512 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



long filaments and is so close as to resemble a rug 

 of smooth wool. More than by any other feature, 

 however, the Saiga is characterized by the anatom- 

 ical structure of its muzzle and especially of the 

 nose. This latter organ projects beyond the lips, is 

 divided by a longitudinal furrow, and is composed 

 of thin, almost membrane-like cartilage, with a 

 wrinkled surface and furnished with delicate retrac- 

 tile muscles, and therefore very mobile, the whole 

 forming a somewhat well-developed snout or trunk, 

 so that the group might properly bear the name of 

 " proboscis Antelopes." The buck alone has horns, 

 and they stand somewhat far apart, are lyrate in the 

 contourof their curves, pale in hue and transparent. 

 The color of the back and sides is grayish yellow in 

 summer; the limbs below the knee are darker, the 

 sides of the neck and under surface of the abdomen, 

 as well as the inner surfaces of the limbs are white; 

 forehead and top of the head are ashy gray, a 

 lancet-shaped patch on the croup is beset with 

 coarser, longer hair and appears to be blackish 

 brown. Towards winter the fur becomes lighter 

 and fades into a yellowish gray, with a whitish sur- 

 face tinge. The length of an adult buck is fifty-two 

 inches, four and a half inches of which are included 

 in the tail; the height at the withers is barely thirty- 

 two inches, the horns, measured along the line of 

 curvature, are from ten to twelve inches long. 



The Range and The Saiga is a native of ,the steppes 



Habits of the of eastern Europe and Sfceria, rang- 

 Saiga. jng from the Polish boundary to the 



Altai mountains. It always lives in flocks, gather- 

 ing together in the fall of the year in great herds, 

 consisting of several thousand in number, which 

 undertake peri&dical migrations and return to their 

 former haunts in troops towards spring. It is very 

 rarely that one sees a solitary Saiga; for the old 

 bucks remain with the flocks throughout the year. 

 They manifest but little agility, their perceptive 

 senses exhibit on an average but a slight degree of 

 acuteness and their mental capacities are not of a 

 high order. The speed of adult animals is so great 

 that neither Horse nor Greyhound can overtake 

 them, but younger ones soon get but of breath and 

 the old animals also fall victims to the united efforts 

 of beasts of prey, such as Wolves. 



The food of the Saiga consists .chiefly of saline 

 plants and herbs, which grow in enormous masses in 

 some places of the sunny, arid Tartar steppes which 

 are also intersected by many streams flowing from 

 saline springs. The does give birth to a single 

 young one, which is very helpless at first, and gen- 

 erally makes its appearance towards the middle of 

 May. 



Notwithstanding the fact that their venison is bad, 

 the Saigas are persistently and extensively hunted 

 by the natives of the steppes. They a,re pursued on 

 horseback and with Hounds and are, as a rule, over-~ 

 taken, if the chase extends over a long distance. 

 AVolves also commit great depiredations among them 

 and completely devour those j^hat they kill, leaving 

 only the skull and horns. TheSe remnants are picked 

 lip by the Kirghiz or Cossacks and sold for a small 

 price to Chinese merchants. 



THE GNU. 



The Gnus {Catoblepas) are probably the most strik- 

 ing in appearance of all Antelopes; they are very 

 queer looking Ruminants, intermediate links, if such 

 we may term them, between the Antelopes, Oxen 

 and Horses, and true caricatures of the more noble 



and graceful members of their families. When one 

 sees a Gnu for the first time, he is uncertain what 

 kind of a creature he really confronts. The animal 

 impresses one as a Horse with cloven hoofs and a 

 bovine head, and its whole demeanor is in perfect 

 harmony with its hybrid shape. It is impossible to 

 call the Gnu a beautiful animal, exquisitely delicate 

 as the anatomical structure of some of its parts may 

 be, because of the oddity of its general appearance. 



Physical Fea- The genus of the Gnus is poor in 



turesofthe species and its distinctive features 

 Gnus. are as follows: The body, supported 



on moderately long legs, is stout, the head nearly 

 square, the muzzle broa:d, the nostril appears as if it 

 were closed by a valve, the eye is surrounded by a 

 circular, radiating wreath of white bristles and is 

 wild and fierce in expression. Both sexes have 

 horns, which are set on the frontal ridge of the 

 skull, flatly compressed, very broad and have their 

 tips hooked upward. The tail is ornamented with a 

 long tuft like a Horse's tail. The median portion of 

 the face, the upper surface of the neck, the back, 

 throat and cheeks are furnished with a stout mane, 

 while the rest of the hairy covering is smooth. 



The Gnu, called Wildebeest by the Boers {Catob- 

 lepas gnu), averages a total length of nine feet four 

 inches, inclusive of the tail, which measures twenty 

 inches without the hair, and from thirty-two to 

 thirty-six inches with the hair; the height at the 

 shoulders is four feet. The prevailing color is a dark 

 grayish brown, lighter in some parts, darker in 

 others, and assuming a yellowish, reddish or black- 

 ish tint. The female is smaller in body and its 

 horns are also smaller than those, of the male, but 

 the hue in both sexes exactly corresponds. 



Habitat and The Gnu is a native of South Africa; 



Habits of the it has been exterminated in Cape 

 6"". Colony. According to accounts of 



trustworthy observers it migrates annually, actuated, 

 in our opinion, by the want of food. It is a very 

 active, sportive animal, and enlivens the wide plains 

 to a wonderful degree. 



Gordon Gumming was informed that the Wilde- 

 beest does not retreat from its domicile, even when 

 attacked by a large number of hunters. Incessantly 

 describing circles, pawing and capering in the most 

 eccentric manner, the shaggy herds of these remark- 

 able and queer looking Antelopes surround their 

 pursuers. While the latter ride towards them, in- 

 tending to kill' a few, they run in circles on either 

 side and take up their positions on the places the 

 hunters have vacated a few minutes previously. 

 Sometimes one sees on the plains old Wildebeest 

 bucks, singly or in troops of four or five, standing 

 short distances apart and motionless during a whole 

 forenoon, gazing at the movements of some other 

 animal, and continually emitting a loud, grunting 

 noise and a peculiar short, sharp nasal snort. 



The movements of the Gnu are quick and spirited, 

 and its fondness for play and sport is equaled by 

 no other Ruminant. In serious combats males and 

 females exhibit equal courage. Their vocal expres- 

 sion resembles the lowing of Oxen. In captivity 

 the animals often prove wild and intractable, insus- 

 ceptible to petting and domestication, but also rather 

 indifferent as to the loss of their freedom. The 

 young Gnus are born singly at various seasons of the 

 year, the little one a few days after birth exhibiting 

 its delight in the execution of the same capers and 

 antics as its parents and, on account of its small size, 

 appearing still more droll than they. The mother 



