504 
AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 
some master bull of failing thews; whereupon the latter, in 
his turn, begins a life of solitude. The master bull is not 
generally the herd leader; this function, as with the American 
wapiti, is usually performed by some old and wary cow. 
The carriage of the waterbuck is like that of the wapiti, 
proud and graceful, with the neck erect, instead of held 
almost in line with the back, as with the oryx; this 
proud port, and the long, shaggy hair, give it a look like 
that of some big northern stag. White waterbuck are in 
certain places not uncommon; it is certainly a singular thing 
that in a land teeming with beasts of prey any individual 
of such a strikingly conspicuous color should be able to 
reach maturity, and, as is frequently the case, to breed. I 
heard of one white waterbuck cow with a calf of the ordinary 
color. 
The waterbuck is not a water antelope in the sense that 
is true of the lechwi and sitatunga. It lives on dry land, 
feeding and resting among the trees and bushes. But it is 
never found very far from water, and when hunted it takes 
to the water readily, even when there are crocodiles near; 
it swims well and boldly, and if hunted by dogs it will, if 
possible, come to bay in a pool. In the early morning we 
found waterbuck feeding a mile or two from any cover, on 
the bare, short-grass plains of the Athi, but when alarmed 
they at once fled for the trees along the river course. In one 
instance we found a small party of waterbuck taking a 
siesta under some small, almost leafless thorn-trees, miles 
away from water, on a bare plain swarming with zebra. 
Ordinarily, however, the waterbuck keeps to the groves and 
glades, feeding and resting alternately at all hours through 
the day and night. The cow keeps by herself for a few days 
