Chapter 9

Hab.Southern Somaliland, north bank of River Tana.

Fig. 7a.Head ofDamaliscus hunteri.(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 373.)

Fig. 7a.

Head ofDamaliscus hunteri.

(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 373.)

We take this species ofDamaliscusfirst in the present work because it is clearly divergent from the typical members of the genus, as seen in the Blessbok and Bontebok, and approaches in some respects the genusBubalis.It is, however, as already pointed out, quite different from all the other species of both these genera in the shape of its horns, and is also unique in exhibiting the curious white line between the eyes across the forehead, which renders it easily recognizable.

Fig. 7b.Skull and horns ofDamaliscus hunteri, ♂ ad.(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 374.)

Fig. 7b.

Skull and horns ofDamaliscus hunteri, ♂ ad.

(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 374.)

Fig. 7c.Skull and horns ofDamaliscus hunteri, ♀ ad.(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 375.)

Fig. 7c.

Skull and horns ofDamaliscus hunteri, ♀ ad.

(P. Z. S. 1889, p. 375.)

Hunter’s Antelope has been called after its discoverer Mr. H. C. V. Hunter, F.Z.S., who met with it under the following circumstances:—

In the year after Sir Robert Harvey’s celebrated sporting-expedition to Kilimanjaro (in 1886–87), of which Sir John Willoughby has given us the history in his well-known volume on ‘East Africa and its Big Game,’ Sir Robert returned to Mombasa in company with Mr. Greenfield and Mr. Hunter, and, after another visit to the “Hunter’s Paradise of Taveta,” near Kilimanjaro, made a second trip, in quest of sport, up the valley of the River Tana, which forms the northern boundary of the dominions of the Imperial British East-African Company. Of this excursion Sir Robert prepared a short account, which has been printed as an appendix to the above-mentioned work. The party arrived at the mouth of the Tana in September, and proceeded up the river in boats to Golbanto, where they were hospitably received at the mission-station on the river. Leaving Golbanto on September 28th they reached, about ten days later, a village called Durani, some 150 miles from the mouth of the river. Here on the north bank Mr. Hunter, on October 16th, shot the first specimen of the Antelope which now bears his name, and immediately proceeded to take the photograph of its head, from which the accompanying engraving (fig. 7a, p. 54) was taken. Other examples of this species were subsequently procured by Mr. Hunter and Mr. Greenfield. These include two heads (male and female) which are now in Sclater’s custody, and on which he established the species, and the mounted specimen which is now in the gallery of the British Museum. We are not aware that besides the examples procured on this occasion any other specimens of this rare and interesting Antelope have ever been brought to Europe.

The female Hunter’s Antelope differs from the male in its rather smaller size and in its longer and more slender horns, as shown in the accompanying woodcuts (figs. 7band 7c) kindly lent to us by the Zoological Society of London.

Mr. Hunter’s field notes on this Antelope (as supplied by him to Sclater) are as follows:—

“We first met with this Antelope about 150 miles up the Tana River. It is only found for certain on the north bank of the river. It frequents the grassy plains principally, but I have also often seen it in thin thorny bush. It is generally met with in herds of from 15 to 25 individuals.

“At the time of the year when I came across them (October and November) I saw several young ones in the herds. The banks of the Tana River arefringed with a thin belt of forest, then the ground rises slightly and one sees extensive plains dotted here and there with large patches of bush, composed principally of euphorbias and aloes. The Lesser Koodoo (Strepsiceros imberbis) lives principally in these patches, and feeds outside of them in the early mornings and evenings. When I first saw the new Antelope I was stalking two examples ofGazella walleri, and though I saw the Hunter’s Antelope in the distance I mistook them for Impálas, which, however, are not found on the Tana on either bank.

“It was only when I fired at the Gazelles, and the Hunter’s Antelopes (a pair of young males) ran away, that I noticed that they were something new to me. They ran with rather a heavy gallop, like a Hartebeest. I then had a very long track after them, and managed to kill the young male which I first sent you.

“We did not come across these Antelopes again for some days, but then met with them in large numbers and got several specimens. They seemed to me to have more vitality than any other Antelope I have ever killed. This species certainly does not extend down to the coast, but we saw them as far as the furthest point we reached (about 250 miles) up the river, at a place called Mussa. Their Galla name is ‘Herola,’ not ‘Haranta’ as given in your original description.”

May, 1894.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. VII.Wolf del. Smit lith.Hanhart imp.The Korrigum.DAMALISCUS KORRIGUM.Published by R. H. Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. VII.

Wolf del. Smit lith.

Hanhart imp.

The Korrigum.

DAMALISCUS KORRIGUM.

Published by R. H. Porter.

Antilope senegalensis,Children, Denh. & Clapp. Trav., App. p. 192 (1826) (necCuv.);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. v. p. 447 (1855).Damalis senegalensis,Ham. Sm.Griff. Cuv. An. K. iv. p. 351, v. p. 363 (1827);Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 59 (1847);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 140;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 21, pl. xxi. (♀) (1850);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 244 (1862);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 115 (1873);Matschie, Nat. Wochenschr. 1894, p. 417.Antilope korrigum,Ogilb.P. Z. S. 1836, p. 103.Damalis korrigum,Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 158 (1843);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 145 (1847).Bubalis senegalensis,Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1853);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217, plate (animal) (1880).Alcelaphus senegalensis,Lyd.Field, lxxvii. p. 858 (1891).Bubalis korrigum,Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 201 (1893).

