Antilope vardoni,Livingstone, Miss. Trav. p. 256 (Barotse valley), and pl. p. 71 (1857).Heleotragus vardonii,Kirk, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 657 (Zambesia).Cobus vardoni,Selous, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 759, pl. lxv.;id.Hunter’s Wand. pp. 111, 147, 219, pl. v. (1881) (Chobe);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 92 (1892), (2) p. 129 (1896);Sclater, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 98;id.P. Z. S. 1893, p. 728 (Lake Mweru).Eleotragus vardoni,Huet, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 48;Matschie, SB. Ges. nat. Fr. Berl. 1891, p. 138.Kobus vardoni,Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 43, pl. viii. fig. 30 (1892).Adenota vardoni,Matschie, Säug. Deutsch. Ost-Afr. p. 126 (1895).
Antilope vardoni,Livingstone, Miss. Trav. p. 256 (Barotse valley), and pl. p. 71 (1857).
Heleotragus vardonii,Kirk, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 657 (Zambesia).
Cobus vardoni,Selous, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 759, pl. lxv.;id.Hunter’s Wand. pp. 111, 147, 219, pl. v. (1881) (Chobe);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 92 (1892), (2) p. 129 (1896);Sclater, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 98;id.P. Z. S. 1893, p. 728 (Lake Mweru).
Eleotragus vardoni,Huet, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 48;Matschie, SB. Ges. nat. Fr. Berl. 1891, p. 138.
Kobus vardoni,Nicolls & Egl.Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 43, pl. viii. fig. 30 (1892).
Adenota vardoni,Matschie, Säug. Deutsch. Ost-Afr. p. 126 (1895).
Vernacular Names:—Pookoo,Poku, orPukuthroughout its range;Impookooof the Masubias (Selous);Sawwulaof Kinyamwesi (Böhm, fideMatschie).
Vernacular Names:—Pookoo,Poku, orPukuthroughout its range;Impookooof the Masubias (Selous);Sawwulaof Kinyamwesi (Böhm, fideMatschie).
Size and general characters almost exactly as inC. thomasi, but the legs entirely without any trace of the black markings so conspicuous inC. kobandC. lechee. Height at withers of an adult male 35½ inches, female the same. Back of ears fulvous, their extreme tips edged with black. Pasterns hairy, scarcely any trace of a white ring above hoofs.
Horns thick and strongly curved, having a length of about 17 or 18 inches.
Female.Similar, but hornless.
Skull measurements (♂):—Basal length 11 inches, greatest breadth 4·47, muzzle to orbit 7·25.
Hab.Valleys of Chobe and Zambesi, and northwards through the Barotse country to Lake Mweru.
Hab.Valleys of Chobe and Zambesi, and northwards through the Barotse country to Lake Mweru.
Our first knowledge of this species is due to the great explorer Livingstone. When in the Barotse country beyond Libonta, in November 1853, he found “the wild animals in enormous herds, and fared sumptuously. It was grievous, however,” he adds, “to shoot the lovely creatures, they were so tame.” While waiting for an answer to a message sent to a native chief he “lay looking at the graceful forms of the beautiful pokus, lechès, and other antelopes.” In a footnote to this passage in his ‘Missionary Travels’ he informs us that the Poku “is a new species which he proposes to name after the African traveller Major Vardon.” We do not believe that Livingstone ever published a description of his species, but in the same work (p. 71) will be found a full-page plate, from the inimitable pencil of Joseph Wolf, illustrating the “New African Antelopes (Poku and Lechè) discovered by Oswell, Murray, and Livingstone.”
In 1864 we have a further contribution to our knowledge of this animal from the pen of Sir John Kirk. In his article on the Mammals of Zambesia read before the Zoological Society of London on December 13th of that year, he tells us that the Poku “is one of the three water-antelopes common to the marshes of the Chobi and Zambesi. With the Lechè it often mixes, the habits of the two being very similar, the Poku being less aquatic and being found more often on dry ground. It is known by its smaller size, its more erect carriage, and its plumper neck. The horns are less turned backwards, and partake more of the aspect of the Reit-bock.”
