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caught sight of. them again; but they had seen us first, and were going hard at about 
250 vards when we saw them. It would have been a very fluky shot, and I held my 
hand. TI could now distinguish four females and one buck, which appeared to have 
horns exactly like a Gazelle, between 8 and 10 inches long. 
“When they were fairly under weigh we got a bush between us and them, and 
hurried after them as quick as we could. After a few moments, as luck would have it, 
they all stopped in a bunch and turned round with their heads towards us at about 
300 yards. I could not distinguish the buck at the moment, as they were standing 
among bushes and were not distinct, but I aimed at one which turned partially broad- 
side and fired. The animal fell dead, and the other four streamed away out of sight. 
On running up I found that it was a female that I had killed, and I am sorry to say 
that on grallocking her we found an almost mature embryo inside her. I was unable 
to preserve this as I had no spirit with me, but the fact shows that the animal killed 
was an adult. 
“T took careful measurements on the spot, and found the height at shoulder 23 inches; 
distance from the nose to the root of the tail 33; the tail including 2-inch hair 54; the 
length of ears in front 64, and their breadth 23.” 
Sir Edmund Loder has kindly favoured us with the following field-notes 
on the Beira :— 
«Mr. Percy Aylmer heard of this Antelope on the stony foot-hills in Gubau (N. of 
Hargaisa), and saw it on one of the isolated foot-hills to the south of Gau Libah. 
Mr. A. E. Pease and I found it on another detached hill about 20 miles west of this. 
This particular hill was extremely rough and rugged, covered with loose boulders, 
making walking and silent stalking extremely difficult. This hill was also frequented 
by Gumbouri (Wild Asses, Equus somalicus), which, from their large size, were 
easily seen. The case was, however, very different with the ‘ Baira, which, at a 
comparative short distance, seemed to melt out of sight immediately they stopped 
moving, and indeed when they were in motion it was rather the moving black shadow 
cast by a tropical sun that caught the eye than the animal itself. They were observed 
by us in bands of seven, three, and three. In the two lots of three which I saw there 
was what I take to be one adult male with each. The only record of height that I can 
lay my hand on at this moment is that of an adult female, which measured at the 
shoulder 2 feet 2 inches; probably the male would be an inch higher. 
“The whole colour of this Gazelle is very beautiful in its tints of buff, purple, fawn, 
and grey and white ; but what struck us most was their ears and hoofs. The ears, besides 
being very large and ornamental, are remarkable for the distinct rayed marking on the 
inside. The hoofs are well worth a special drawing, as they differ from those of any 
other Antelope with which I am acquainted. They are very much hollowed ont, as 
is very noticeable in the track which they leave. The foot of the stuffed specimen in 
the Natural History Museum is filled up with some black substance which does not 
seem to me to be natural.” 
