^64 
J^O^eST AND STf^fiAM. 
East African Mammals. 
BY D. G. ELLIOT, F.R.S.E. 
(Contznued from page 264.) 
T^HE Oryx {Oryx heisa, Riipp). Native Namk, Beit. 
Oryx are not often seen in the country north of the 
Grolis Range, but their numbers increase as the Haud 
is traversed, and on the south of Toyo, and in Ogaden 
they are plentiful. It is a stoutly built animal, about 
the size of a large donkey, and goes in herds, sometimes 
as many as fifty or more being seen together. Gen- 
erall}', however, a dozen individuals or less are met 
with. It is not unusual to find old bulls wandering 
about by themselves. At a distance it is impossible to 
distinguish the bulls from the cows, as both carry horns, 
those of the cows more slender and usually longer than, 
the average of bulls' horns. But this difference in size 
is not perceptible unless one is very close to the ani- 
mals. The horns are annulated for two-thirds^ their 
length, then become smooth, and end in a sharp 'point. 
The average length of bulls' horns is not much over 
3oin., although occasionallj^ specimens are obtained that 
are several inches longer, and the cows' horns sometimes 
reach a length of 37 or 38in. They are very formidable 
weapons, and it is dangerous to approach a wounded 
oryx. In charging its enemy the oryx puts its head 
low down between its forelegs, with the horns pointed 
forward not much above the ground, and rushes at the 
object of its hate with much swiftness. These lance-like 
gazelld), from South Africa. This last, a very fine ani- 
mal, is almost extinct, a remnant being protected on a 
few farms, but its days are numbered and it will soon 
disappear. 
Big Koodoo {StrepMim'tis kudu, Gray). Native Name, Godir. 
This is a mountain species, delighting iti the lofty 
ranges amid steep declivities, raviyes and broken ground, 
and occasional!}' going on to the plains; and when it 
does so it is probably merely to reach some other range 
of lofty hills. The big koodoo is a magnificent animal, 
one of the largest of known species of antelope, pos- 
sessed of a powerful frame, beautiful coloring, and the 
male carries a magnificent pair of long, spiral horns. 
The female is hornless. It keeps near water, unlike in 
this respect so many African antelopes, and is very shy 
and retiring, remaining in the most inaccessible parts 
of the hills it can find, and starting ofif at the slightest 
sign of danger or sight of a suspicious object. The 
easy way in which a bull koodoo can travel over the 
rocky ground, scaling apparently inaccessible cliffs, and 
going at speed over the roughest places broken up into 
defiles and thickly strewn with boulders and broken 
stones, is wonderful to witness; but the animal goes 
clattering along, making a prodigious noise the while, 
with as much ease as a horse would travel on a good 
road. Koodoo are cunning, and their eyes, nose and 
ears serve them equally well, but the very style of ground 
they inhabit, and which serves as a refuge, is one of 
the means of their destruction, for it is easy to stalk 
them when the hunter has innumerable objects at hand 
by means of which he can veil his approach and gain 
a position near the unsuspecting quarry, fi-om which 
a deadly shot can be taken. Koodoo go in small herds, 
usually consisting of an old bull and two or three cows. 
THE ORYX. 
From "Trail and Camp-fire." Photo by W. Lord Smith. 
horns are quite capable of passing entirely through the 
body of an animal. Or3'x seem to be quite independent 
of water, and are often seen many miles from any place 
where it could be procured. They frequent the water- 
less, treeless plains, such as Toyo, Silo, etc., in herds 
sometimes of large size, and subsist upon the harsh dry 
grass common to such localities. The skin of a bull 
is very thick on the neck and withers, in some cases 
as much as 54in. through. The natives select this part 
of the hide to make their shields, which are sufficiently 
tough to stop any spear or arrow. As the bulls are 
very pugnacious, no doubt their tough, thick hides are 
a great protection against the lance-like horns, and 
save them from being run through this vital portion 
of the body. 
I have frequently seen bulls fighting and thrusting 
with their horns, ending in the weaker being chased for 
a long distance by the victor, amid a cloud of dust. 
