of South-East Africa are greatly 

 addicted to catching biishbuck — and other small 

 antelope — ^by means of driving them with dogs 

 into long, advantageously placed nets. I have 

 been told that these periodical drives, in which 

 sometimes several villages jointly take part, are 

 responsible for the deaths of large numbers of 

 these animals, and I hope efforts wiU be made by 

 the respective African Governments to put a stop 

 to a custom which exacts a yearly and deplorable 

 toll from the smaller antelopes of all kinds. 



Reedbuck are found in greatest plenty near to 

 the coast -line, although, of course, they haunt, 

 in lesser numbers, the whole of the interior of 

 East and South Central Africa. 



Take, for example, one of the many small 

 rivers which, both to the north and south of the 

 great Zambezi, discharge their waters into the 

 ^Mozambique channel. As they near the coast 



