Chapter 16

“With reference to the statement that the female Thomson’s Gazelle has no horns, I can, perhaps, give some explanation. The horns of the female of this species (see the skulls given by me to the British Museum) are very frail, crooked, and generally malformed. A good pair would be about five inches long; but a very slight blow will break or knock off these horns. Four or five females of this Gazelle that I have shot have knocked off one or both horns when falling to the shot or in their subsequent struggles.“A doe of this species born in the fort at Kikuyu developed horns; but in play withthe rest of the herd of five, knocked them off when they were not more than two inches long, and when I last saw her there were two warty scars where the horns had been. I should think that a similar accident is probably a very common occurrence among the wild herds; so much so, that I should not be surprised to see a herd of does ‘without horns.’ The yearling fawns running with their mothers would have horns not more than half an inch long, and therefore invisible. If a man, for any reason, were to shoot a doe out of such a herd he would probably choose the largest animal. Afterwards, if the question were raised, he would say that he saw a herd of does of Thomson’s Gazelle absolutely hornless, and on shooting one found there were only little marks on the head where the horns would have been if the animal had had any.“I have myself seen hundreds of these Gazelles in Ukambaui, some without horns, some with one, and some with both horns. Of those I have shot or seen shot myself, two were without horns, one had one horn about three inches long, and four had both horns averaging three and a half inches in length, while two had horns about three-quarters of an inch long.”

“A doe of this species born in the fort at Kikuyu developed horns; but in play withthe rest of the herd of five, knocked them off when they were not more than two inches long, and when I last saw her there were two warty scars where the horns had been. I should think that a similar accident is probably a very common occurrence among the wild herds; so much so, that I should not be surprised to see a herd of does ‘without horns.’ The yearling fawns running with their mothers would have horns not more than half an inch long, and therefore invisible. If a man, for any reason, were to shoot a doe out of such a herd he would probably choose the largest animal. Afterwards, if the question were raised, he would say that he saw a herd of does of Thomson’s Gazelle absolutely hornless, and on shooting one found there were only little marks on the head where the horns would have been if the animal had had any.

“I have myself seen hundreds of these Gazelles in Ukambaui, some without horns, some with one, and some with both horns. Of those I have shot or seen shot myself, two were without horns, one had one horn about three inches long, and four had both horns averaging three and a half inches in length, while two had horns about three-quarters of an inch long.”

Passing on to German East Africa we find, from Dr. Matschie’s volume on the Mammals of that country, that Thomson’s Gazelle was met with by Herr Oscar Neumann at various points on his journey north from Tanga to the Victoria Lake. Mount Gurui, Lake Manyara, Ndalalani on the Natron Lake, and the district between Guasso Nyiro and Ngare Dobasch are specially mentioned, but north and west of the latter locality Herr Neumann did not find it. It was also obtained near Mount Meru by Herr v. Höhnel, and in Northern Irambi by Herr Stuhlmann.

We are not aware that examples of Thomson’s Gazelle have ever been brought to Europe alive; but it would appear that young individuals of this species are often captured and kept in confinement in British East Africa. The late Capt. B. L. Sclater, R.E., who made the road from Kibwesi to Port Victoria in 1895–97, in his letters written home refers to several such cases, and Lieut. G. E. Smith, R.E., who was second in command of Capt. Sclater’s party, kindly sends us the following notes about them:—“Early in January 1896 Capt. Sclater obtained from the Masai two young Thomson’s Gazelles, which were fed by hand and throve well. They became quite tame and used to run about the camp and play with a puppy. One of them subsequently ran away, but the other remained with the camping-party for nearly a year.” At Kikuyu, Lieut. G. E. Smith saw a pair of Thomson’s Gazelles then fully grown, having been in possession of Mr. Hall, the Resident, for more than two years. The buck was rather fierce and apt to attack natives with his horns. Major Eric Smith, we are told, also generallyhad two or three of these Gazelles scampering about his station at Naivasha very tame.

Our figure of the male of this Antelope (Plate LXVIII.) has been prepared by Mr. Smit from a mounted specimen in the British Museum presented by Mr. F. J. Jackson. There are also in the Museum a second mounted specimen of a male presented by Mr. H. C. V. Hunter and the skull of a male from Lake Naivasha presented by Col. Lugard. Besides these the Museum contains two frontlets with horns, being the typical specimens obtained by Thomson, and some skins and skulls of both sexes from Machakos, presented by Mr. S. L. Hinde, as already mentioned in his letter.