Oryx are not especially wary, but theii" sight is very 
keen, and they depend more upon their eyes to detect 
danger than either upon nose or ears. It is not, how- 
ever, a difficult matter to get within fair shooting, dis- 
tance of a herd, provided due caution is used and the 
ground is suitable for stalking. The natives frequently 
hunt this animal on their ponies, and endeavor to spear 
it, and every year a number of men and horses lose 
their lives, transfixed by the sharp horns of the angry 
game. Oryx run with considerable speed, and are able 
to keep it up for a long time, but the natives surround a 
herd and are therefore able to meet the animals, no 
matter which way they may run. Calves are curious- 
looking little creatures, something like those of the do- 
mestic cattle, having a hump upon the shoulders. They 
soon become quite tame, and one we had for a short 
time would readily suckle a goat, although the latter 
was not half its size. The horns at first are mere knobs 
with the points turned to one side, and these ends do 
not become straight until a length of several inches is 
attained. Calves utter a sound between a bleat and a 
bellow, and this expresses either fear or hunger. They 
run even more swiftly than the adult, and it is wonderful 
to see the little creatures keeping up with a herd in 
full flight, frequently taking the lead and keeping it. 
Oryx are often seen with hartebeest, aoul, etc., peace- 
fully grazing on the plain together. 
This species of oryx is the second largest of those 
known, being exceeded in size by the gemsbok {jdryx 
with their calves, if there are any. Occasionally a young 
bull may be of the party, but if that is the case he 
is usually too young to excite any jealousy in the lord 
of the family. The cows are the most watchful, and 
are always on the lookout to perceive approaching dan- 
ger, and the bull trusts almost entirely to them to give 
him timely warning. The note or call of the female 
■when she is startled is a kind of bark, which, when 
heard, puts all the members of a herd on the qui vive. 
This and the succeeding species never associate together, 
for although the big koodoo may go down on the plains 
stretching away from the base of the mountains, his 
small relative never ascends to the heights on which 
he loves to dwell. They may "meet by chance," but 
I fancy the lesser koodoo would have no especial de-« 
sire to prolong the acquaintance. 
A bull koodoo will stand about thirteen hands high, 
and the horns measure sometimes as much as 6oin. along 
the curve. These, however, belong to Sottth African 
individuals, which seem to have larger horns than their 
Somali brethren. Those of the latter country rarely 
exceed 5oin. on the curve and 3ft. high, i. e., from base 
to tip.. The largest we procured were 38in. high, and 
49 along the curve. In Somali-land this fine animal 
is becoming scarce, as many are killed every year, and 
it will not be long before this fine antelope will have 
disappeared from that portion of East Africa. In South 
Africa this species is still quite numerous in the moun- 
tains in the vicinity of Delagoa Bay, and as that is one 
of the worst fever districts perhaps to be met with on 
the continent, the koodoo may be found there after the 
race has disappeared from more healthy localities. A 
fine head of a big koodoo bull is a great trophy for a 
sportsman, and all desire to possess one, but it is a 
question whether even to obtain so coveted an object 
is worth while to endanger one's life, for the African 
fever is something that one can get on just as happily 
without, even if he never obtains any knowledge of it. 
In certain parts of South Africa, such as the country 
around the Zemberi River, the big koodoo does not 
confine itself to the hills, but is found in the thick bush 
along the banks of the streams, and in the thorn jungles 
where these are abundant, in this respect being very 
different in its habits as jsracticed in Somali-land, 
where, as I have said, it is almost entirely an inhabi- 
tant of the mountains and lofty, hills. It seems to be 
a very restless animal, and wanders a great deal, trav- 
eling from one portion of a range to another, and I 
have known them to leave the Golis entirely and go 
upon the Haud, as one time three individuals were met 
with by my party some ten or fifteen miles beyond the 
Hand's northern boundary, where there were no hills, 
merely a comparatively flat plain covered by low thorn 
trees and bushes. They seemed out of place in such a 
situation, and evidently felt that way themselves, for on 
being surprised started away in the direction of 'the 
distant mountains at the best pace of which they were 
capable. The color of old bulls is a beautiful blue gray, 
that of the females and young reddish brown, both sexes 
having the body decorated with eight or nine narrow 
white stripes. 
[to be continued.] 
The Extinction of the Passenget Pigfcon, 
Being a bird lover and amateur ornithologist, I take 
an interest in anything I see written on bird life. In 
Forest and Stream a few issues since the "Extirictioii 
of the Passenger Pigeon" was written on. 
In many years I have gleaned all the information I 
could on this fine bird, which once swarmed in count- 
less millions in the eastern part of this continent. What 
has become of him has never to me been satisfactorily 
explained. 
