262 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



dangerous, being not only high-couraged, but marvellously quick with 

 its horns ; like the Gemsbok, it fights lying down, and is very danger- 

 ous to hounds. The venison it affords is not of very high quality, 

 but of course the beautiful head is valued as a trophy. 



Although not what one might call a common or cheap animal in 

 the wild-beast trade, the Sable Antelope does well in captivity, and is 

 well known in Zoological Gardens. 



THE ROAN ANTELOPE 



{Hippotragus equinus) 



The Sable Antelope's only existing near relative, the Roan or Equine 

 Antelope, is a sort of inferior edition of the noble " Harrisbuck." It 

 is considerably larger, it is true, but its horns, though massive, are 

 considerably shorter — about two and a half feet in the bull, and two 

 in the cow. The colour also is not nearly so beautiful ; the face, 

 indeed, is marked with black and white much as in the Sable, but 

 with more black, this colour covering the jaw and meeting the black 

 on the muzzle ; the body-colour, however, is some shade of light brown, 

 sometimes really a roan, but varying from quite a dark brown to 

 nearly white. The ears are long and Donkey-like, and are carried droop- 

 ing. The calf is very like the Sable calf, but may be distinguished 

 by the difference in the face-marking, though this is indistinct at first. 



The Roan ranges more widely than the Sable, being found over 

 Africa generally south of the Sahara, and it shows a good deal of 

 local variation. In its general haunts and habits, it is much like the 

 Sable, but goes in smaller herds, and has a louder voice, this being 

 described as a bellow, while the other species only snorts. It is not 

 remarkably fast, although its habit of running with its mouth open 

 often gives a delusive idea of its powers, but its courage is unrivalled 

 among Antelopes, and it will turn and charge, not only when wounded, 

 but even when galloped too hard. 



Like the Sable, the Roan does well in captivity, and has been 

 exhibited at our Zoological Gardens, though not so frequently. 



The only other Antelope closely allied to the Roan and Sable 