May,1898.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL LXIXWolf del J Smit lithHanhart impGrant’s Gazelle.GAZELLA GRANTI.Published by R. H. Porter

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL LXIX

Wolf del J Smit lith

Hanhart imp

Grant’s Gazelle.

GAZELLA GRANTI.

Published by R. H. Porter

New Antelope, Ugogo,Speke, Journ. of Disc. p. 61 (1863).Antilope soemmerringii?,Speke, P. Z. S. 1863, p. 3 (Ugogo).Gazella granti,Brooke, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 601, pl. xli.;id.P. Z. S. 1873, p. 550;Scl.P. Z. S. 1875, p. 527, pl. lix. (Viv. Soc. Zool.);Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 723 (figs., head);Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 142 (1883);Pagenst.JB. Mus. Hamb. ii. p. 38 (1884);Johnston, Kilimanjaro Exp. p. 394 (1886);Hunter, in Willoughby, E. Africa, p. 289 (1889);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 342, fig. 2 (head) (1891);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 104 (1892), (2) p. 148 (1896);True, P. U. S. Nat. Mus. xv. p. 473 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 236 (1893);Lugard, E. Afr. i. p. 534 (1893);Jackson, in Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. p. 298 (1894);id.P. Z. S. 1897, p. 453;Matsch.Säug. Deutsch-Ost-Afr. p. 131 (1895);Donaldson Smith, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 868;A. Neumann, Elephant-Hunting in E. Africa, pp. 9, 10 (figs., horns, ♂ ♀) (1898).Vernacular Names:—Swara(Jackson) andNjéra(Stuhlmann) in Swahili.

New Antelope, Ugogo,Speke, Journ. of Disc. p. 61 (1863).

Antilope soemmerringii?,Speke, P. Z. S. 1863, p. 3 (Ugogo).

Gazella granti,Brooke, P. Z. S. 1872, p. 601, pl. xli.;id.P. Z. S. 1873, p. 550;Scl.P. Z. S. 1875, p. 527, pl. lix. (Viv. Soc. Zool.);Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 723 (figs., head);Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 142 (1883);Pagenst.JB. Mus. Hamb. ii. p. 38 (1884);Johnston, Kilimanjaro Exp. p. 394 (1886);Hunter, in Willoughby, E. Africa, p. 289 (1889);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 342, fig. 2 (head) (1891);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 104 (1892), (2) p. 148 (1896);True, P. U. S. Nat. Mus. xv. p. 473 (1892);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 236 (1893);Lugard, E. Afr. i. p. 534 (1893);Jackson, in Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. p. 298 (1894);id.P. Z. S. 1897, p. 453;Matsch.Säug. Deutsch-Ost-Afr. p. 131 (1895);Donaldson Smith, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 868;A. Neumann, Elephant-Hunting in E. Africa, pp. 9, 10 (figs., horns, ♂ ♀) (1898).

Vernacular Names:—Swara(Jackson) andNjéra(Stuhlmann) in Swahili.

Size large; height at withers about 34 inches. Fur close and short. General colour fawn, rather variable in tone. Lateral bands, both light and dark, usually very indistinct, often scarcely perceptible; but, on the other hand, occasionally well developed, especially in young animals. Central facial band richer fawn, approaching rufous; a brownish spot present on the muzzle. Light facial streaks white, sharply defined, running up over the eyes to the horns. Below these the dark facial bands are almost imperceptible, scarcely or not at all darker than the fawn-coloured cheeks and neck. Rump with the white of the hams very broad, extended upwards,and uniting across the base of the tail, so that the latter is quite separated from the dark body-colour; laterally the white penetrates angularly into the body-colour, overhanging the top of the pygal band, which is generally well-defined. Outer sides of limbs fawn, without blacker markings. Knee-brushes present, dark fawn. Tail above white for its basal half; black and crested terminally.

Skull stout and heavy, nasal opening broad. In that of an adult male the basal length is 9·75 inches, greatest breadth 4·4, muzzle to orbit 5·3.

Horns very long, longer and more powerful than in any other Gazelle; evenly but slightly curved backwards below, and gently recurved forwards terminally; sometimes but slightly divergent, but more often, especially in specimens from Kilimanjaro, they spread widely above, approaching each other again at their tips. Their section at base is a long oval, very different from the nearly circular section found inG. soemmerringi.

Female.Similar to the male, but the horns slender, nearly circular in section, more strongly ridged than in the females of most Gazelles; about two-thirds in length of those of the male.

Hab.Eastern Africa, from the district of Lake Rudolph, southwards to Ugogo.