Antilope senegalensis,Children, Denh. & Clapp. Trav., App. p. 192 (1826) (necCuv.);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. v. p. 447 (1855).

Damalis senegalensis,Ham. Sm.Griff. Cuv. An. K. iv. p. 351, v. p. 363 (1827);Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 59 (1847);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 140;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 21, pl. xxi. (♀) (1850);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 244 (1862);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 115 (1873);Matschie, Nat. Wochenschr. 1894, p. 417.

Antilope korrigum,Ogilb.P. Z. S. 1836, p. 103.

Damalis korrigum,Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 158 (1843);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 145 (1847).

Bubalis senegalensis,Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1853);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217, plate (animal) (1880).

Alcelaphus senegalensis,Lyd.Field, lxxvii. p. 858 (1891).

Bubalis korrigum,Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 201 (1893).

Vernacular Name:—Korrigumin Bornou (Denham & Clapperton).

Size medium. General colour reddish fawn, with distinct black patches on face, shoulders, hips, and thighs. No dorsal dark line, and no dark markings on feet. Tail barely reaching to hock, its terminal third with a blackish crest along the top.

Skull heavily built; its basal length (♂) 14·8 inches, greatest breadth 5·7, muzzle to eye 10·8.

Horns thick, rising abruptly upwards and backwards from the skull, and evenly curving backwards, diverging as they go; their extreme tips showinga tendency to be recurved upwards. Good male horns are of a length over the curves of 21 inches.

This and the two next species are very closely allied in all their essential characters; but their colour-differences appear to be sufficiently constant in their respective localities to entitle them to specific recognition.

Hab.Senegambia and the interior of West Africa.

The Antelope described by Buffon, in his ‘Histoire Naturelle,’ as the “Koba”[7]or “Grande Vache Brune” of Senegal, has proved a great stumbling-block to naturalists. This has been largely due to the fact that Buffon appended to his description of the Koba the figure of some horns from a totally different source, and clearly of a different animal, which, indeed, we believe to have been simply those of the Pallah (Æpyceros melampus). Not noticing this confusion, many good authorities have identified the Koba with the present species, while others have been inclined to refer it, owing to the figure of the horns erroneously given by Buffon, to the Bontebok of the Cape and to other Antelopes. The description by itself is quite unrecognizable, and under the circumstances, as the matter must ever remain uncertain, the best course seems to be to ignore Buffon’s animal altogether, and to reject the specific nameskobaandsenegalensisthat have been founded upon it; although there can be no doubt that the Korrigum, as now described, is theAntilopeandDamalis senegalensisof Children, Hamilton Smith, Gray, and many other authors.

This being decided, the proper name to adopt for this Antelope will bekorrigumof Ogilby. Ogilby proposed this name in a communication made to the Zoological Society of London in 1836, basing it on the head and horns brought home from Bornou by Denham and Clapperton on their return from their celebrated expedition into Central Africa in 1822–24. This skull is still in the collection of the British Museum.

About the year 1840 Whitfield, a collector employed by Lord Derby toprocure living animals for his private Menagerie, obtained specimens of the Korrigum from the vicinity of Macarthy’s Island on the River Gambia, and brought them safely to Knowsley. Here they seem to have thriven and reproduced their kind, for on reference to the ‘Gleanings’ (published in 1850) there will be found a beautiful coloured figure by Waterhouse Hawkins of a mother and young of this Antelope drawn from life. It is a great misfortune that so few records were ever kept or, at all events, ever published of the many fine and rare animals living in this splendid collection. In the Derby Museum, now at Liverpool, are two mounted specimens of this Antelope—we believe the only perfect examples in this country. They are, no doubt, individuals formerly living in the Knowsley Menagerie.

Herr Matschie is inclined to believe that certain specimens of aDamaliscusrecently obtained by German collectors on the north and west of Lake Victoria should be referred to the present species, and not toD. jimela. This, if correct, would indicate a much greater extension of the area of the Korrigum towards the east than we should consider to be probable, and further evidence on the subject is much wanted.

Besides the skulls of both sexes obtained in Bornou by Denham and Clapperton, there are other skulls of this species in the National Collection, procured by Whitfield on the Gambia, and, more recently, in the same district by Dr. Percy Rendall. We much regret that we have no further details to offer upon this fine and interesting Antelope, of the life-history of which, as is the case with most of the West-African Antelopes, we know exceedingly little. The figure of this species (Plate VII.) was put upon the stone by Mr. Smit from a drawing by Mr. Wolf, probably taken from the specimens at Liverpool; but upon this point we are not quite certain.

January, 1895.

Bubalus lunatus,Sund.K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1842, pp. 201 & 243 (1843) (necBurch.).Bubalis koba,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 209 (1846);id.Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 83 (1848) (necErxl.).Damalis tiang,Heugl.Ant. u. Büff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leopold. xxx. pt. ii.) p. 22, pl. 1. fig. 1 (head) (♂) (1863);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Matsch.SB. nat. Freund. Berl. 1892, p. 136 (distribution).Damalis tiang-riel,Heugl.tom. cit. p. 23, pl. ii. fig. 9 (horns) (♀);Fitz.loc. cit.Damalis senegalensis,Heugl.tom. cit. p. 22;Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (3) iv. p. 296 (1859) (Bahr-el-Ghazal, Petherick);Baker, Ismailia, pp. 68, 74.Antilope senegalensis,Emin, Reise-Briefen, p. 144 (Magungo) (?).

