CHAPTER VI 
THE ROAN ANTELOPE ( Hippotragus equinus) 
Arabic— Abu Uruf 
The roan was a special object in my Sudan programme, 
not merely because it represents one of the most imposing' 
of African trophies, but chiefly because my previous 
experiences with this antelope had been slight and the 
Sudan promised a better acquaintanceship. 
A characteristic of the roan is that, while widely 
distributed throughout Africa, it is nowhere common— 
common, that is, in the sense that sable, waterbuck, gnu, 
hartebeest, or impala, each in their respective areas, are 
common. I first came across the roan in Transvaal; and 
thence northwards it is known to every hunter, white 
or black, throughout Rhodesia, and onwards across the 
Equator to the verg-e of Sahara. Yet nowhere in that 
vast area is the roan really abu ndant ; everywhere it 
exists locally, yet always relatively scarce. 
To-day in the Sudan the roan is not only as abundant as 
anywhere else in Africa, but apparently reaches therein 
its highest development as a species. By inference, 
perhaps, it may have sprung - from a northern ancestry 
whose subsequent dispersal has trended southward. 
Though its actual numbers (as compared with the 
mobs of waterbuck, tiang - , and cob) are relatively small, 
yet the roan is spread evenly over the whole gfame- 
country of Sudan, including - Atbara and Dinder, Blue 
and White Niles, with their tributaries . / 