Mr. Selous’s excellent field-notes on the Poku, contained in the ‘Proceedings’ of the same Society for 1881, and subsequently reprinted in his ‘Hunter’s Wanderings,’ deserve to be quoted at full length:—
“The only place where I ever met with this species was in a small tract of country extending along the southern bank of the Chobe for about seventy miles westward from its junction with the Zambesi. They are never found at more than 200 or 300 yards from the river, and are usually to be seen cropping the short grass along the water’s edge, or lying in the shade of the trees and bushes scattered over the alluvial flats which have been formed here and there by the shifting of the river’s bed. That they exist, however, eastwards along the southern bank of the Zambesi as far as the Victoria Falls (about sixty miles from the mouth of the Chobe) I think probable, as I saw one shot on the very brink; but though I followed the river’s bank all the way, I never met with another till I reached the Chobe.The natives report them common on the eastern bank of the Zambesi, north of Lesheke. From a plate in Dr. Livingstone’s first book I always imagined that the Pookoo was found at the Lake Ngami; but, as he makes no mention of it in the letterpress before reaching the Zambesi, and as neither Andersson nor Baldwin, who both visited the lake, seem to have known of its existence at all, this is perhaps erroneous. In size they stand about the same height at the shoulder as the Impala, but, being much thicker-set and stouter built, must weigh considerably more. The colour is a uniform foxy red, the hair along the back about the loins being often long and curly; the tips of the ears are black. The males alone bear horns, which are ringed to within three inches of the point, and curve forwards like those of the Lechwe, to which animal they are very closely allied. The longest pair I have in my possession measures sixteen inches, which is about the extreme length they ever attain. These Antelopes are usually met with in herds of from three or four to a dozen in number; but on one of the alluvial flats to which I have before referred I have seen as many as fifty in one herd. Sometimes ten or a dozen rams may be seen together, or a solitary old fellow quite alone. I have often seen these Antelopes feeding in company with a herd of Impalas, and then their heavy thick-set forms contrasted strongly with the slim and graceful proportions of the latter animals. The meat of the Waterbuck is usually considered to be more unpalatable than that of anyother South-African Antelope; but, if it will give anyone satisfaction to know it, I can conscientiously say that that of the Pookoo is several shades worse. In conclusion, I have found that they and their congener the Lechwe are wonderfully tenacious of life, and will run long distances after receiving wounds that one would think ought to be immediately fatal.”
Fig. 35.Horns ofCobus vardoni.—a.Side view;b.Front view.(P. Z. S. 1881, p. 760.)
Fig. 35.
Horns ofCobus vardoni.—a.Side view;b.Front view.
(P. Z. S. 1881, p. 760.)
Mr. Selous’s field-notes on this Antelope are accompanied by an excellent coloured figure of the whole animal, and by some drawings of the horns, which, by the kind permission of the Zoological Society, we are enabled to reproduce here (see fig. 35, p. 143).
It was until recently supposed that the Poku did not extend its range far north of the Zambesi; but in 1890 Mr. Alfred Sharpe met with it on the Luapula north of Lake Mweru, and says (Pr. R. G. S. n. s. xiv. p. 39) that it is common there, although unknown in the countries bordering on Lake Nyasa. Mr. Sharpe sent home three flat skins and several pairs of horns of this species, which were examined by Sclater (P. Z. S. 1892, p. 98; 1893, p. 728), and says, in his accompanying notes, “I doubt if game can be anywhere more plentiful in Central Africa than in the Mweru and Luapula countries.Cobus vardoniandC. lecheerun in enormous herds. These two Antelopes are frequently found together, are much alike in appearance, and are both known by the natives as ‘Nswala.’ (The Impala is also called ‘Nswala’ by them.) The horns of the Letchwé have a much larger spread than those of Vardon’s Antelope, but at a distance it is difficult to distinguish between the two. The Letchwé has a little black stripe on the fore legs which is not found in Vardon’s Antelope. A noticeable feature about the male Letchwé is that when he runs he puts his head down, laying back the horns. Vardon’s Antelope does not do this.” Mr. Sharpe also met withC. vardonioccasionally near the south end of Lake Tanganyika. In the narrative of his second journey to Lake Mweru in 1892 (Geogr. Journ. i. p. 526) Mr. Sharpe has again noticed the abundance of the Poku in the Mweru swamp along with the Lechee.