Bubalus lunatus,Sund.K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1842, pp. 201 & 243 (1843) (necBurch.).

Bubalis koba,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 209 (1846);id.Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 83 (1848) (necErxl.).

Damalis tiang,Heugl.Ant. u. Büff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leopold. xxx. pt. ii.) p. 22, pl. 1. fig. 1 (head) (♂) (1863);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Matsch.SB. nat. Freund. Berl. 1892, p. 136 (distribution).

Damalis tiang-riel,Heugl.tom. cit. p. 23, pl. ii. fig. 9 (horns) (♀);Fitz.loc. cit.

Damalis senegalensis,Heugl.tom. cit. p. 22;Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (3) iv. p. 296 (1859) (Bahr-el-Ghazal, Petherick);Baker, Ismailia, pp. 68, 74.

Antilope senegalensis,Emin, Reise-Briefen, p. 144 (Magungo) (?).

Vernacular Names:—TiangandTian(Heuglin).

Size rather smaller than that of the Korrigum. General colour purplish red; the face, a line beneath the eye, another along the nape and back brown or black; front of the limbs and tip of the tail deep black.

Skull with a comparatively short nasal region, the nasal bones themselves unusually short and broad. Measurements (♀):—basal length 13·8 inches, greatest breadth 5·75, muzzle to eye 10·2.

Horns as in the Korrigum; those of a female 20·5 inches in length over the curve.

The colour-characters above given are taken from Heuglin’s description and figure, as no skin has been seen by us. A skull obtained by Consul Petherick on the Bahr-el-Ghazal has, however, furnished the cranial dimensions.

Hab.Sennaar, Kordofan, and Bahr-el-Ghazal.

The Tiang, as the well-known German traveller and naturalist Theodorvon Heuglin proposed to call this Antelope, after its native name, is a representative form of the Korrigum in the upper valley of the Nile, and, so far as we are acquainted with it at present, agrees in all essential respects with its West-African ally, except in its slightly smaller bulk, and some differences in the black markings on the face and limbs. The Tiang, Topi, and Korrigum have been until lately generally regarded as conspecific; but in 1892 Herr Paul Matschie, of the Royal Natural History Museum of Berlin,came to the conclusion that previous authors had been in error in uniting the present animal and its allied forms of West and East Africa respectively under one head, and that they should be distinguished as different species. We follow Herr Matschie’s lead on this question, and have little doubt that his views will ultimately prove to be correct, although, from the great scarcity of specimens of all these Antelopes in European collections, it is not possible at present to arrive at a positive decision.

Fig. 8.Skull ofDamaliscus tiang, ♀.

Fig. 8.

Skull ofDamaliscus tiang, ♀.

The Stockholm Museum appears to have been the first to receive examples of this Antelope; but Sundevall referred them first of all to the Sassaby (Bubalis lunata), and, when he found that this was quite wrong, named themBubalis koba, supposing them to be identical with the West-African Korrigum. Sundevall’s specimens were received from Sennaar, and are accurately described in his classical memoir on the “Pecora.”

As already mentioned, v. Heuglin met with this Antelope during his lengthened explorations on the Upper Nile and its affluents. He described it in his memoir on the Antelopes and Buffaloes of North-east Africa (published in 1863 in the ‘Nova Acta’ of the Leopoldino-Carolinian Academy) asDamalis tiang, and tells us that it is one of the commonest Antelopes on the Sobat, Ghasal, and Kir rivers. He gives a coloured figure of its head. Whether v. Heuglin’sDamalis tiang-riel, described in the same memoir (based on some horns from the Bahr el Abiad), is referable to the Tiang is not quite certain, but Sclater, who has examined the horns upon which the species was founded, now in the Naturalien-Cabinet of Stuttgardt, believes them to be so.

The only other explorer of these distant regions who has sent home examples of the Tiang is, so far as we know, Petherick, from whom skulls of an immature male and an adult female of this Antelope were received by the British Museum in 1859. The latter are represented in the accompanying figure (fig. 8).

Besides Petherick, Sir Samuel Baker appears to have met with the Tiang during his journey along the Upper Nile (see ‘Ismailia,’ i. pp. 68–74); and theAntilope senegalensisof Emin Pasha (‘Reise-Briefen,’ p. 144), which he encountered near Magungo, on the Albert Nyanza, may probably be referable to this species.

January, 1895.

Damalis senegalensis,Scl.P. Z. S. 1886, p. 176 (Lamu);Noack, Zool. JB. ii. p. 208 (1887);Scl.P. Z. S. 1890, p. 354 (woodcuts of head and horns, excl. all synonyms, which mostly belong toD. korrigumandD. tiang);Kirk, ap.Scl.l. c. p. 357, footnote (distribution);Ward, Horn Meas. p. 64, fig. (head) (1892).Damalis jimela,Matsch.SB. nat. Fr. Berl. 1892, p. 135.Bubalis jimeru,Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 203 (1893).Alcelaphus senegalensis,Lugard, E. Africa, i. p. 532, pl. p. 448 (head) (1893).Senegal Antelope,Willoughby, East Afr. p. 283 (Tana River).

Damalis jimela,Matsch.SB. nat. Fr. Berl. 1892, p. 135.

Bubalis jimeru,Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 203 (1893).

Alcelaphus senegalensis,Lugard, E. Africa, i. p. 532, pl. p. 448 (head) (1893).

Senegal Antelope,Willoughby, East Afr. p. 283 (Tana River).

