SWAYNE’S HARTEBEEST 
BUBALISS WAYNEI 
T HIS species is undoubtedly very nearly related to the Tora, 
there being but very slight differences between the horn growth 
and skull measurements of the two forms. In colour, however, 
the two species differ very considerably, for whereas the Tora 
is of a uniform yellowish red, Swayne’s hartebeest is on the 
body of a dark brown, with black patches on the shoulders 
and thighs, as in the Cape hartebeest, whilst the face is also black. 
From the few measurements which have been hitherto recorded by 
sportsmen, Swayne’s hartebeest would also appear to be a somewhat 
smaller animal than the Tora. Swayne’s hartebeest was first discovered 
some thirty years ago by Colonel (now Lieutenant-General) H. G. C. 
Swayne, after whom it was named, on the Haud plateau of Northern 
Somaliland. In this district this species seems to have once been extra- 
ordinarily plentiful, as Colonel Swayne speaks of it as “ running in herds 
of five hundred, or sometimes even a thousand,” and also states that ' 
“ hundreds of single bulls would at the same time be scattered over the 
plains between the herds grazing or lying down.” It is to be feared, however, 
that of late years these great herds of hartebeests in Somaliland have 
been very much thinned out. The range of Swayne’s hartebeest appears 
to extend westwards into Southern Abyssinia as far as Lake Zwai, and 
southwards into the Galla country. 
Though sometimes met with in the thinly -bushed country surrounding 
the high plains of Somaliland, Swayne’s hartebeest seems to have always 
been by predilection an inhabitant of open grass land. It also appears to 
have been independent of water during the dry, rainless season. Like all 
other hartebeests, it is spoken of as being very fleet and enduring if pursued 
on horseback. 
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