604 
AFRICAN GAME ANIMALS 
of wild horses, do crouch flat and endeavor to escape the 
eyes of their foes; but the adults trust only to their keen 
senses and their speed for safety. Tommies frequently 
lie down, but they never seek to escape observation when 
lying down, and, on the contrary, usually seem more anxious 
and alert at such times than when standing. They seem 
to know that they are at a disadvantage when not standing. 
Their speed is great. Mr. Rainey’s greyhounds were unable 
to catch them. When pursued by an ordinary dog they 
merely play along in front of him, bounding and cutting 
pranks, and treating the whole affair as a frolic. The 
cheetah, however, can run them down, as it can every other 
animal on the face of the earth. The fawns are preyed on 
by jackals, other small beasts of prey, and eagles, the 
adults by hunting hounds and cheetahs; but they do not 
wander into the domain of the leopard and are too small 
to be eagerly pursued by the lion, the arch enemy of all 
the bigger ruminants. 
Tommies are gregarious and polygamous. They are 
found in small parties and also at times in bands of forty 
or fifty individuals; and occasionally they are found singly 
or in couples, an old buck by himself or a doe with a couple 
of fawns or a couple of young bucks. The does are pro¬ 
lific; we found fawns of every age, and sometimes one, 
sometimes two, with the mother. Tommies are grazers. 
They feed and rest alternately for a few hours at a time. 
They may be seen resting, feeding, or drinking at every hour 
of the day. They are easily tamed and make pretty and 
amusing pets. We often ran across them in the houses 
of the Boer settlers on terms of the utmost familiarity with 
the children. Normally, they are the least wild of the 