Vernacular Names:—Jimelaof Uniamwezi (Matschie);Topi,Tope, orTopeeof Swahili;Nemiraof Uganda (Lugard).

Size small, height at withers 43–44 inches. Fur very short and close, but mingled with it there are numerous patches of longer hairs, so that a somewhat brindled appearance is produced. General colour a peculiar purplish brown, blackish on face and chin, shoulders, and round the upper fore legs and thighs, but these darker markings are not really black and are not sharply defined. Hams scarcely lighter than the rest. Limbs and feet without dark patches, except that the backs of the pasterns are black. Fur on face directed upwards, from the extreme tip between the nostrils up to the horns, without break. Tail reaching just to the hock, its terminal half black-crested.

Skull comparatively small, with an unusually long nasal region; the nasal bones very long and narrow. Basal length (♀) 13·3 inches, greatest breadth 5·2, muzzle to orbit 9·5.

Horns as in the Korrigum, but shorter and slenderer; those of a female 16·4 inches in length.

Hab.British East-African coast, from the River Juba to the River Sabaki, and extending thence into Uganda and Uniamwezi.

The “Topi,” as we propose to designate another local representative of the Korrigum, from the native name given to it by the Swahili, has been known for some years to the sportsmen who have visited British and German East Africa as an abundant Antelope in certain districts, and has been generally called by them the “Senegal Antelope,” from being supposed to be the same as the “Korrigum.” But, as Herr Matschie first pointed out, it differs from the typical Senegal form in the absence of the black band on the inner side of the thigh, in the front legs being black down to the hoofs, and in the restriction of the black on the hinder flanks to the hips.

So far as we know, Sir John Kirk, then Consul-General at Zanzibar, was the first to obtain examples of this fine Antelope on the East Coast. Sir John has kindly supplied us with the following notes on this species:—

“The ‘Tope,’ or Senegal Antelope, was very common on the maritime plain of Formosa Bay when I first went to Zanzibar in 1866; before I left, in 1886, it had become rather rare near the coast. On the maritime plain it used to be seen in numerous herds of from 5 to 20. The herds of Tope generally kept alone, but you would see the herds ofGazella grantigrazing near by. I am, however, not satisfied that this Gazelle was the realGazella granti, for the horns seem to show a permanent difference of sweep.

“However, to return to the Tope, I may say that I shot it again on the south bank of the River Juba.

“The River Sabaki (near Malindi) is, so far as I know, the southern limit of the specieson the coast; I have little doubt that further inland it may be met with further south, just as you find the Oryx, the Vulturine Guinea-fowl, and other species (which never occur south of the River Sabakion the coast), to be common if you go inland, and in a latitude far south of Malindi, such as at Mpwapwa in Usagara.

“The Tope was at one time so common near Witu, and in the district about Lamu, as to supply a considerable number of hides that were exported from Zanzibar.”

In 1885 Mr. F. J. Jackson obtained examples of this Antelope near Lamu, and transmitted to Lord Walsingham a head, which Sclater exhibited at one of the Zoological Society’s meetings in 1886. During his subsequent stay inBritish East Africa and on his journey to Uganda Mr. Jackson again met with this Antelope, and tells us (‘Big Game Shooting,’ vol. i. p. 291) that it is the “commonest species in the Galla country, and ranges from the coast right away N.E. to Uganda, passing round to the north of Mount Kenia, but is not known either in Leikipia or south of Lake Baringo.”

Fig. 9.Skull ofDamaliscus jimela, from Lamu.(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 356.)

Fig. 9.

Skull ofDamaliscus jimela, from Lamu.

(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 356.)

Fig. 9a.Head ofDamaliscus jimela, from Malindi.(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 355.)

Fig. 9a.

Head ofDamaliscus jimela, from Malindi.

(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 355.)

In 1890 Sclater exhibited at one of the meetings of the Zoological Society a head of this Antelope obtained near Malindi by Commander Montgomerie, R.N.

At that time Sclater did not distinguish between this species and the two allied forms, and referred them all three toDamalis senegalensis, which he believed to extend from Senegal to the east coast.

Mr. Ernest Gedge, the companion of Mr. Jackson in his Uganda expedition, has favoured us with the following interesting notes on this Antelope:—

“Though the Topee ranges over a very wide extent of the country in the sphere of British East Africa, it is met with in no great numbers between the coast and the Victoria Lake. The nearest point to the coast-line at which I have seen and obtained specimens was a short distance north of Kikumbuliu, on the borders of the Kiboko River. In this district it is only occasionally met with, and is generally found in company with Hartebeest. Further north, in the vast plains amongst the stony hills of Turquel and Karamojo, and round the bases of Mts. Elgon and Lekakisera, it is fairly common, scattered in twos and threes amongst the herds of Hartebeest. Further northwards, in the countries lying to the west and north of Uganda proper, and indeed throughout the whole district bordering the Victoria Nyanza in this direction, it is very common, and on one occasion when traversing a plain of considerable extent in the district of Buddu I encountered several fine herds of this Antelope. It differs very little from the Hartebeest in its general habits, and, like them, it is usually shy and difficult to approach. It is easily distinguished from the latter species by the rich dark bluish-brown coat, the smaller head, and the shape of its horns, which have, on more than one occasion, caused it to be mistaken for the Sable Antelope (Hippotragus niger). It appears to be equally at home in swampy localities as on the dry open plains, though it shows a certain partiality for those districts which afford some cover.”

