Chapter 17

Vernacular Names:—Roi Rhébokof Dutch and English Cape Colonists;NjalaorIhlangu matse(i. e., Reedbuck of the Rocks) of the Swazi (Rendall).

Size about that ofC. redunca; height at withers 28 inches. General colour greyish fawn, brighter, sometimes almost rufous, on the head and neck, greyer on the body. Chin, upper part of throat, belly, and inner sides of limbs white. Darker leg-markings absent or inconspicuous. Tail only reaching about to the level of the groin, very bushy, fawn above, white below.

Horns slender, not exceeding 4 inches in circumference, evenly curved upwards and forwards, but showing in a very marked degree the change of general form with age already referred to in the other species.

Skull measurements of an adult male:—Basal length 8·1 inches, greatest breadth 4·1, muzzle to orbit 5·1.

Femalesimilar to the male, but hornless.

Hab.Eastern portion of South Africa south of the Zambesi, especially Natal, Zululand, and Bechuanaland.

Besides the ordinary Reedbuck of the Cape (which is that called in this workCervicapra arundinum) the Dutch settlers have from an early date recognized the existence of a second species of the same group in eastern parts of the Colony, which, instead of frequenting banks of rivers, resorts to the terraces of the mountains, and is commonly called the “Roi Rhébok,” or “Red Roebuck.” Great confusion has prevailed for many years as to the proper scientific name of this species. By Lichtenstein and Sundevall it has been called “eleotragus,” and by Gray “reduncus”; but, according to our views, both these names are properly applicable to other species. Until lately we have used for it the specific term “lalandii” it being in all probability the “Antilope lalandia” of Desmoulins, founded by that author in 1822 upon a specimen of a female Antelope in the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle obtained at the Cape by the well-known French collector Delalande. But we have lately found another older name for it, which, under the circumstances, we think we shall be justified in employing, although we must confess that in all these old names there is a considerable element of uncertainty. After describing the Reedbuck (C. arundinum) Allamand, in his edition of Buffon (as quoted by Afzelius), speaks of another similar animal of a darker colour, which is found in the mountains of the Cape Colony. Upon this variety of Allamand, Afzelius, in his memoir on Antelopes, published at Upsala in 1815, proceeds to establish a speciesAntilope fulvorufula. Between two uncertainnames, therefore, in order to avoid the necessity of proposing a new one, we will select the oldest and call the Roi RhébokCervicapra fulvorufula.

The earliest good description and figure of this species were published by Lichtenstein in the second Heft of his ‘Darstellung der Säugethiere,’ issued at Berlin about the year 1829. HereAntilope eleotragus, as he unfortunately calls it, is well distinguished by many characters from the larger Reedbuck (which Lichtenstein termedA. isabellina), and figures are given of it of both sexes.

Harris, during his extensive travels in South Africa in 1836 and 1837, curiously enough does not seem to have recognized this Antelope as a distinct species, but alludes to it in the letterpress to his ‘Portraits’ as a variety of the Reedbuck, “usually met with on high rocky mountains along the dry channels of upland streams.” Of this supposed variety he had killed a single specimen in the Cashan range, but doubted whether it was more than a young individual of the well-known Reedbuck. But we have good accounts of the habits and distribution of this Antelope from more recent authorities, who take a very different view of its position.

The “Roi-raebuck,” Mr. W. H. Drummond tells us, in his volume on the ‘Large Game of South Africa,’ published in 1875, though inhabiting thorny districts, prefers such as are on stony or broken ground. It is a fine large Antelope, but a little smaller than the Reedbuck, though its colour, he says, as its name implies, is of a reddish tinge.

Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, writing in 1892 in their ‘Sportsman in South Africa,’ give a small but very recognizable representation of the head of the Red Rhébuck (see figure 4 of their first plate), and, after speaking of what has been called the “Lesser Reedbuck” (which is probably nothing more than this species under another English name), point out that the Red Rhébuck is quite a different animal from the true Reedbuck, and has totally different habits. The Red Rhébuck “runs in herds, often exceeding twenty in number, and invariably frequents the summits of hilly and mountainous districts, where there are no reeds and where water may be miles and miles distant”; whereas the Reedbuck is found “either in pairs or in parties, never exceeding four in number,” only in low lying country along rivers which have reeds on their banks. “The one peculiarity common to both species is the fact that the males, when alarmed, give vent to a shrill whistle.”