Grant’s Gazelle, which has been appropriately named after one of its discoverers, is pre-eminent, even in this ornamental genus, for its size and elegance, and is, in fact, generally allowed to be one of the most beautiful species of the whole group of Antelopes. Speke and Grant left Zanzibar on the well-known expedition during which the efflux of the Nile from Lake Victoria was discovered, in September 1860. Starting from Bagamoyo on the opposite coast, and passing through Usagara, they arrived about two months later in Ugogo, then under the rule of a native chief called Magomba. It was in December 1860 during their stay at this place, where they were long detained by the drunken chief and his wazir, that Speke first met with the present Antelope. In the ‘Journal’ of his travels Speke tells us that while kept waiting to arrange the amount of his “hongo” he took the time out in the jungles very profitably, “killing a fine buck and doe Antelope of an unknown species.” “These animals,” he continues, “are of much about the same size and shape as the common Indian Antelope, and like them roam about in large herds, the most marked difference between the two being inthe shape of their horns, and in their colour, in which in both sexes the Ugogo Antelopes rather resemble theGazella picticaudataof Tibet, except that the former have dark markings on the face.”

Fig. 76.Grant’s Gazelle, Ugogo.(From Speke’s ‘Journal of Discovery,’ p. 61.)

Fig. 76.

Grant’s Gazelle, Ugogo.

(From Speke’s ‘Journal of Discovery,’ p. 61.)

The original woodcut of Speke’s ‘Journal,’ drawn by Wolf, as shown by his initials, we have now the pleasure of reproducing by the kind favour of the publishers of that work. It was no doubt executed under Speke’s direction, and, although not quite satisfactory according to our present knowledge of the animal, gives several views of the shape and size of the horns of Grant’s Gazelle.

Although Speke in his ‘Journal’ writes of the Ugogo Antelope as being undoubtedly new, he was at first evidently by no means certain about this point, as in a letter addressed to Sclater from Kazeh, in February 1861, he referred it doubtfully toGazella soemmerringi. But in a footnote to thisletter (which was published in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for January 1863) Sclater stated his conviction that, so far as could be determined from the rough sketch of the horns which accompanied the letter, the Ugogo Antelope was certainly new, and he added that the late Dr. Gray was of the same opinion.

Fig. 77. Fig. 78.Heads of Grant’s Gazelle, ♂ & ♀.(From Mr. Jackson’s specimens.)

Fig. 77. Fig. 78.

Heads of Grant’s Gazelle, ♂ & ♀.

(From Mr. Jackson’s specimens.)

The box containing the specimens of the new Gazelle from Ugogo havingbeen unfortunately lost on its journey to the coast, Sclater was unable to give any account of this animal in his paper on the Mammals collected and observed during the East-African Expedition, in the ‘Proceedings’ of the Zoological Society for 1864. The subject therefore was delayed until 1872, when Sir Victor Brooke, who was at that time busy upon the Antelopes, obtained from Col. Grant and Capt. Speke the careful sketches of the heads and skins of this animal which the travellers had made in their note-books. The examination of these sketches confirmed Brooke in the opinion that the Antelope represented by them was undoubtedly new to science; and consequently on April 16th of that year Sir Victor read a communication to the Zoological Society in which he proposed to name the new Gazelle after Grant, Speke’s name in this group of animals having been already commemorated by theGazella spekeiof Blyth and theTragelaphus spekeiof Sclater. Sir Victor gave as good a description of the new Antelope as he could from the notes before him, especially alluding to the extraordinary development of its horns, which attained dimensions nearly double those of any other Gazelle known to him. Brooke’s paper, which is accompanied by a beautiful coloured figure of the new Antelope, prepared by Wolf from Speke’s sketches, states that Col. Grant, who had supplied him with copious extracts from his note-books, informed him that this species was only met with during their expedition in Western Kinyenye, in Ugogo. The country inhabited by it he described as low-lying sandy plains, dotted over in some places with euphorbias, dwarf acacias, and stunted baobabs. The chief peculiarity of this district, owing doubtless to its comparatively low level, was the great accumulation of salt, which had of course a marked effect on the vegetation. Water at all times of the year was very scarce there, and often entirely absent, the little found being brackish and undrinkable.