Passing now to German East Africa, we find that this Antelope, according to Herr Matschie, was met with by Böhm in Uniamwezi, south of Lake Victoria. Here it is the “Jimela” of the natives, which term Herr Matschie has adopted as its specific designation. In a recent letter, however, Herr Matschie tells Sclater that the specimens of this Antelope lately obtained by Herr Oscar Neumann in Kavirondo and other localities west of Lake Victoria, and by Lieut. Werther on the Rovana Steppe near Speke Gulf, more nearly resembleD. korrigumof the West Coast, but it seems to us hardly possible that the western form should extend so far.

It is certain, however, that we have much more to learn concerning thedistribution of this Antelope and its allied forms before the question of their specific relations and the areas which they respectively occupy can be deemed settled.

Besides the skull from the Juba, received from Sir John Kirk, the British Museum possesses a mounted specimen of the adult male of this Antelope obtained by Mr. Jackson in the Kilimanjaro district in 1893, and a flat skin procured by the same gentleman near Malindi.

January, 1895.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. VIIIWolf del. Smit lith.Hanhart imp.The Bontebok.DAMALISCUS PYGARGUS.Published by R. H. Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. VIII

Wolf del. Smit lith.

Hanhart imp.

The Bontebok.

DAMALISCUS PYGARGUS.

Published by R. H. Porter.

Antilope dorcas,Pall.Misc. Zool. p. 6 (1766) (necCapra dorcas, L.).Antilope pygarga,Pall.Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 10 (1767), fasc. xii. p. 15 (1777);Erxl.Syst. R. A. p. 287 (1777);Zimm.Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 119 (1780);Gatt.Brev. Zool. i. p. 82 (1780);Schreb.Säug. pl. cclxxiii. (1784);Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 143 (1785);Gmel.Linn. S. N. i. p. 187 (1788);Kerr, Linn. An. K. p. 311 (1792);Donnd.Zool. Beytr. p. 628 (1792);Bechst.Uebers. vierf. Thiere, i. p. 87, ii. p. 644 (1800);Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 352 (1801);Turt.Linn. S. N. i. p. 113 (1802);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv. tabl. p. 33 (1804);G. Cuv.Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 233 (1804);Licht.Mag. nat. Freund. Berl. vi. p. 166 (1814);G. Fisch.Zoogn. iii. p. 435 (1814);Afzel.N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 186 (1816);Goldf.in Schreb. Säug. v. p. 1187 (1820);Schinz, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 388 (1821);Desm.Mamm. ii. p. 456 (1822);Desmoul.Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 443 (1822);Burch.List Quadr. pres. to B. M. p. 5 (1825) (Swellendam);Less.Man. Mamm. p. 373 (1827);Smuts, Enum. Mamm. Cap. p. 73 (1832);Waterh.Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 41 (1838);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 412 (1844), v. p. 447 (1855);Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 402 (1845).Capra cervicapra,Müll.Naturs. i. p.414 (1773) (necL.).Antilope grisea,Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 139 (1785).Capra scripta,Thunb.Resa, ii. p. 50 (1789); Engl. Transl. ii. p. 44 (1793) (necAntilope scripta, Pall.).Antilope maculata,Thunb.Mém. Ac. Pétersb. iii. p. 315 (1811).Cerophorus (Gazella) pygarga,Blainv.Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, p. 75.Cemas pygargus,Oken, Lehrb. Naturgesch. iii. pt. 2, p. 738 (1816).Antilope personata,Woods, Zool. Journ. v. p. 2 (1835) (young).Gazella pygarga,Harr.Wild Anim. S. Afr. (fol.) pl. xvii. (animal) (1840);Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 161 (1843).Damalis pygarga,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 59 (1847);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 141;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 21, pl. xx. fig. 3 (young), pl. xxii. figs. 2 & 3 (adult) (1850);id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 127 (1852);Layard, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 77 (1861);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 244 (1862);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Layard, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 625, footnote (scarcity);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45, pl. iii. fig. 6 (skull) (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 116 (1873);Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 140 (1887);id.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 171 (1892);Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 32, pl. vii. fig. 27 (head) (1892).Bubalis pygarga,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 209 (1846);id.ibid. Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 84 (1848);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1852);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217 (1880);Ward, Horn Meas. p. 69 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 202 (1893).Alcelaphus pygargus,Scl.List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 150 (1883);Flow. & Gars.Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg. p. 273 (1884);Bryden, Kloof and Karroo, p. 295 (1889); Flow. & Lyd. Mamm. p. 335 (1891).White-faced Antelope,Penn.Hist. of Quad. i. p. 82.

Antilope dorcas,Pall.Misc. Zool. p. 6 (1766) (necCapra dorcas, L.).

Antilope pygarga,Pall.Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 10 (1767), fasc. xii. p. 15 (1777);Erxl.Syst. R. A. p. 287 (1777);Zimm.Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 119 (1780);Gatt.Brev. Zool. i. p. 82 (1780);Schreb.Säug. pl. cclxxiii. (1784);Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 143 (1785);Gmel.Linn. S. N. i. p. 187 (1788);Kerr, Linn. An. K. p. 311 (1792);Donnd.Zool. Beytr. p. 628 (1792);Bechst.Uebers. vierf. Thiere, i. p. 87, ii. p. 644 (1800);Shaw, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 352 (1801);Turt.Linn. S. N. i. p. 113 (1802);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv. tabl. p. 33 (1804);G. Cuv.Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p. 233 (1804);Licht.Mag. nat. Freund. Berl. vi. p. 166 (1814);G. Fisch.Zoogn. iii. p. 435 (1814);Afzel.N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815);Desm.N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 186 (1816);Goldf.in Schreb. Säug. v. p. 1187 (1820);Schinz, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 388 (1821);Desm.Mamm. ii. p. 456 (1822);Desmoul.Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 443 (1822);Burch.List Quadr. pres. to B. M. p. 5 (1825) (Swellendam);Less.Man. Mamm. p. 373 (1827);Smuts, Enum. Mamm. Cap. p. 73 (1832);Waterh.Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 41 (1838);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 412 (1844), v. p. 447 (1855);Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 402 (1845).