Our figures ofCobus vardoni(Plate XLI.) were drawn by Mr. Smit from the mounted specimens of both sexes in the British Museum procured by Mr. F. C. Selous at Umparira, on the River Chobe, in 1881. There are skins and skulls in the same collection obtained by Mr. Sharpe and Mr. Crawshay in the district of Lake Mweru.
December, 1896.
Similar toC. vardoniin most respects, but very much smaller (height at withers in a female, measured in the flesh, 30½ inches). General colour rather darker than inC. vardoni, especially on the head. Ears black, tipped behind for fully one-third of the length, instead of merely at their extreme tip. No white ring above the hoofs.
Horns unknown.
Skull measurements of the type (♀), not fully adult, although enceinte when killed:—Basal length 8·9 inches, greatest breadth 3·75, orbit to muzzle 5·85.
Hab.Senga, Upper Loangwa River, W. of the N. end of Lake Nyasa: altitude 2500 feet.
Hab.Senga, Upper Loangwa River, W. of the N. end of Lake Nyasa: altitude 2500 feet.
This Antelope, the second member of the genus lately discovered and recognized by Mr. Richard Crawshay, seems to be a small highland form of the Poku, and it is possible that intermediate specimens between the two may be hereafter found. In this caseC. senganuswill have to be reduced to a subspecies ofC. vardoni. But until such intermediate forms are obtained we do not feel justified in presuming their existence, and therefore classC. senganusas a different species.
The only specimen ofC. senganusas yet procured is unfortunately a female, young enough still to retain its milk-dentition. The general development of the skull, however, and the fact that, as we are informed by Mr. Crawshay, there was a nearly mature fœtus within the womb, show that the animal had practically attained its full growth, and therefore that its small size may be justifiably used as a distinguishing character.
We subjoin the notes with which Mr. Crawshay has favoured us on this species:—
“The form ofCobusrepresented by the present specimen from Senga, to the west of Lake Nyasa, is only met with, I believe, in the neighbourhood of the Upper Zambesi River, in the water-basins of Lakes Mweru and Tanganyika, and perhaps also in those of one or two more of the Central African lakes. It does not occur in the water-basin of Lake Nyasa itself, where only the large greyC. ellipsiprymnusis found; nor until now has it ever been recorded nearer Lake Nyasa than the valley of the Sayisi River, 30 miles or so east of the southern end of Lake Tanganyika, whereC. vardoniis met with. It remains to be seen what naturalists make of it: whether it is to be regarded as only a diminutive race ofC. vardonior as a new species altogether.
“In general shape and colouring, seen by itself, it appears to beC. vardoni; in size, however, it is considerably smaller; and when specimens of the two come to be laid side by side there may be other points of difference. But I wish to lay stress on the fact that, apart from thedistanceseparating the districts where the two are found, thephysical aspectsof their several haunts differ very materially.
“Cobus vardoniis always found in or on the outskirts of swamps, usually on open, marshy plains, where the grass is rich and green; moreover, as a rule, it is met with in large scattered herds, feeding in the open all over the place—such at any rate has been my experience in the countries bordering on Lakes Tanganyika and Mweru. On the other hand,C. senganusis a native of dry, hilly country, often rough and stony, and far from any swampy land, though near a river. Again, it is not at all plentiful in Senga; I saw only two during my travels in the neighbourhood, both females, of which the present specimen is one.
“Regarding the habits of this animal I know very little—no more, in fact, than when, where, and how I became possessed of the specimen, which was as follows:—
“During the latter part of the dry season of 1895 I had occasion to undertake a journey from Deep Bay on Lake Nyasa into the Senga country, which is in the valley of the Loangwa River—a very considerable stream even at this point. The Loangwa drains a large area of country between Lakes Nyasa and Bangweolo, and after a course of some 400 miles or more,about south by west, joins the Zambesi as one of its chief tributaries. From Konde to where I struck the Loangwa—which flows through Senga—is a tortuous journey of about 8 days for loaded porters; much of the intervening country is hilly and broken; during part of the distance water is a difficulty in the dry season.