In 1875 the Zoological Society received as a present from Sir John Kirk, then British Consul-General at Zanzibar, a living female Grant’s Gazelle, which, however, was unfortunately in very poor condition and died shortly after its arrival in London. The acquisition of this animal was announced by Sclater in a report on the additions to the Society’s Menagerie read on November 2nd of that year, and was accompanied by a figure of it drawn from the stuffed specimen by Mr. Smit. So far as we know, this is the only individual of Grant’s Gazelle that has ever reached Europe alive.

It will be observed that the original place of discovery of Grant’s Gazellewas in what is now German East Africa. In this country, according to Herr Matschie, it has an extensive range over the whole western portion of the colony, extending up to Mpapwa, in which district several sportsmen have met with it, and through Irangi on to Lake Victoria on the borders of British territory. Over this country it has been found in many localities by Fischer, Neumann, and Stuhlmann. Throughout these districts it appears to resort principally, as stated by Grant, to the more open sandy plains, which are thinly covered with euphorbias and other trees, especially where a saline vegetation is prevalent.

In the eastern districts of British East Africa, Grant’s Gazelle appears to be not less prevalent in similar spots. Mr. Hunter, in his Appendix to Willoughby’s ‘East Africa,’ tells us that during his expedition in 1888 it was found to be common everywhere in the open plains near Kilimanjaro, one male being generally accompanied by from 10 to 15 females. It was at that time most common in the direction of Useri. The longest pair of horns obtained by the party measured 30 inches in length, but 27 inches were considered to constitute a big head. The best female’s head obtained measured 17 inches along the inside curve. Dr. Abbott, during his expedition to Kilimanjaro, as recorded by Mr. True, obtained a good series of specimens of this Antelope, which are now in the United States National Museum. Capt. F. D. Lugard, in his volumes on ‘The Rise of our East-African Empire,’ writes of Grant’s Gazelle as being “a model of symmetry,” while “its large and massive horns are most beautiful in their curve and are carried most gracefully.” He continues as follows:—

“Grant’s Gazelle is always found on the open plains and in rocky ground far from water, and never near forest. Both sexes are horned; the female carries thin but long horns (up to 17 inches in length), the points, as is the case in all horned female Antelopes, turning inwards, the curve being more or less lyre-shaped. I have weighed a male and found it weigh 115 lbs. without the stomach; female 65 lbs. The horns of the male measure up to 30 inches and are about 7 inches in circumference at the base. They are annulated, black in colour, and bend backwards and then forwards at the tip. Anything above 25 inches would be a ‘good head.’”

Another excellent authority on the Antelopes of British East Africa, Mr. F. J. Jackson, in a recent article on the subject, writes as follows:—

“Grant’s Gazelle ranges north into Turkwel and the Sak country, but is not found on the Mau plateau. At Njemps and Baringo, and in Turkwel, this Gazelle is considerablysmaller than those found further south at Naivasha and on the Athi plains. At Njemps I shot the largest buck out of a herd of thirty, in which there were three or four other bucks. It was an old beast, in good condition, but only weighed 135 lbs. with horns 20 inches. To show the differences in size I append some measurements for comparison:—

Dr. Donaldson Smith has recorded the existence of this Gazelle “in great numbers” all along his route homewards from Lake Rudolph on the northern bank of the Tana. But these animals may possibly have belonged to the next speciesGazella petersi. Dr. Donaldson Smith also met with Grant’s Gazelle in the Boran country “a little west of 39° W.L.,” and found it “extending as far north as 6° N.L.” Mr. Cavendish likewise obtained examples of this Gazelle during his recent expedition to Rudolphia.

There is a good mounted specimen of an adult male of this Antelope in the Gallery of the British Museum, obtained by Mr. F. J. Jackson in the Kilimanjaro district of British East Africa and presented by him. Mr. Jackson has also given the Museum a fine skull of an adult male from the same locality, and has placed at the service of the Museum three other mounted heads of this Antelope. The National Collection also contains skulls of an adult pair of Grant’s Gazelle from Kilimanjaro presented by Mr. W. Carlisle Fraser, and several skulls and skins of different ages fromMachakos, collected and presented by Mr. S. L. Hinde. Besides these some skulls and skins obtained during the Cavendish expedition to Lake Rudolph, and presented by Mr. H. S. H. Cavendish and Mr. H. Andrew, have lately been added to the series.

Our illustration of this beautiful Antelope (Plate LXIX.), which shows the horns of the male in various attitudes, was prepared by Mr. Wolf under Sir Victor Brooke’s directions and drawn upon the stone by Mr. Smit. We are not sure as to the specimens from which it was taken.

September,1898.