Capra cervicapra,Müll.Naturs. i. p.414 (1773) (necL.).

Antilope grisea,Bodd.Elench. Anim. p. 139 (1785).

Capra scripta,Thunb.Resa, ii. p. 50 (1789); Engl. Transl. ii. p. 44 (1793) (necAntilope scripta, Pall.).

Antilope maculata,Thunb.Mém. Ac. Pétersb. iii. p. 315 (1811).

Cerophorus (Gazella) pygarga,Blainv.Bull. Soc. Philom. 1816, p. 75.

Cemas pygargus,Oken, Lehrb. Naturgesch. iii. pt. 2, p. 738 (1816).

Antilope personata,Woods, Zool. Journ. v. p. 2 (1835) (young).

Gazella pygarga,Harr.Wild Anim. S. Afr. (fol.) pl. xvii. (animal) (1840);Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 161 (1843).

Damalis pygarga,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.List Ost. B. M. p. 59 (1847);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 141;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 21, pl. xx. fig. 3 (young), pl. xxii. figs. 2 & 3 (adult) (1850);id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 127 (1852);Layard, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 77 (1861);Gerr.Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 244 (1862);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Layard, P. Z. S. 1871, p. 625, footnote (scarcity);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45, pl. iii. fig. 6 (skull) (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 116 (1873);Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 140 (1887);id.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 171 (1892);Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 32, pl. vii. fig. 27 (head) (1892).

Bubalis pygarga,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 209 (1846);id.ibid. Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 84 (1848);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1852);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217 (1880);Ward, Horn Meas. p. 69 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 202 (1893).

Alcelaphus pygargus,Scl.List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 150 (1883);Flow. & Gars.Cat. Ost. Coll. Surg. p. 273 (1884);Bryden, Kloof and Karroo, p. 295 (1889); Flow. & Lyd. Mamm. p. 335 (1891).

White-faced Antelope,Penn.Hist. of Quad. i. p. 82.

Vernacular Name:—Bontebokof Dutch and English colonists.

Height at withers about 40 inches. Ground-colour of body, as seen on the anterior half of the back, rufous fawn. Crown, sides of face and neck, flanks, thighs, and the anterior half of the rump darkened nearly or quite to black, which colour also runs down the limbs to the knee and hock, where it passes as a dark ring right round the limbs. Face with a large strongly contrasted blaze of pure white, which covers the whole breadth of its upper surface on the muzzle, but is much narrower above the eyes, where it runs up to the bases of the horns. In the young the facial blaze is simply brown. Posterior half of rump, base of tail, belly, and lower limbs also white. Terminal half of tail, which reaches just to the hock, black-crested.

Hairs of face reversed upwards to horns. No glandular suborbital brushes.

Skull narrow and lightly built, its measurements about as in the next species.

Horns somewhat like those ofD. korrigumand its allies, but their bases more compressed and twisted inwards towards each other in front; above they curve evenly backwards and outwards, their terminal five or six inches again gently recurved upwards. Their ridges are 15 or 16 in number, very prominent in front, less so on the sides and behind; their substance isquite black. In length they attain 15 or 16 inches, with a basal circumference of about 6.

Hab.Cape Colony, south of Vaal River (now nearly extinct).

The “Bontebok,” or “Pied Goat,” of the Dutch colonists of the Cape, was amongst the earliest Antelopes known to science. In his first essay on the genusAntilope, published in 1766, Pallas described it asAntilope dorcas, having confounded it with theDorcasof Ælian. But in his second essay upon the same group, issued in the following year, he selected for it the very appropriate namepygarga, by which it has been generally known ever since. The Bontebok and Blessbok together constitute a distinct section of the present genus, readily known from their congeners by their smaller stature and conspicuous white faces.

Lichtenstein, in his celebrated memoir on the genusAntilope, published at Berlin in 1814, madeAntilope pygargathe tenth species of the genus, and gave original particulars of it from specimens which he had himself obtained during his visit to South Africa. He states, however, that this animal is theBlessbok, and not theBontebok, of the Cape; and there can be no doubt that both these names have been applied to it, though the former term is now by general consent restricted to the next following species,Damaliscus albifrons. For example, Smuts, in his ‘Enumeratio Mammalium Capensium,’ gives both “Bontebok” and “Blessbok” as the colonial names of the present species. In fact these animals were never correctly discriminated till Harris gave figures and descriptions of them in his ‘Portraits of the Game and Wild Animals of Southern Africa,’ published in 1840.

Harris tells us that in his time the Bontebok was “common” in the interior of the Cape Colony, and was also found in one valley near Cape Agulhas. On the plains lying south of the Vaal River he visited the headquarters of the Bontebok, where “thousands upon thousands were seen and numbers were daily slain.” They were frequently seen congregated on the salt-flats, near the stagnant pools of brackish water, licking up the crystallized efflorescence.

