298 
EASTERN ETHIOPIA 
XXIII 
Waterbuck lie up in forests along the banks of rivers 
and feed on the open grass flats outside the belts of 
forest and are shy animals. They will seek refuge 
from pursuit in the water. Horns are present only in 
the males ; they are annulated, long, and peculiar in 
shape, and often exceed thirty inches in length. 
Several species of Waterbuck are comprised in the 
genus Cobus. Of these the largest are the common 
Waterbuck, C. ellipsprymnus, and the Defassa. The 
first mentioned antelope is not so abundant in East as 
in South Africa ; it is easily distinguished by the white 
elliptical stripe on its rump, from which its name is 
derived. The Defassa is common in British East Africa 
and Somaliland : it is a grand animal and carries hand¬ 
some horns. It is sometimes erroneously called the 
Sing-Sing. The Waterbuck ((7. unctuosus), to which this 
name belongs, lives in West Africa. Defassa is an 
Abyssinian name. 
The smaller species of Waterbuck are known as Kobs. 
There are three well-known species in Eastern Ethiopia. 
The Uganda Kob ((7. thomasi ); the White-eared Kob 
(C. leucotis) \ and Mrs. Grays Kob ((7. maria). All 
these are pretty and graceful antelopes. The Uganda 
Kol.) is very common around the northern shore of the 
Victoria Nyanza ; the Baganda often use its antlers to 
ornament the prows of their boats (see p. 50). Mrs. 
Gray’s Kob has a darker coat than is usual among 
Waterbuck, and its horns resemble those of the Impalla ; 
it lives in the swamps of the Mdiite Nile. 
