XXIII 
GAZELLES 
The Gazelles form the largest genus of the Antelope 
subfamily. Among the characteristic features of 
gazelles should be mentioned the ringed and often lyrate 
horns ; the presence of face-glands (tear-pits) and a 
short tail. They are of moderate size dA comparison 
with other antelopes, sandy-coloured with white bellies, 
dark stripe along the flank and, as a rule, dark face- 
marks. Gazelles possess one feature impossible to 
describe either in prose or poetry, the beautiful limpidity 
of their eyes. They inhabit open and more or less desert 
districts, but in the ‘'rolling seas of grass ” of the Rift 
Valley they abound in vast numbers ; their sandy 
coloured coats harmonise well with the tall yellow grass 
which grows abundantly in the districts frequented by 
them. Species-making zoologists have endeavoured to 
separate some of the East African antelopes from the 
well-known species living in South Africa. When the 
supposed distinctions come to be critically examined 
they fail, and in many instances amount to little more 
than variations in tint. 
Naturalists and others interested in the effects of 
environment on the evolution of animal form and 
colour, will be perplexed in Eastern Ethiopia to decide 
whether the abundance of a particular species of 
antelope depends on its adaptation to a particular 
environment, or whether they flourish in such favour- 