As regards the distribution of this species, the same writers inform us:—“TheRed Rhébuck is generally found in favourable localities all over that part of Africa south of the Zambesi, but more plentiful in the mountainous ranges of the Transvaal and the broken country in the Bechuanaland Protectorate, especially the vicinity of Sichele’s stronghold. Resorting to inaccessible places, it is nowhere by any means abundant, and consequently specimens are but seldom obtained. Like the Vaal Rhébuck (Pelea capreolus) one old ram of a herd constantly acts as sentinel while the remainder feed, and on the least approach of danger at once gives the alarm by shrilly whistling. The flesh is somewhat poor.”

In his recently published ‘Haunts of Wild Game,’ Mr. F. V. Kirby, F.Z.S., has given us an excellent account of his sporting wanderings in the north-eastern provinces of the Transvaal. Here this Reedbuck, as he tells us, is now only found on the mountain-range of the Drakensberg. In former days, however, he had seen them amongst the foot-hills and well down in the flats in the district lying between the Sabi and Crocodile Rivers, where they run in small troops of from six to eight.

A letter received by Sclater from Mr. Kirby in the summer of 1896 gives the following further particulars of this Antelope:—

“The so-called Rooi Rhébuck are usually found in pairs, or in small ‘clumpies’ (excuse the Dutch) of four or five.Neveron the bleak open mountain-summits likePelea capreolus, but always on the ‘hang’ of the mountains—the narrow terraces thickly covered with sugar-bush. They lie close like Reedbuck, and when alarmed move off with a shrill whistle, like that of theirconfrères. Their action when in motion is also similar to that ofC. arundinum—a sort of easy, free, rocking-horse motion, like a horse in a hand canter.

“The tail is always fan-spread, as inC. arundinum. The fur of the young animal is very woolly in texture, as in that of the young Reedbuck. The flesh I consider decidedly coarse, quite as much as that ofPelea capreolus.

“When running off on being alarmed, a sharp whistle will usually bring them to a stand, under 200 yards. Amongst the rocks they are quite as active as Vaal Rhébuck, but unlike them, when alarmed, they never run up hill towards the summits, but invariably make down for the deep wooded kloofs. The young are born in October to December. I have seen Rooi Rhébuck running with Vaal Rhébuck (Pelea capreolus) in a troop, but only when all have been alarmed on the edge of the kloof together.”

Mr. F. C. Selous, who did not include the Roi Rhébok amongst the species met with in his ‘Hunter’s Wanderings,’ published in 1881, subsequently obtained full particulars concerning this species, and has kindly favoured us with the following valuable notes:—

