The Antelopes 



257 



r.ivages amongst all the tvagelaphine antelopes that it is to Ije feared the iiivala eaii now no 

 longer he found anywhere in any consideraljle niiinl)ei-s. Where I met- witli these antelo])es 

 some years ago. in tlie country to the soutli of L)elag(ja Vyiy, ! f(Muid them living either alone 

 or in pairs like bushbucks. They frequented dense thickets in the immediate neighbourhood 

 of a ri\('r or lagoon, and I never saw on(^ in anything like ojjen country or far away from 

 water. Their tracks showed nie that at night they were accustomed to feed in open spaces in 

 the bush, bu:. they always retired to the jungle again at daylight, as they had become very 

 wary and cunning through constant ])ersecuti(jn at the hands of tlie natives. 



Closely allied to the l)ush-antelopes of the present gi'oup are the swamp-haunting SiTAXUNtiAS. 

 Three s})ecies of these have been described. — (jne from East Africa, named after Cajitain .Speke : 

 another from trojjical West Africa; and a third from Lid<e Ngami and the Chohi I\iver, named 

 after the present writer. 



There is very little ditt'ereirce between the adult males of these thi-ee specir^s, except that 

 iu the West African form the coaf is of a darker coloui- than in the other two. The main 

 difference consists in the fact that, 

 whereas the female of Selous' sitatunga 

 is light brown in colour like the male, 

 and the newly born young are very 

 dark lilackish brown (the colour of a 

 iiKjle), beautifully striped and spotted 

 with pale yellow, the female and young 

 of the other two forms are red in 

 ground-colour, with wdiite spots and 

 stripes. However, personally I am of 

 opinion that there is only one true 

 species of sitatunga in all Africa, 

 and that the differences between the 

 various forms are superficiak and 

 would be found to grade one into the 

 other, if a sufficiently large series of 

 skins of all ages and both sexes could 

 be gatliered together from all parts 

 of the continent. In the Barotse 

 Valley, on the Upjjer Zambesi, my 

 friend Major 11. T. Coryndon informs 

 me that Ijoth red and brown feirrale 

 sitatungas are met with. t)u the 

 Lower Chobi and Lake Ngami region 



the females are never red, but always of the same brown colour as the males, whilst on the 

 Congo all the females are red. 



The male sitatunga stands about 3 feet 6 inches at the shoulder, and varies in general 

 colour in different localities from light to dark brijwn. The adult females are either red with 

 a few faint stripes and spots, or light brown, only retaining \-ery faint traces of any stripes or 

 spots. The young are, both in tropical West and Central East Africa, red, striped, and spotted 

 with white ; but in ,South-w-e.st Africa dark blackish brown, with spots and stripes of yellowish 

 white. The hoofs are excessively long, and the skin which covers the back of tlie pastern is 

 hairless, and of a very thick and horny consistency. The males alone carry horns, w-hicli are oi 

 the same character as in the inyala, but more spiral and lor.ger, having been known to attain 

 a length of 28 inches in a straight line and 35 inches over the curve. 



The sitatunga is an inhabitant of the extensive swamps which exist in many parts of the 

 interior of Africa. It may be said to live in tlie water, as it passes its life in flooded beds of 

 reeds and papvrus, into the muddy bottoms of which its long hoofs, wdien splayed out, prevent 



riiotu 1.,/ Mr. ir. J!a„] 



A PAIK OF YOUXG PKOXGBUCKS. 



[nikuLJjild, 



From the fiict that the luiins of the m.iles .are .inDually shed, the proDgbnck 

 assigned to a group apart frorn the Antehipes. 