“Senga is intensely African: in point of interest for the traveller and sportsman naturalist it impressed me more than any other part of Africa I have seen. It is of vast extent, yet thinly populated; it is hilly and rugged and cut up with innumerable perpendicular ravines. Its soil, except in the neighbourhood of the river, is mostly hard, yellowish-white sand; it is intensely hot, and but for the Loangwa River would be a desert for want of water; the whole country, then, is buried in never-ending forest or scrubby bush—hence its local name ‘Masenga.’
“It was on September 12th, in about latitude 10° 15´ south, that I secured theCobus; the altitude of the Loangwa River at this point is 2410 feet, according to my aneroid. I was on the march between Kampumbu’s town and another town, Myereka’s, about 18 miles higher up the Loangwa: my caravan had preceded me by an hour or two; I had remained behind with a couple of gun-bearers and three Wasenga guides, and was making a detour in search of game.
“The day previous I had shot a Roan Antelope, but on this particular day I had not shot anything, and indeed had only seen a few Impala, which did not give one a chance.
“It was a terrifically hot day; the Loangwa valley is like a furnace at this time of year, just before the rains. Every bit of cover had been burned off and there was not a leaf or a blade of grass anywhere. The ground was baked as hard as a brick and had cracked into deep fissures; the heat and glare almost sickened me, old traveller as I am and inured to heat. Nevertheless, in spite of all this, we came upon the two Antelopes of the genusCobusstanding in the open, close to the foot of a very rough conical hill, about 1 o’clock in the afternoon. I shot one without remarking anything unusual about them, viewed at about 120 yards; had I wished it, I could have shot the other, but I refrained as both were females. The Wasenga who were with me could not at once identify the animal; an hour or two later, however, the older men of Myereka’s town pronounced it to be ‘Sewula’ and ‘Seyula.’
“The latter name is that by which the Wawemba callC. vardoni—not‘Inswala’ as Mr. Sharpe has stated in the account he wrote of his journey to Mweru; he was no doubt misled by his Watonga porters from Lake Nyasa, who gave him what is the Manganga name for the ‘Impala,’ which they confused withC. vardoni, never having seen that animal before.
“It is curious how very accurate Livingstone’s information proves to be, even on such small points as these; he, though not a sportsman or one who cared much for natural history, records in his last journals the Wawemba name forC. vardonias ‘Sebula’—which of course might be a mistake in the printing for ‘Seyula,’ the name by which the Wawemba call this animal to the present day.
“It will bear me out in my statement that thisCobusis considerably smaller thanC. vardoni, when I say that two of the Wasenga carried the animal, turn and turn about, for some three miles, when they were relieved by other men sent out from camp.
“I should estimate its weight at, roughly, 90 lbs., possibly more. It is an adult specimen; for we found in her a fœtus (♂), to which she would have given birth in another week or 10 days.
“Her height at the withers, as she lay dead, measured 30½ inches.”
Mr. Crawshay’s typical specimen (now by his kindness deposited in the British Museum) being the only example yet obtained of this species, we have nothing more to say about it, except to express our regret that it arrived too late to be figured, or to be included in the synopsis of the species ofCobusgiven above (p. 95).
December, 1896.
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLII.Wolf del., J. Smit lith.Hanhart imp.The Lechee.COBUS LECHEE.Published by R. H. Porter.
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLII.
Wolf del., J. Smit lith.
Hanhart imp.
The Lechee.
COBUS LECHEE.
Published by R. H. Porter.
Leechee,Oswell, J. R. G. S. xx. p. 150 (1851);Livingstone, J. R. G. S. xxi. p. 23 (1851);id.Miss. Trav. p. 71 & plate (1857);Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 448, pl. xiii. (1856).Kobus leché,Gray, Knowsl. Men. p. 23 (1850);Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 174.Adenota leché,Gray, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 130, Mamm. pl. xx.;id.Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 212 (1851);Huet, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 77.Adenota lechee,Gray, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 97 (1852);Gerrard, Cat. Bones B. M. p. 239 (1862).Heleotragus leché,Kirk, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 658 (Upper Zambesi).Onotragus lechee,Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 17 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 88 (1873).Cobus leechi,Buckley, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 291.Cobus lechee,Selous, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 760;id.Hunter’s Wand. S. Afr. p. 220 (1881);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 90 (1892), (2) p. 125 (1896);Sclater, P. Z. S. 1893, p. 728 (L. Mweru,Sharpe).Kobus lechee,Nicolls et Egl.Sportsm. in S. Afr. p. 42, pl. vii. fig. 22 (1892).