“The ‘Rooi Rhébok’ of the Boers is an inhabitant of arid stony hills, and wherever such hills are met with one may expect to find this handsome little Antelope throughout the Cape Colony, Natal, Zululand, the Orange Free State, the Transvaal, Bechuanaland, and the southern portion of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. In the west it does not range further north than Sichele’s country, and though plentiful in the parched-up stony hills scattered over the territory of that chief, it is unknown in very similar ground in Khama’s country, only a short distance further north; nor have I ever heard of its existence in any country to the north of the Limpopo River, and it is certainly unknown in Makalakaland, Matabeleland, and Mashunaland. In appearance the Red Rhébuck looks very much like a miniature Reedbuck, but on a close inspection, although the resemblance between the two species is very close, certain points of difference will be noted. Both species have a large fluffy tail, which they throw up when alarmed, exposing the white under surface; the shape of the ears is the same in both, and both have bare spots about the size of a sixpence an inch below the base of the ears. There is not much difference in the colour of the two species, and the distribution of white on the underparts of each is the same. The character of the horns in the two species is, however, different, for although the male Red Rhébuck has horns crooking forwards like those of a Reedbuck, a pair of Red Rhébuck horns do not look like a pair of Reedbuck horns in miniature. The minor points of divergence would be difficult to explain, though apparent enough on comparison of actual specimens; but the most important difference is the absence in the Red Rhébuck of the soft cushion at the base of the horn, which is always present in the Reedbuck. This soft gristly cushion covered with black skin, at the base of the horn above the eye, is found in no other Antelope but the Reedbuck, and is never absent in this species, nor does it ever disappear or turn into horn with age, being invariably found at the base of the horns of the oldest males. In the Red Rhébuck the hair grows close up round the base of the horn, as in all other Antelopes, with the exception of the Reedbuck. In both species the females are hornless, and in both the alarm-call is a shrill whistle. Although the Red Rhébuck is so similar in shape, coloration, and general appearance that it looks like a miniatureReedbuck, in its habits and mode of life it differs entirely from that species. The Reedbuck, as its name implies, loves the neighbourhood of rivers and lakes and swamps, and is never found far away from water. It does not occur in herds, but in small families, a male and female usually living together, the latter often accompanied by its last year’s kid. It is worthy of remark, however, that the Reedbuck though, as a rule, it is a dweller on level ground on the borders of rivers and lakes, in some parts of the country may often be found on stony ridges where these latter are in the immediate vicinity of rivers, as is often the case in Mashunaland. As the Red Rhébuck is not found in any of the countries between the Limpopo and the Zambesi, through which my various hunting expeditions have led me, my knowledge of these little Antelopes is not very extensive. However, whilst journeying slowly from Port Elizabeth to the Diamond Fields by bullock-waggon first in 1871, and for the second time in 1876, I saw a considerable number of them both in the hills of the Cape Colony and in those of the Orange Free State, and shot in all about a dozen specimens. More recently, in the early part of 1888, I searched for and found a good many Red Rhébuck in the arid hills near Sechele’s town[15], and secured the heads of three fine males for my collection. According to my experience the Red Rhébuck is usually to be met with in small herds of from three or four to fifteen animals, only one full-grown buck being with the herd, though a young male or two with horns not fully developed may also be present. Old males at certain seasons leave the herds and live alone, as is the case with all other gregarious Antelopes. The hills on which I found Red Rhébuck were of no great altitude, rising as a rule from 500 to 1000 feet above the surrounding country. Often they were flat or table-topped, with a precipitous cliff of 50 or 60 feet in height just below the table-like summit. In such cases I often found the Red Rhébuck lying in the bushes just at the base of these cliffs. Where arid stony hills, which they are known to frequent, are intersected by ravines, in which grow a certain amount of scrubby bush, Red Rhébuck will most likely be found in the neighbourhood of such ravines. In my experience these Antelopes are usually to be met with well up the sides and near the tops of the hills which they frequent, and are best hunted from the summit of the hill, as they always run upwards when alarmed. In the hills where I last hunted Red Rhébuck in Sechele’s country, there was absolutely no water whatever, and in the CapeColony and the Free State the hills are also for the most part arid and waterless; so that these little Antelopes seem to be able to do without drinking water for several months in the year, as is the case with many other Antelopes in South-western Africa. I now forget the general colour of the Red Rhébucks I shot many years ago in the Cape Colony and the Orange Free State; but the three males I last shot in the Bechuanaland Protectorate were fawn-coloured on the head and neck, and dark grey on the upper parts of the body.”

Fig. 41.—Horns ofCervicapra fulvorufula, not adult.Fig. 42.—Horns ofCervicapra fulvorufula, aged.The corresponding rings in the two pairs of horns are placed opposite each other.

Fig. 41.—Horns ofCervicapra fulvorufula, not adult.

Fig. 42.—Horns ofCervicapra fulvorufula, aged.

The corresponding rings in the two pairs of horns are placed opposite each other.

The change of shape of the horns in the Antelopes as the animals grow older, so frequently referred to in this work, is well marked in the present species, and we have therefore thought it worth while to illustrate these differences by figures (figs. 41 and 42). Figure 41 represents the horns of a young, or rather just adult, male, in which they have attained a length of about6¼ inches, and are evenly curved upwards to their slender points. Figure 42 shows those of an aged specimen, in which it will be seen that the sharp slender point has got more worn down, while at the same time a long straight basal portion has been added below. This change causes such a difference in the general appearance of the horns that authors have in many cases been led to suppose that the extremes represent different species. We therefore take the opportunity of pointing out how deceptive such appearances are, and how careful writers should be when they found species mainly on the characters presented by the horns. At the same time, the perfect identity of the curves in the part that is common to both specimens is very noteworthy, and shows how valuable horn-characters may be when skill and care are exercised in using them.

Our figure of this Antelope (Plate XLV.) has been taken by the kind permission of Mr. W. L. Sclater from a specimen of this species belonging to the South-African Museum at Cape Town, which had been sent home to Mr. Edward Gerrard of Camden Town to be mounted. It is an adult male and was obtained by Dr. D. R. Kannemeyer near Burghersdorp in the Cape Colony on the 28th May, 1894. The specimen stands about 27½ inches high at the shoulders, and the body from the nape to the rump measures about 29 inches. The tail is very bushy, and measures at least 9 inches to the end of the hairs. The bare spot beneath the ear is very observable. The general colour of the specimen is well shown in Mr. Smit’s figure.

February, 1897.

Cervicapra chanleri,Rothschild, Nov. Zool. ii. p. 53 (1895);Chanler, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 431 (cum tab.) (1896);Ward, Horn Meas. (2) p. 137 (1896).