Gazella granti,Peters, MB. Ak. Berl. 1879, p. 832, pl. v. (skull).Gazella petersi,Günth. Ann. Mag. N. H. (5) xiv. p. 428 (1884);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 238 (1893);Jackson, in Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. p. 299 (1894);A. Neumann, Elephant-Hunting in E. Africa, pp. 9, 10 (figs., horns, ♂ ♀) (1898).Gazella grantiivar.gelidjiensis,Noack, Zool. Gart. xxviii. p. 277 (1887).Vernacular Name:—Sala(Swahili) (Fischer).

Gazella granti,Peters, MB. Ak. Berl. 1879, p. 832, pl. v. (skull).

Gazella petersi,Günth. Ann. Mag. N. H. (5) xiv. p. 428 (1884);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 238 (1893);Jackson, in Badm. Big Game Shooting, i. p. 299 (1894);A. Neumann, Elephant-Hunting in E. Africa, pp. 9, 10 (figs., horns, ♂ ♀) (1898).

Gazella grantiivar.gelidjiensis,Noack, Zool. Gart. xxviii. p. 277 (1887).

Vernacular Name:—Sala(Swahili) (Fischer).

Size large; height at withers about 33 inches. General colour and markings practically identical with those of the last species,Gazella granti, with the exception that the white rump-patch is of much less extent. This patch, which inG. grantiis very broad, and projects prominently forward on each side, overhanging the dark pygal band, and passes across above the tail, separating that organ entirely from the dark dorsal colour, is inG. petersidivided above into two portions by an extension of the body-colour which runs down on to and along the top of the tail. Laterally the white is much narrower, and encroaches much less on the body-colour above, scarcely or not at all overhanging the pygal band.

Skull rather smaller than inG. granti, and the nasal opening rather narrower. Basal length in a male 9·3 inches, greatest breadth 4·2, muzzle to orbit 5·4.

Horns similar to those ofG. granti, but smaller and more uniformly parallel, never widely divergent above. Horns of female about two-thirds the length of those of the male, slender and comparatively straight.

Hab.Coast-districts of British East Africa, from Mombasa northwards to beyond the Tana.

In a communication made to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin in October 1879 the former Director of the Berlin Museum, the late Dr. Wilhelm Peters, gave an account of the specimens of Mammals collected in East Africa in 1878 by the well-known traveller Dr. G. A. Fischer. Amongst these were the skull and skin of a young male Gazelle obtained at Gelidja, near the mouth of the Osi and Tana Rivers, on June 27th, and stated to be called there by the Swahilis and Wapakomos “Sala.” Peters added to his paper on this subject an excellent lithographic plate of the skull and horns in question, which he referred, without much doubt, toGazella granti, remarking, however, that the nose-spot was not well defined, and that the horns were straight at the base and not curved.

Fig. 79.Skull and horns of Peters’s Gazelle, ♂.(From one of Mr. Jackson’s specimens in the British Museum.)

Fig. 79.

Skull and horns of Peters’s Gazelle, ♂.

(From one of Mr. Jackson’s specimens in the British Museum.)

In 1884 Dr. Günther, commenting on Peters’s figure of this supposedGazella granti, stated that in his opinion it “clearly belonged to a distinct species. It resembled somewhatGazella thomsoniin the slight degree in which the horns diverge from each other; but their annulated portion was almost straight, and the annuli themselves were much further apart, much fewer in number (about twelve), and lower towards the hinder part of the horn. The base of the bony core showed a bossy swelling, which was different from that ofGazella granti, and entirely absent inGazella thomsoni.” This species Dr. Günther proposed to callGazella petersi.

There has, however, been much doubt raised by subsequent authorities as to the validity of this species, and although we have given a separate heading toGazella petersiwe have had considerable hesitation as to whether it ought not to be regarded rather as a local subspecies ofG. granti, to which it is closely allied in all essential characters. But since we have as yet seen no specimens absolutely intermediate between the two, so far as the rump-markings are concerned, we have thought it advisable to keep them provisionally separate. At the same time we shall be in no way surprised if such specimens should occur, in which case the two forms will have to be united. As regards the skulls, no constant or tangible difference can be made out, although those ofG. petersican usually be distinguished by their smaller size, narrower nasal opening, and shorter and less divergent horns.

