XII 
THE FAUNA OF SOMALILAND 
317 
Both kinds are fond of salt, but do not want water, and it is 
hard to understand what they can pick up to eat in the wretched 
ground frequented by them. They generally avoid thick bush, 
and have curiosity which amounts to impudence, but are 
wonderfully on the alert and hard to shoot, seeming to know the 
range of a rifle, and presenting a small target. 
The Klipspringer ( Oreotragus saltator) 
Somali name, Alahud 
These small antelopes live in the most rugged mountains, 
poising themselves on large boulders and leaping from rock to 
rock. They are neither shy nor hard to shoot. Golis and 
KLIPSPRINGER ( Oreotragus saltator). 
Length of horns, 3J inches. 
Assa Ranges, and the hills near Gebili, are the best ground in 
which to look for them. Alahud go in twos and threes. The 
longest horns I saw in Somaliland were about three and a half 
inches in length. The females are hornless. The coat is very 
coarse, resembling that of no other antelope ; the hairs being 
almost like quills, and so loosely planted in the skin that it is 
difficult to preserve a specimen. The hoofs are also peculiar, 
being nearly cylindrical, and cup-shaped underneath. 
