XXIV 
GNUS AND DUIKERS 
301 
watchful, alert, and, when grazing, guarded by sentries, 
usually old bucks, with eyes as keen as those of a hawk. 
These sentinels often post themselves on an anthill in 
such excellent positions as to command the plain for a 
mile or more. Hunters dislike this animal, for it seems 
to be the self-appointed watchman of the grazing ground. 
The Head of an Adult Brindled Gnu {Connocha^es laurinus) 
and its Calf, showing the horns growing out as spikes ; they 
subsequently assume the peculiar curves characteristic of 
the adult. (Natural History Museum.) 
and its cry of warning will send various kinds of beasts, 
especially zebras, galloping over the plain. The harte- 
beest obtained its name from the early Dutch settlers in 
South Africa because it is so hardy, and so tolerant of 
severe injury. Hartebeest are common throughout the 
African Continent and they vary in form, colour and 
shape of the horns, according to age and sex. In 
