426 WILD ANIMALS. 



.five or six hundred yards they chase one another round and round 

 for a short time, stand, stare, and paw the ground, then lashing 

 their long white tails against their sides, set off as hard as they 

 can go." 



Another traveller states that when the animals are put to flight, 

 they do not scour away in a confused mass, but gallop off in 

 single file in rear of a leader, and travel, when they are in good 

 condition, at such a tremendous speed that their pursuers, be they 

 men or lions, are soon left hopelessly in the rear. 



In common with nearly all species of antelope they exhibit a most 

 persistent curiosity, which becomes excited directly they catch 

 sight of any strange object. They will frequently on such an 

 occasion cautiously approach, and the herd, formed into a compact 

 square, will come to a halt some little distance off, and there 

 stand stupidly gazing at it. Harris noticed this trait in the 

 gnu, for he writes, " During bright moonlight curiosity often 

 prompted a clump of gnus to approach within a few yards of our 

 bivouac, where they would stand for hours in the same position, 

 staring wildly, lashing their dark flanks, and uttering a harsh 

 note, resembling the harsh croaking of a frog." Buckley also 

 mentions a similar incident, and states that he succeeded in 

 shooting one out of three animals which approached his waggon 

 close enough for him to do so. 



" In summer the old males separate from the herds, and live 

 solitarily. At this time they fix on one spot, making a sort of lair, 

 to which they will return after feeding or being disturbed. This 

 sometimes leads to their destruction ; for if two or three men go 

 together, the old bull immediately gets up and goes away; on 

 this one of the party lies down in the spot lately occupied by the 

 beast, the other two then retire. The wild beast thinking every- 

 thing is now safe, goes quietly back to his particular spot, and is 

 then shot at by the man who is lying down." 



Among the bovine peculiarities of the gnu is the one of being 

 strangely affected by the sight of anything scarlet-coloured. The 

 extraordinary capers the animal can go through when excited will be 

 generally exhibited directly he observes the obnoxious article. He 

 will commence to lash his sides with his flowing tail and to plunge 