Mr. F. G. Jackson, in ‘Big Game Shooting,’ gives us the following account of this Gazelle and his experiences with it:—

“Gazella petersi(known to the Swahilis also as ‘Sala’) may be a local variety ofG. grantirather than a distinct species. It used to be plentiful at Merereni on the British East African coast, and is still found further inland in the Galla country. It is certainly a smaller beast thanGazella grantifrom Kilimanjaro and Machakos, but in other respects is almost identical, excepting in the shape and size of the horns, which I have never known to exceed 22 inches in length measured along the curve. The horns are also straighter, and have not nearly such a pronounced backward curve as those ofG. granti, neither do they diverge towards the points so much, being rarely more than seven or eight inches apart at the widest parts.Gazella petersiis found in the small open plains and open scrub.”

In the gallery of the British Museum there is a good mounted specimen of the adult male of this species, also another younger specimen from the“Mainland opposite Zanzibar,” and a third from “Mombasa,” besides two skulls (♂ and ♀) from “South Somaliland,” all presented by Sir John Kirk. These were formerly labelledG. granti, but must be referred toG. petersiif the species are kept separate. There is also in the Museum a fine skin and skull of a maleG. petersifrom near Mount Pika-pika, about 40 miles from Mombasa, presented by Mr. L. E. Caine. It would appear, therefore, that the range ofG. petersiuntil lately extended all along the coast of British East Africa, though it has now perhaps been nearly shot out in the southern parts.

The British Museum has likewise three skulls of this Gazelle from the Tana River presented by Mr. F. J. Jackson, to whom we are also much indebted for the loan of two other representative heads of this species from Merereni, south of Formosa Bay.

September,1898.

Gazella grantii notata,Thos.Ann. Mag. N. H. (6) xx. p. 479 (1897);A. Neumann, Elephant-Hunting in E. Africa, p. 238 (1898).

Only known from a single flat skin, without the head. Fur unusually long and shaggy. Size about as inG. granti, and general body-markings as in that species, but all much intensified. Dark and light lateral bands much longer and broader, the former nearly black and reaching forwards on to the shoulder, and backwards nearly to the white rump-mark; the latter pale buff, and succeeded above by a second dark band, lighter than the main lateral band, but distinctly darker than the centre of the back. This second dark band united with the other behind the posterior end of the light band. Pygal band black and very strongly defined.

Horns said by the discoverer to have been like those ofG. granti.

Hab.Western slope of the Loroghi Mountains, British East Africa.

In Mr. Arthur H. Neumann’s recently published volume on ‘Elephant-Hunting in East Equatorial Africa’ there will be found an account of his adventurous journey to Lake Rudolph, during which, on more than one occasion, he made his camp for some months at El Bogoi, a place situated east of the Loroghi Mountains, in rather higher than 1° N. lat., which was a favourite station for elephants. While at this place in October 1895 Mr. Neumann, accompanied by his native attendants, made an excursion over the Loroghi range, and encamped close to the edge of the open country on their western slope, at an elevation reckoned to be about 5500 feet above the sea-level, at a place called in the map attached to his narrative Kisima. Here, on taking a stroll into the open, he “shot a brace” of what he at firstsupposed to be Grant’s Gazelles; but on examination he found that they differed from the Grant’s Gazelles of the other side of the range, and of everywhere else that he had been, “in having longer hair, and dark bands on the sides,” while the “shade on the back” was also deeper than in the common kind. On one of the skins thus obtained and presented to the British Museum (see fig. 80), Thomas has based his subspecies “Gazella grantii notata.”

For much the same reasons as in the case ofG. petersi, that is because no intermediate examples were yet known, we decided, when drawing up our Synopsis of Gazelles (above, p. 69), to give a separate heading to this form.

Fig. 80.Skin of the Banded Gazelle.

Fig. 80.

Skin of the Banded Gazelle.

But since our Synopsis was prepared, Lord Delamere has sent home some skins which are, to a certain extent, intermediate betweenG. grantiandG. notatain the development of the dark markings, and which, therefore, support Thomas’s original view that the latter should be looked upon as a subspecies of the former. Yet, on the whole, Lord Delamere’s skins are more likeG. grantithanG. notata, especially in the character of their fur, so that they may be provisionally assigned to the older known form, leaving the exact status ofG. notatato be settled when further materials are available.

Thomas stated, in his original description ofG. notata, that this Gazelle had also been obtained by Mr. H. S. H. Cavendish, that traveller having supposed that he recognized in the typical skin ofG. notataa Gazelle which he had met with during his journey to Lake Rudolph. This supposition, however, has been proved to be mistaken, as the Gazelle in question when brought home turned out to belong toG. thomsoni—an animal up to that date unknown to Mr. Cavendish. Mr. Neumann, the donor of the typical skin ofG. notatato the British Museum, remains, therefore, the only sportsman who has yet met with this handsome form, concerning which we hope to receive further information before long.

