XII 
THE FAUNA OF SOMALILAND 
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stretching themselves out at racing speed, and drawing up in a 
troop now and then to gaze. 
If much meat is required, it is easy in scattered bush for a 
man on foot to run into a large herd and shoot several. The 
bucks will often be seen fighting or chasing each other at full 
speed. Solitary bucks are sometimes found, and I once saw 
about fifteen young fawns gathered together a mile away from 
the main herd. The largest herd I have ever seen in the 
BulMr Plain contained about two hundred individuals, but I 
have seen over a thousand together in the open plains of the 
Haud. 
Aoul can live a long way from water. Near the coast they 
often come down close to the shore, possibly to lick the salt 
pebbles. A wounded buck does not hide, but will lie down in 
the most open spot he can find, and there will generally be a 
circle of jackals waiting round him. They can sometimes be 
easily shot at dusk, when they are apt to blunder close to a 
caravan. The horns vary in shape, and are often malformed or 
wanting in symmetry, being generally lyrate, the points turning 
inwards and forwards. The largest pair I have seen measured 
seventeen inches, following the curve ; the average is about 
fourteen inches. 
The Guban ok Lowland Gazelle ( Gazella pelzelni ) 
The Ogo or Plateau Gazelle ( Gazella spekei) 
Native name of both, Dero. 
The plateau gazelle, which has the ridges of loose skin over 
the nose well developed, inhabits the elevated country, com- 
mencing about thirty-five miles inland. It is found south of 
G61is, in Ogo and in the Haud, as well as in Ogo-Guban, the 
country near Hargeisa where Guban rises gradually into Ogo. 
I have shot numbers of gazelles for food at various times, and 
have always noticed that the plateau variety has a much thicker 
and longer coat than the other. This is possibly the result of 
natural selection, as the high plains of Ogo and the Haud, wdiere 
it lives, are subject to sweeping cold winds, and the nights very 
cold. The altitude of these plains inhabited by the plateau 
gazelle is from three thousand to over six thousand feet, but 
doubtless they go much lower towards Ogaden. The great step 
