REEDBUCKS 
Reedbucks are found almost everywhere in Africa, wherever there 
are rivers, lakes, swamps or reed beds, from the sea coast to the high 
plateaux of the interior, the altitude of which may be as much as 8,000 ft. 
above sea-level, as on the Mau escarpment, in British East Africa. Their 
habits are everywhere the same, and they not only frequent reed beds, 
but open grassy valleys as well as thin forest or stony ridges, as long as 
some lake or stream is near at hand. They do not, however, go into wet, 
marshy ground if they can avoid doing so, feeding rather round the edge 
of swamps where the ground is dry. In reeds or long grass they lie very 
close, and are no doubt often passed within a few yards. On several 
occasions I have seen reedbucks standing in bush lie down when they 
saw me approaching on horseback and stretch their heads and necks out 
flat along the ground, hoping that I had not seen them and would pass 
on without noticing them. When they take to flight, or even when only 
suspicious of danger, reedbucks give a loud, sharp whistle. As they run, 
they throw up their bushy tails, exposing the white under -surface. As a 
rule, reedbucks live in pairs or in families of three or four individuals, 
but I have seen as many as eight or ten feeding near together, which all 
ran off in the same direction when disturbed; but I fancy they represented 
the members of two or three distinct families. When disturbed, reedbucks 
seldom run far before stopping to look round, and then give a good chance 
for a shot. They will not remain stationary for long, however, but, after 
whistling shrilly, will again bound off. Should a reedbuck, after it has been 
wounded, be chased on horseback, it will make for the nearest water and 
plunge into a deep pool without hesitation; but if attacked by dogs in such 
a position, it will not show fight, but will leave the water and take to flight 
again if capable of doing so. 
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