SABLE ANTELOPE 



261 



scimitar-shaped iiorns, which arise at an angle with the plane of the 

 face, as well as by the maned neck, the tufts of long hair below the 

 eyes, and the large size of the ears. By far the handsomer of the two 

 is the present species, whose sable coat and great length of horn render 

 the buck the most striking of its tribe. Other distinctive features are 

 the continuance of the white eye-stripe to the muzzle, the length of the 

 mane, and the relatively moderate size of the ears. Height at shoulder 

 about i^ feet. A single horn in the Florence Museum measured by 

 Mr. F. C. Selous is 61 inches on the front curve. 



Distribution. — From about the centre of the Transvaal northwards to 

 Nyasaland and the adjacent districts of South-East and East 

 Africa. Still abundant in parts of Eastern Mashonaland, and 

 thence towards the coast, as well as on the Manica plateau to the 

 north of the Zambesi. Scarcer in Central East Africa and 

 Mozambique. Admired by all who have seen it in its native 

 haunts, the sable antelope when wounded is a dangerous antagonist, 

 to be approached with extreme caution. It runs with considerable 

 speed, and possesses much staying power. 