Leechee,Oswell, J. R. G. S. xx. p. 150 (1851);Livingstone, J. R. G. S. xxi. p. 23 (1851);id.Miss. Trav. p. 71 & plate (1857);Andersson, Lake Ngami, p. 448, pl. xiii. (1856).
Kobus leché,Gray, Knowsl. Men. p. 23 (1850);Turner, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 174.
Adenota leché,Gray, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 130, Mamm. pl. xx.;id.Ann. Mag. N. H. (2) viii. p. 212 (1851);Huet, Bull. Soc. Acclim. 1887, p. 77.
Adenota lechee,Gray, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 97 (1852);Gerrard, Cat. Bones B. M. p. 239 (1862).
Heleotragus leché,Kirk, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 658 (Upper Zambesi).
Onotragus lechee,Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 17 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 88 (1873).
Cobus leechi,Buckley, P. Z. S. 1876, p. 291.
Cobus lechee,Selous, P. Z. S. 1881, p. 760;id.Hunter’s Wand. S. Afr. p. 220 (1881);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 90 (1892), (2) p. 125 (1896);Sclater, P. Z. S. 1893, p. 728 (L. Mweru,Sharpe).
Kobus lechee,Nicolls et Egl.Sportsm. in S. Afr. p. 42, pl. vii. fig. 22 (1892).
Vernacular Names:—LecheorLeegweeof the Makalolos.Inyaof the Masubias;Oonyaof the Makubias (Selous).
Vernacular Names:—LecheorLeegweeof the Makalolos.Inyaof the Masubias;Oonyaof the Makubias (Selous).
Size nearly equal to that of the large Waterbucks of the first section of the genus (height at withers 40–41 inches), although the general form is more graceful. Colour fulvous, slightly paler than inC. thomasi, which this species resembles in having well-defined black markings running down the legs, but which are succeeded below by white rings above the hoofs. Backs of both fore and hind pasterns quite naked, a character which distinguishesthis species from all its allies. Pale areas round eyes and ears not sharply defined; back of ears not black-tipped. Muzzle, lips, chin, and belly white as usual. Tail slender, with a black tuft, just reaching to the level of the hocks.
Horns long, slender, and gracefully curved, attaining a length of 26 or 27 inches.
Femalesimilar to the male, but without horns.
Hab.Zambesia, extending northwards to Lake Mweru, and south-westwards to Lake Ngami.
Hab.Zambesia, extending northwards to Lake Mweru, and south-westwards to Lake Ngami.
Like the Poku the Lechee was first discovered by Livingstone and his companions Oswell and Murray, who travelled with him in 1849 on his first journey to Lake Ngami. After leaving the lake, on descending the valley of the River Zouga, he tells us (‘Missionary Travels,’ p. 71):—“We discovered an entirely new species of Antelope, called ‘lechè’ or ‘lechwi.’ It is a beautiful water-antelope of a light brownish-yellow colour. Its horns—exactly like those of theAigoceros ellipsiprymnus, the water-buck, or ‘tumōga’ of the Bechuanas—rise from the head with a slight bend backwards, then curve forwards at the points. The chest, belly, and orbits are nearly white, the front of the legs and ankles deep brown. From the horns, along the nape to the withers, the male has a small mane of the same yellowish colour with the rest of the skin, and the tail has a tuft of black hair. It is never found a mile from water; islets in marshes and rivers are its favourite haunts, and it is quite unknown except in the central humid basin of Africa. Having a good deal of curiosity, it presents a noble appearance as it stands gazing with head erect at the approaching stranger. When it resolves to decamp, it lowers its head, and lays its horns down to the level with the withers; it then begins with a waddling trot, which ends in its galloping and springing over bushes like the pallahs. It invariably runs to the water and crosses it by a succession of bounds, each of which appears to be from the bottom. We thought the flesh good at first, but soon got tired of it.”
To accompany this description a steel plate, drawn by Wolf and engraved by Whymper (already alluded to in our account of the Poku), was given at the same page of the work. It represents a scene on the Zouga with males of the Lechee and Poku occupying a conspicuous position in the foreground,and a mixed herd of these two Antelopes, which are said to be frequently found together, on the reedy banks.