That this species of the great pigeon family has be- 
come comparatively extinct is admitted by all who take 
an interest in such matters, and there is a reason for it, 
whether that reason is known to us or not. His being 
destroyed by storm or by the reckless slaughter of net- 
ters and shooters or any other reason I have ever heard 
I do not think correct. Once so numerous that they 
darkened the sun, it might be said of them: "As numer- 
ous as the sands of the seashore." No human slaughter 
could have annihilated them. True, the elements might 
have done so. If so, when and where was it done? It 
could not have happened on this continent without its 
being known. There can be no doubt that every animal 
which once existed on this planet and became extinct 
had a cause for its extinction; and I have for many years 
thought I knew the cause for the extinction of the pas- 
senger pigeon. I think he was literally starved to death. 
The passenger pigeon was a bird indigenous to this 
country, where he had any quantity of natttral food 
for sustenance. His home and course of travel were 
along its eastern part, which till the settlers cleared it 
tip was covered with all kinds of deciduous trees— beech, 
oak, maple, basswood and many other kinds of trees that 
bore mast in abundance which this bird fed on; 
saying nothing of the endless kinds of shrubs which also 
catered for him. The bird did not become extinct sud- 
denly. Where I live in the southern part of Ontario, 
a dense deciduous forest when I first knew it, he com- 
menced decreasing in numbers about the year 1870, and 
it took nearly or quite ten years for their almost grad- 
ual extinction. Their extinction really was more of a 
spasmodic than gradual character, but during the years 
1870 to 1880 they left that great hardwood forest, which 
once stretched, solid, from the Niagara River to the 
Detroit River, and "'have never come back any more." 
Up to perhaps 1865 to 1870 there was still sufficient 
bush to supply them food, but every year the axe was 
doing its sure and to this bird fatal work, till by and 
by enough natural food was not produced in the forest 
to maintain him, and in a few years he became extinct. 
The elements did not htirt him; neither the gun nor the 
net destroyed him. The settlers axe alone is responsible 
for his extinction. L. H. Smith. 
Strathroy, Ontario, Canada. 
A Cufiotis Fox Skin. 
Clinton, Conn., March 5. — Editor Forest and Stream: 
Joel H. Carter, a farmer residing here, shot a fox a 
few days since, the animal being so peculiarly marked 
as to excite comment from a large number of veteran 
fox hunters, by whom its skin has been viewed with 
interest. No one thus far has seen or heard of a. like in- 
stance, which does not seem to indicate albinoism, al- 
though unfortunately the eyes are not in evidence, the 
animal having been skinned and the carcass left in the 
woods. The fur is extraordinarily short at every point 
and inclined to curl. The sides of the animal are of a 
light bluish or smoky cast, while the entire under part 
of the body is pink, looking as though painted. The 
tail is unusually short and resembles somewhat that of 
a sheep, the hair being also short thereon. In color the 
tail is of a very light yellow or cream color. The head 
seems abnormally large. The inside of either ear is a 
bright bluish shade clear to the tip. 
Allen W. Jones. 
[The skin referred to above was sent on to us for 
examination, and is certainly an odd-looking specimen. 
It is woolly and short-coated over the whole body, hav- 
ing apparently lost all its long over-hair, only the short, 
close, woolly under-coat remaining. The tail appears 
extremely short, which is in part due to the loss- of the 
long hairs at its tip. The specimen having been sub- 
mitted to the eminent mammalogist. Dr. J. A. Allen, 
of the American Museum of Natural History, he has 
commented on its condition, and writes that he thinks 
"such a condition in the fox is very unusual, and that the 
specimen is decidedly abnormal." 
We find no evidence of any skin disease which might 
account for the loss of the long hair, and the time of 
the year — late February — at which the animal was killed 
would seem to show that this shedding was not a sea- 
sonal change,] 
The New Aquariam Superintendent gfives his 
own Measttfe. 
From ihe New York Sun of April 9. 
CoL. James E. Jones, whom the Park Board ap- 
pointed Superintendent of Small Parks in the Borough 
of Manhattan, began the duties of his office yesterday by 
taking charge of the Aquarium. Col. Jones was in rare 
good humor. He established quarters in Dr. Bean's 
old office on the second floor, and after arranging the 
furniture to suit his own ideas he sat down, and putting 
his feet on the desk, lit a long, fat cigar. Col. Jones is tall 
