CHAPTER XV 
THE ANTELOPES 
BY F, C, SELOUS 
gS eee HE TRUE ANTELOPES (including the Gazelles) are 
, Bs je strictly confined to the Old World, the Prongbuck 
| | of North America differing so much from all other 
| living ruminants, in its horn growth and other particulars, 
. that it is considered to be the sole representative of a distinct 
family. : 
THE HARTEBEESTS 
With the exception of one species — the Bubal — which is 
found both in North Africa and Arabia, the HARTEBEESTS are 
entirely confined to the African Continent. They are animals 
of large size, standing from 43 to 48 inches at the shoulder, 
and are characterised by their long, narrow faces, high withers, 
and doubly curved horns, which are present in both sexes. 
Nine different species of this group are known to exist. 
Although the ranges of these various species of harte- 
beest cover the greater part of the African Continent, it is 
noteworthy that each species keeps to its own ground, their 
several ranges but rarely overlapping. 
All the hartebeests have a strong family resemblance, 
and are very similar in their habits. They are never found 
either in dense forests or in swampy or mountainous country, 
but are inhabitants of the arid deserts of Northern and 
South-western Africa, and of the open grassy plains and 
thinly forested regions of the high plateaux of the interior 
ofthat continent. They are extraordinarily fleet and enduring, 
and in my own experience I have never heard of one of 
these animals, of whatever species, having been overtaken or 
ridden to a standstill by a man on horseback. -They are very inquisitive, and where they 
have not been molested will allow any unaccustomed object — such as a European in clothes — 
to walk to within easy shot of them before running off. They soon gain experience, however; 
and in countries where they have been most persecuted hartebeests are the keenest-sighted 
and the most wary of all African game. They are very fond of climbing to the top of the 
large ant-heaps with which the plains of Africa are profusely studded, and from this point of 
vantage surveying the surrounding country. They live, I believe, entirely upon grass, and 
in the desert areas of their range seem able to subsist for long periods without drinking 
water. Their meat I have always thought very palatable. They are generally in fairly good 
condition, though they seldom carry much fat. Their fat, after being melted, becomes solid 
again immediately on cooling, and clogs on the teeth whilst being eaten. But very few African 
species, except the eland, ever become really fat; their life is too active, and the food-supply 
too uncertain, for them to puton flesh like European deer. 
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Photo by Miss E, F. Beck 
BUBALINE HARTEBEEST 
A small species, found in Syria as well as in 
North Africa 