Fig. 36.Head ofCobus lechee.(From Mr. Selous’s mounted specimen in Brit. Mus.)
Fig. 36.
Head ofCobus lechee.
(From Mr. Selous’s mounted specimen in Brit. Mus.)
Oswell sent home to his friend Capt. Vardon a specimen of the new-found Antelope, and Capt. Vardon, as we find on reference to the minute-books of the meetings of the Zoological Society of London, exhibited it at the scientific meeting of that Society on June 11th, 1850. The species thus became included in Gray’s “Synopsis of Antelopes and Strepsiceres,” which was read on the same evening. A coloured plate by Joseph Wolf, attached to the Synopsis, was taken from Capt. Vardon’s specimen, which was subsequently presented to the British Museum.
The Lechee is also well figured by Wolf in a plate in Andersson’s ‘Lake Ngami,’ which contains an account of that traveller’s expedition to the Lake from the west coast in 1854. After a description of the animal Andersson says:—“The Leché is a Waterbuck, for though not actually living in the water, it is never found any distance from it. Great numbers are annually destroyed by the Bayeye, who convert their hides into a kind of rug for sleeping on, carosses, and other wearing apparel.”
The National Collection likewise contains a good mounted specimen of the male of this Antelope obtained by Mr. F. C. Selous at Umparira, on the Chobe, in 1881. In his paper on the Antelopes of Central South Africa, published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1881, Mr. Selous gives us the following account of his experiences with the Lechee:—“This Antelope is first met with in the marshes of the Botletlie River, and is very numerous in the open grassy plains which are always more or less inundated by the Tamalakan, Mababe, Machabe, Sunta, and Chobe rivers. It is also common along the Upper Zambesi. In the swamps of the Lukanga River, about 150 miles to the south-west of Lake Bengweolo, which I visited in 1878, I found the Leegwee Antelope in large herds.
“After Speke’s Antelope, the Lechee is the most water-loving Antelope with which I am acquainted, and is usually to be seen standing knee-deep, or even up to its belly, in water, cropping the tops of the grass that appear above the surface, or else lying just at the water’s edge. As is the case withTragelaphus spekii, the backs of the feet are devoid of hair between the hoof and the dew-claws, whilst in the Pookoo, as with all other Antelopes, this part is covered with hair. In some parts of the country Leegwee Antelopes are very tame; in others, where they are much persecuted by the natives, excessively wild. When they first make up their minds to run they stretch out their noses, the males laying their horns flat along their sides, and trot; but on being pressed they break into a springing gallop, now and then bounding high into the air. Even when in water up to their necks, they do not swim, but get along by a succession of bounds, making a tremendous splashing. Of course, when the water becomes too deep for them to bottom, they are forced to swim, which they do well and strongly, though not as fast as the natives can paddle; and when the country is flooded, great numbers are driven into deep water and speared. In the adult Leegwee the ears are of a uniform fawn-colour; but in the younganimal they are tipped with black as in the adult Pookoo. In the flooded grassy plains in the neighbourhood of Linyanti on the Chobe, this beautiful Antelope may be seen in almost countless numbers, and I have counted as many as fifty-two rams consorting together. Some of these were quite young, with horns only a few inches in length; but there was not a single ewe amongst them. The longest pair of Leegwee horns that I have ever seen measured 2 feet 3 inches in length; but it is rare to get them over 2 feet long measured along the curve. In common with the Pookoo, they appear to me to be more tenacious of life than other Antelopes.”
As will be observed by what is said above, Mr. Selous has traced the Lechee beyond the Zambesi nearly as far north as Lake Bangweolo. Hence it extends into the basin of Lake Mweru, where Consul Sharpe met with it in “enormous herds” in company withCobus vardoni. Specimens obtained by Mr. Sharpe in this district were forwarded by Sir Harry Johnston to Sclater, and are now in the British Museum.
We have, however, no evidence at present of the occurrence of the Lechee anywhere further north than the Mweru district. The specimens obtained by Petherick on the White Nile and assigned toCobus lecheeby Gray are, as already mentioned, properly referable toC. leucotis.
Our figure of this Antelope has been drawn by Smit from a sketch made by Wolf, and taken, we believe, from the original typical specimen now in the British Museum.
December, 1896.