THE ORYX 

 Oryx beisa, Riipp. 



Somali name, Biid or Biid 



Description. — The oryx is the commonest of the larger 

 Somali antelopes, and has a wider distribution than any except 

 perhaps the gerenuk. It stands lower than the Greater Kudu 

 and somewhat higher than the Lesser Kudu — its height at the 

 shoulder being about 4 ft. Both the males and females bear 

 horns — those of the latter being more slender and as a rule 

 longer and frequently unsymmetrical. In both sexes they are 

 nearly straight with a slight backward curve, and are annulated 

 for about half their length and polished for the remainder. Horns 

 from 32 to 33 in. in length in either sex are distinctly good. 

 It is perhaps surprising that there are still so many herds of oryx 

 beisa in the Somali country, considering how keenly the Midgan 

 hunters prize the male oryx for the thick skin over the withers 

 (Somali name, "gashan") which is utilised in the manufacture 

 of the Somali shields. The presence in Somaliland of so many 

 of this species I consider a good argument against those who are 

 inclined to blame the natives for the disappearance of the game. 

 The colour of the oryx varies from grey to a- reddish-grey above 

 and white on the abdomen. A narrow black band runs along the 

 centre of the back, and on each side is another broader band which 

 unites with its fellow of the opposite side, on the chest ; after 

 uniting it broadens out on the throat, forming a diamond-shaped 

 black patch from which there is a more or less distinct black line 

 continued on to the side of the face as far as the base of the ears. 

 The black nose-stripe is continuous with the black frontal patch, 

 but separated from the black eye-stripe by a whitish interspace. 



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