Thirty years later a very different tale was told of the Bontebok, which by that date had become nearly extinct except in one isolated spot. Mr. E. L. Layard (P. Z. S. 1871, p. 625) gives the following account of this animal at that period:—“The Bontebok is very nearly exterminated, and,but for the fostering care of Messrs. Breda and Van der Byl, would be quite so in a couple of years.

“They are now confined to one spot in the extreme south of the continent of South Africa, to a portion of the country called the ‘Strand Veldt.’ It is an extensive flat, bordered by the sea on the south-west, south, and south-east, and by a range of undulating country or low hills rising to the Caledon Ranges and Zwart Bergen on the northern side. It is, in fact, the nearest plateau to the L’Agulhas Bank, and is called ‘Cape L’Agulhas.’ The whole of this country belongs chiefly to the families of Breda and Van der Byl; and they preserve the animals as much as they can. A Government permit is also required to shoot them, which must be visa’d by the magistrate at Bredasdorp, the name of the village on this range of land.

“They are, however, poached and destroyed by one or two small holders, who have patches of land surrounded by the large properties, and who refuse all offers of purchase, and plant corn on purpose to tempt the animals into it, and then at night shoot them. They roam in herds of about eight or ten, or twenty; but sometimes fine old bucks are found solitary. They are usually shot from a cart, which they will suffer to approach them, or from horseback. If wounded and approached they will charge desperately; and I have heard of a Hottentot being killed by them thus.”

Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington in their ‘Sportsman in South Africa,’ which contains the most recent account of the Antelopes of the Colony, tell us that the Bontebok can no longer “be considered as a part of the wild game of the country,” as it now exists only on Van der Byl’s farm (as mentioned by Mr. Layard) and has become totally extinct elsewhere.

Mr. H. A. Bryden, a well-known authority upon the game of the Cape, tells us the same story. One of the last resorts of this Antelope was the Bontebok Flats, to the north of the present Queenstown district, where a few of these Antelopes existed up to 1851. It appears certain, however, that except in the farm above mentioned, where a few have been carefully preserved for many years, the Bontebok is, at the present time, an extinct animal.

The Bontebok was amongst the many splendid Antelopes that were to be seen in the celebrated Knowsley Menagerie, and which bred in that establishment. The young is figured in one of Waterhouse Hawkins’s large plates in the ‘Gleanings,’ and the adult pair in another plate along with the Blessbok.

At the dispersal of the Knowsley collection in 1851 a pair of adult Bonteboks were purchased by Mr. D. W. Mitchell, then Secretary, for the Zoological Society of London, whilst another pair, bred at Knowsley, were sold to Prince Demidoff.

In August 1871 two females of this Antelope were brought home alive by the Captain of one of the Cape mail-steamers, and purchased by the Zoological Society for £50. So far as I know, these were the last Bonteboks ever brought to Europe.

Fig. 10.Damaliscus pygargus.

Fig. 10.

Damaliscus pygargus.

In the National Collection, we regret to say, the Bontebok is only represented by a single stuffed specimen—a male, received in 1839 from Dr. Smuts. There are also several skulls and horns of this Antelope, but none of them are of recent date. We fear it will now be a matter of some difficulty to obtain fresh specimens of this once so abundant Antelope.

The coloured illustration of the Bontebok (Plate VIII.) and the woodcut (fig. 10) were both prepared under Sir Victor Brooke’s directions. The plate was lithographed by Smit from one of Mr. Wolf’s sketches.

January, 1895.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES. PL. IX.Wolf del Smit lithHanhart imp.The BlessbokDAMALISCUS ALBIFRONSPublished by R. H. Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES. PL. IX.

Wolf del Smit lith

Hanhart imp.

The Blessbok

DAMALISCUS ALBIFRONS

Published by R. H. Porter.

Antilope albifrons,Burch.Travels, ii. p. 335 (1824);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Supp. iv. p. 413 (1844), v. p. 448 (1855).Gazella albifrons,Harris, Wild Anim. S. Afr. (fol.) pl. xxi. (animal) (1840).Damalis albifrons,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.P.Z. S. 1850, p. 141;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 22, pl. xxii. fig. 1 (animal) (1850);id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 129 (1852);id.Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 116 (1873);Layard, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 77 (1861);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Drummond, Large Game S. Afr. p. 425 (1875);Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 31, pl. iii. fig. 9 (head) (1892);Jent.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 171 (1892).Bubalis albifrons,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 210 (1846);id.ibid. Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 84 (1848);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1853);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217 (1880);Ward, Horn Meas. p. 68 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 202 (1893).Alcelaphus albifrons,Buckley, P. Z. S. 1876, pp. 286, 292 (distribution);Scl.List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 149 (1883);Bryden, Kloof and Karroo, p. 295 (1889);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 335 (1891).

Antilope albifrons,Burch.Travels, ii. p. 335 (1824);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Supp. iv. p. 413 (1844), v. p. 448 (1855).

Gazella albifrons,Harris, Wild Anim. S. Afr. (fol.) pl. xxi. (animal) (1840).

Damalis albifrons,Gray, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 233 (1846);id.P.Z. S. 1850, p. 141;id.Knowsl. Men. p. 22, pl. xxii. fig. 1 (animal) (1850);id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 129 (1852);id.Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 45 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 116 (1873);Layard, Cat. S. Afr. Mus. p. 77 (1861);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 181 (1869);Drummond, Large Game S. Afr. p. 425 (1875);Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 31, pl. iii. fig. 9 (head) (1892);Jent.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 171 (1892).

