THE STEINBOK 
RHAPHICEROS CAMPESTRIS 
I N this species the lateral hoofs are absent, as they are in the typical 
race of Sharpe’s steinbok. In height the steinbok stands about 
twenty -two inches at the shoulder, and the males alone carry horns, 
which, though they do not average more than four inches in length, 
occasionally measure from six to seven and a half inches. 
The general body colour of the steinbok differs considerably in 
different parts of its range, varying from red-brown to silvery fawn. In 
South African examples there is usually, but not invariably, a crescent- 
shaped black mark on the crown of the head, which is, I believe, never 
found in East African specimens. The underparts are white, as are the 
backs of the thighs below the very short tail. 
From the Gape Peninsula northwards the steinbok is found everywhere 
in suitable localities as far as the Zambesi and Cunene Rivers, but beyond 
the Zambesi there is a great gap in its range, as it appears to be unknown 
both in North-Western and North-Eastern Rhodesia, as well as in the 
greater part, if not the whole of British Central Africa; but it is again met 
with in many districts of German and British East Africa. Though common 
in the open or thinly bushed country to the west of Mount Kenia, through 
which run the various tributaries of the Gwas N’yiro River, I never met 
with it in the neighbourhood of that river itself between Archer’s Post 
and the Lorian Swamp. Although the East African steinbok has been 
differentiated from the South African form and given specific rank under 
the name Rhaphiceros neumanni , the differences between the two are so 
very slight that no field naturalist is likely to admit that there is more 
than one species of steinbok in Africa which may show slight variations 
in the colour of its coat in different sections of its range. 
Though often met with in open grass lands, the steinbok is seldom found 
far away from bush or forest, and is more usually encountered amongst 
scattered bush or in thin forest. It never enters anything in the shape of 
continuous thick bush or dense jungle, nor is it ever found in mountainous 
regions. 
The steinbok appears to be independent of water, as it is found 
throughout the year in the most waterless districts of the Bechuanaland 
Protectorate and the adjacent Kalahari. It is not a gregarious species, 
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