September,1898.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXX.Wolf del. J. Smit lith.Hanhart imp.Soemmerring’s Gazelle.GAZELLA SOEMMERRINGI.Published by R. H. Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXX.

Wolf del. J. Smit lith.

Hanhart imp.

Soemmerring’s Gazelle.

GAZELLA SOEMMERRINGI.

Published by R. H. Porter.

Antilope soemmerringii,Cretzschmar, Atl. Rüpp. Reise, p. 49, pl. xix. (♂) (1826);J. B. Fisch.Syn. Mamm. p. 462 (1829);Rüpp.N. Wirb. Abyss. p. 25 (1835);Less.Compl. Buff. x. p. 287 (1836);Waterh.Cat. Mamm. Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 40 (1838);Laurill.Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 616 (1839);Gerv.Dict. Sci. Nat. Suppl. i. p. 261 (1840);Less.N. Tabl. R. A. Mamm. p. 176 (1842);Rüpp.Verz. Senck. Mus. p. 38 (1842);Sund.K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1842, p. 201 (1843);Wagn.Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 415 (1844), v. p. 405 (1855);Reichenb.Säug. iii. p. 114, pl. xxxiv. fig. 205 (1845);Schinz, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 403 (1845);Sund.Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 266 (1847);id.Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 262; id. Reprint, p. 82 (1848);Schinz, Mon. Antil. p. 7, pl. v. (1848);Gieb.Säug. p. 308 (1853);Heugl.Faun. roth. Meer, Peterm. Mitth. 1861, p. 16;id.Ant. u. Buff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leop. xxx. pt. 2) p. 7 (1863);id.N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 102 (1877);Hartm.Z. Ges. Erdk. Berl. iii. p. 254 (1868).Gazella soemmerringii,Jard.Nat. Libr. (1) vii. p. 215, pl. xxviii. (1842);Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 161 (1843);id.Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846); id. Knowsl. Men. p. 5 (1850);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 114;id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 59 (1852);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 193 (1853);Scl.P. Z. S. 1867, p. 817, pl. xxxvii. (yg.);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 158 (1869);Blanf.Zool. Abyss. p. 260 (1870);Scl.P. Z. S. 1871, p. 701 (Suez?);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 39 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 107 (1873);Brooke, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 549;Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 142 (1883);Lort Phillips, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 932;Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 137 (1887); id. Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 169 (1892);Thos.P. Z. S. 1891, p. 210;W. Scl.Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 161 (1891);Scl.P. Z. S. 1892, p. 100;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305;Jent.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 169 (1892);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 108, (2) p. 150 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 236 (fig., head) (1893);Swayne, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits); id. Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 314 (1895);Donaldson Smith, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 868 (Juba R.);Hoyos, Zu den Aulihan, p. 179, pl. x. fig. 6 (1895);Thos.Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107 (1896);Elliot, Publ. Chicago Mus., Zool. i. p. 122 (1897).Antilope soemmerringii berberana,Matsch.SB. nat. Freund. 1893, p. 65;Rhoads, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519.Vernacular Names:—AraborHarabat Massowa,Bus-Aduin Danakil,Om-Sabahin Arabic (Heuglin);Aoulof Somalis (Swayne).

Gazella soemmerringii,Jard.Nat. Libr. (1) vii. p. 215, pl. xxviii. (1842);Gray, List Mamm. B. M. p. 161 (1843);id.Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846); id. Knowsl. Men. p. 5 (1850);id.P. Z. S. 1850, p. 114;id.Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 59 (1852);Temm.Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 193 (1853);Scl.P. Z. S. 1867, p. 817, pl. xxxvii. (yg.);Fitz.SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 158 (1869);Blanf.Zool. Abyss. p. 260 (1870);Scl.P. Z. S. 1871, p. 701 (Suez?);Gray, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 39 (1872);id.Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 107 (1873);Brooke, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 549;Scl.List An. Z. S. (8) p. 142 (1883);Lort Phillips, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 932;Jent.Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 137 (1887); id. Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 169 (1892);Thos.P. Z. S. 1891, p. 210;W. Scl.Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 161 (1891);Scl.P. Z. S. 1892, p. 100;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305;Jent.Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 169 (1892);Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 108, (2) p. 150 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 236 (fig., head) (1893);Swayne, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits); id. Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 314 (1895);Donaldson Smith, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 868 (Juba R.);Hoyos, Zu den Aulihan, p. 179, pl. x. fig. 6 (1895);Thos.Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107 (1896);Elliot, Publ. Chicago Mus., Zool. i. p. 122 (1897).

