WILDEBEEST 
27 
CH. l] 
But what I really wanted were two good specimens, 
bull and cow, of the wildebeest. These powerful, un¬ 
gainly beasts, a variety of the brindled gnu or blue 
wildebeest of South Africa, are interesting creatures of 
queer, eccentric habits. With their shaggy manes, heavy 
forequarters, and generally bovine look, they remind 
one somewhat of our bison at a distance ; but of course 
they are much less bulky, a big old bull in prime con¬ 
dition rarely reaching a weight of seven hundred pounds. 
They are beasts of the open plains, ever alert and wary. 
The cows, with their calves and one or more herd-bulls, 
keep in parties of several score ; the old bulls, singly or 
two or three together, keep by themselves or with herds 
of zebra, hartebeest, or gazelle ; for one of the interesting 
features of African wild life is the close association and 
companionship so often seen between totally different 
species of game. Wildebeest are as savage as they are 
suspicious; when wounded they do not hesitate to 
charge a man who comes close, although of course 
neither they nor any other antelopes can be called 
dangerous when in a wild state, any more than moose 
or other deer can be called dangerous ; when tame, 
however, wildebeest are very dangerous indeed—more 
so than an ordinary domestic bull. The wild, queer¬ 
looking creatures prance and rollick and cut strange 
capers when a herd first makes up its mind to flee from 
a stranger’s approach ; and even a solitary bull will 
sometimes plunge and buck as it starts to gallop off; 
while a couple of bulls, when the herd is frightened, 
may relieve their feelings by a moment’s furious battle, 
occasionally dropping to their knees before closing. At 
this time, the end of April, there were little calves with 
the herds of cows ; but in many places in Equatorial 
Africa the various species of antelopes seem to have no 