Bubalis albifrons,Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Hand-l. 1844, p. 210 (1846);id.ibid. Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 159; Reprint, p. 84 (1848);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 195 (1853);Brehm, Thierl. iii. p. 217 (1880);Ward, Horn Meas. p. 68 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 202 (1893).

Alcelaphus albifrons,Buckley, P. Z. S. 1876, pp. 286, 292 (distribution);Scl.List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 149 (1883);Bryden, Kloof and Karroo, p. 295 (1889);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 335 (1891).

Vernacular Names:—Blessbokof Dutch and English colonists;Nunniof Bechuana natives (Harris);Inoniof Kaffirs (Drummond);InoniorInpemfuof Zulus (Rendall).

Similar toD. pygargusin nearly every respect; but the rufous ground-colour is much more widely extended, owing to the parts which are black in that animal being here scarcely darker than the rest. White blaze on face divided into two parts by a narrow line between the eyes. Posterior half ofrump not prominently white, a small area only round the base of the tail slightly paler than the rest.

Skull and horns as inD. pygargus, except that the latter are of a more or less whitish colour.

Skull-measurements of a male:—basal length 11·5 inches, greatest breadth 5·1, muzzle to orbit 8·3.

Hab.Northern plains of Cape Colony, Orange Free State, Transvaal, and Bechuana-land (now nearly extinct).

The Blessbok, so called from the white blaze on its forehead (“bles” in Dutch), is of exactly the same form and general appearance as the Bontebok, so that these two close allies have often been confounded together. But the present species is at once distinguishable by the absence of the broad anal white disk above the tail, which ornaments the Bontebok, and by the paler colour of the sides and flanks.

Whether Burchell, whose scientific term “albifrons” has been universally adopted for the Blessbok, really intended to affix that name to the present species or to the Bontebok, is, to say the best of it, very doubtful. As we have already stated, both the vernacular names “Blessbok” and “Bontebok” were occasionally applied by the Boers toDamaliscus pygargus, and therefore, although Burchell expressly invented his name “albifrons” for what he called the “Blessbok,” he equally intended by that term to designate the long-known Bontebok, from which he did not distinguish the Blessbok. It so happened, however, that this was done in reference to a specimen of the latter, so that his name has been rightly retained for it. As we have pointed out in the previous article, these two near allies were first correctly discriminated by Harris, and it is therefore in any case wise to abide by his decision as to their proper names, both scientific and vernacular. Indeed Harris’s lead on this difficult question has been generally followed.

In Harris’s days, 1836–37, the Blessbok inhabited “the elevated tracts to the eastward of the Colony known as the Bontebok Flats,” and was found on the great plains south of the Vaal River in “astounding herds.” Here it was that his first introduction to this splendid Antelope took place. Harris gives us a graphic account of how he lost himself in the wilderness when engaged in the pursuit of these herds and barely escaped with his life.

“The absence of fuel shortly obliged us to continue our march over asuccession of salt-pans, upon which numerous great herds of Blessboks were busily licking the crystallized efflorescence. Alarmed at the approach of our cavalcade, vast troops of them were continually sweeping past against the wind, carrying their broad white noses close to the ground like a pack of harriers in full cry. Having never obtained any specimens of this species, and our stock of provisions, moreover, grievously requiring to be recruited, I mountedBreslar, my favourite Rosinante, and, little heeding whither I sped, dashed into the very thick of the Antelopes. The pine-apple hill bearing east about five miles, must, I concluded, prove a never-failing landmark to direct my return to the road, which, however faint it had become, could still readily be distinguished by a practised eye. Dealing death around, I thus continued to scour the ensanguined plain, and to use my pleasure with the herd before me, which had in the meantime increased from hundreds to thousands—reinforcements still pouring in from all directions when, crying ‘hold, enough,’ I stayed my hand from slaughter, and having divested some of the primest of their brilliant party-coloured robes, I packed thespoliaon my horse, and, well satisfied with my performance, set out to rejoin the waggons. But ah! vainly was it that I sought for them. Cantering to and fro between the string of frosted salt-pans and the little hill, which, floating in the sea of mirage that environed it, seemed as though poised in the sky, again and again I strained my eyes for the road. The monotony of the landscape baffled all attempts at recognition, and my search proved utterly fruitless. Every feature of the scene was precisely the same—the table mountains were completely obscured by the midday haze—and in the constant recurrence of similar forms, I lost the points of the compass, and at last became totally bewildered.”

In fact it took Harris on this occasion nearly three days and three nights wandering before he managed to rejoin his waggons.

At the present time these mighty herds have altogether vanished. So late as 1861 Mr. E. L. Layard wrote that the Blessbok was “still found in considerable herds on the north-eastern border of Colony.” But in 1889 Mr. Bryden (‘Kloof and Karroo’) tells us that this Antelope had become quite extinct within the limits of Capeland. Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, however, inform us that the Blessbok is still to be found on some farms in the Transvaal, and in one or two spots in the Orange Free State. “Previousto Sir Charles Warren’s Expedition in 1884 they were fairly common on the open flats in Southern Bechuanaland, particularly in the neighbourhood of Groot Choiang, and also in the district of Rhamathlabama, a few miles north of Mafeking. They are now practically extinct there, an occasional troop only straying into that district from the preserved farms in the Transvaal.”

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