Apparently similar toC. fulvorufulain all important respects. A dark stripe present on the top of the nose, similar to that often found inC. arundinumandC. fulvorufula.

Skull and horns exactly like those ofC. fulvorufula. Dimensions of the typical skull, taken from a cast:—Basal length 7·65 inches, greatest breadth 3·9, orbit to tip of muzzle 4·8.

Hab.British East Africa, mountains east of Mount Kenia.

This recently described species has been founded upon a single specimen obtained by Mr. Astor Chanler, during his recent expedition into the interior of British East Africa, on the slopes of the Jambene mountains, about 45 miles N.N.E. of Mount Kenia. In his volume entitled ‘Through Jungle and Desert,’ in which an account of his expedition is given, Mr. Chanler speaks of this animal as follows:—“During the rains (of 1893) three small Antelopes visited the hill just above my camp (at Daicho[16]) and I was able to secure one of them. I felt convinced that it was a new species, so I carefully preserved its skeleton and skin. It proved to be a species of Reedbuck heretofore unknown, and has since been designated ‘Cervicapra chanleri.’”

Fig. 43.Head ofCervicapra chanleri.(From the typical specimen.)

Fig. 43.

Head ofCervicapra chanleri.

(From the typical specimen.)

Mr. Chanler’s specimen of this Reedbuck was placed in the hands of Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., of Piccadilly, for the purpose of being mounted,and there attracted Mr. Ward’s special attention, as he had previously seen a flat skin somewhat similar, and had called Mr. Chanler’s attention to it before his departure on his expedition. Before sending the specimen to its destination in the United States National Museum at Washington, Mr. Ward showed it to Mr. Walter Rothschild as probably belonging to an undescribed species, and shortly afterwards Mr. Rothschild dedicated it to its discoverer in a paper published in the second volume of ‘Novitates Zoologicæ,’ with the following characters:—“This new species belongs to the group of the smaller species ofCervicapra, and is nearest toC. bohor, but much the smallest of the genus. Perhaps the most striking difference to the ordinary observer is the central black stripe running from the nose to between the eyes. Head and neck generally orange-buff, as inC. bohor; back, sides of body, upperside of tail, and outer sides of limbs warm buffy grey, instead of being of the same colour as the neck, as inC. bohorandC. redunca. Belly, underside of tail, and inside of limbs down to the knees white. Just below the knee in front is a dark brown patch. The ears seem to be longer and narrower in proportion than those ofC. bohor; they are sparingly covered on the outside with short hair of the colour of the neck, and inside thickly lined with long white hair. The horns are much smaller and thinner than those ofC. bohor, and much more so, of course, than those ofC. redunca, both of which are much more curved forward. The rings on the horns project much more and are much sharper than in my specimens ofC. bohorandC. redunca, and are also much more regular. They are five in number, besides the basal ring.”

“The skull is in all its proportions much smaller than that ofC. bohor, but the palatine is, if anything, longer than inC. bohor.

“Height about 30 inches, hoofs on the bottom line 1½, fore legs 20, tail about 6, ear 6¼, horns along the curve nearly 6.”

After the description was made the specimen was unfortunately sent off to America before we had time to make a special examination of it. In reply to our enquiries, however, Mr. F. W. True, of the U.S. National Museum at Washington, has most kindly forwarded to us a large-sized black-and-white drawing of the head of this species, from which the accompanying reduction (fig. 43, p. 184) has been made by photography. In the absence of a coloured figure, this we trust will serve to make Chanler’s Reedbuck, if rediscovered, more easily recognizable by future travellers.

This is, we fear, nearly all that we can say respecting the present Antelope,of the claims of which to specific separation we are by no means certain. In fact, it appears to be doubtfully separable fromC. fulvorufula, with which Mr. Rothschild did not compare it, and we should not have given it a separate heading had it not been for its very wide difference in locality. Up to the present timeC. fulvorufulahas not been found north of the Zambesi, while the district of British East Africa in which Mr. Chanler shot the type of this species lies nearly under the Equator.

Our knowledge of the proper position of this Antelope is mainly due to an accurate cast of the typical skull prepared by Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., and generously presented by them to the National Museum.

P.S.—Since this was written Thomas has examined some examples of Chanler’s Reedbuck obtained by Mr. F. J. Jackson in British East Africa, probably near the Ravine Station, where he is now resident. So far as can be made out in their present condition, these specimens are very similar to the South-AfricanC. fulvorufula, without special face-markings, and therefore confirm our view thatC. chanlericannot be well distinguished from its South-African relative.

February, 1897.

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