Antilope soemmerringii berberana,Matsch.SB. nat. Freund. 1893, p. 65;Rhoads, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519.

Vernacular Names:—AraborHarabat Massowa,Bus-Aduin Danakil,Om-Sabahin Arabic (Heuglin);Aoulof Somalis (Swayne).

Size large, height at withers 35½ inches in an old male of the Somali subspecies. General colour very pale fawn, and very uniform everywhere, as there are neither light nor dark lateral bands nor any pygal bands. Central facial band black or blackish fulvous, contrasting markedly with the white lateral facial streaks. Dark facial streaks also black, but very narrow. Sides of muzzle black, continuous with the central facial band. Back of ears whitish, margined and tipped with black. White of rump very broad and extended, projecting far into the body-colour, which it broadly shuts off from the tail. The latter is white basally, black tufted terminally. Knee-brushes present, whitish or fawn.

Basal length of skull 8·85 inches, greatest breadth 4·2, muzzle to orbit 5·4.

Horns long, nearly circular in section, heavily ringed. In the typical subspecies they are but little divergent for their basal half, but then curve widely outwards above, their tips being again abruptly hooked inwards so as to point almost directly towards each other. In the Somali subspecies their length is greater and their divergence is quite even, not increasing above, so that their upper portions are not nearly so widely separated; their tips also hook rather forwards, and not so directly inwards.

Femalesimilar to the male, but the horns much thinner and less rough, though almost as long as those of the male. In both of the subspecies their curvature is closely similar to that found in their respective males.

Hab.Coastland of Red Sea from Suakin south to Tajurah (subspeciestypica); Northern Somaliland (subspeciesberberana).

This fine Gazelle was one of the many discoveries made in North-east Africa by the great traveller and naturalist Edouard Rüppell, and was firstdescribed and figured by Cretzschmar in the ‘Atlas’ which illustrated the zoological portion of Rüppell’s ‘Reise.’ The species was dedicated to Ritter Samuel Thomas von Soemmerring, on the occasion of that savant attaining the fiftieth year of his Doctorate—an event which was celebrated by the Senckenbergian Naturalists’ Society of Frankfort-on-the-Main on the 7th of April, 1828. The original specimens were procured by Rüppell on the eastern slope of the Abyssinian coast-range, and were deposited along with all his other collections in the Senckenbergian Museum. In arésuméof his knowledge of the East-African Antelopes contained in a subsequent work on the Vertebrates of Abyssinia, Rüppell tells us that he only met with this species in the bush-clad valleys of the Abyssinian coast, but that it was said to occur also on the large island of Dahalak off Massowah. It was generally observed in small families, which, however, sometimes congregated into larger herds.

Fig. 81.Skull and horns ofGazella soemmerringi typica(male).(From a specimen in the British Museum.)

Fig. 81.

Skull and horns ofGazella soemmerringi typica(male).

(From a specimen in the British Museum.)

Heuglin, another good authority on the animals of North-east Africa, informs us that this Antelope extends along the coast of the Red Sea from 20° N. latitude southwards to the Danakil country, and that it is also found in valleys of the Baraka and Atbara in the interior, and extends up to the neighbourhood of Berber, but is not so plentiful here as in the coast-districts.

Dr. W. T. Blanford, who accompanied the British Abyssinian Expedition of 1867–68 as naturalist, found this Antelope abundant on the coast of the Red Sea near Annesley Bay and Massowah, but states that it never ascends the hills. It was met with principally in the low bush and acacia-scrub in herds varying in size from a few individuals up to one hundred or more. A very large number, he adds, were shot by the sportsmen of the Expedition, who found the flesh excellent eating.

Fig. 82a. Fig. 82b.Horns ofGazella soemmerringi berberana, ♂ & ♀.(From specimens in the British Museum.)

Fig. 82a. Fig. 82b.

Horns ofGazella soemmerringi berberana, ♂ & ♀.

(From specimens in the British Museum.)

Examples ofGazella soemmerringiare recorded by Sundevall as being contained in the extensive collections received by the Stockholm Museum which were made by the Swedish traveller Hedenborg in Sennaar, but the exact localities are not specified.

So much is all we have to say about the smaller and typical form of this species originally discovered by Rüppell. But about the larger subspecies of Northern Somaliland, which has been namedberberanaby Herr Matschie, we are able to give greater details from information supplied by the many naturalists and sportsmen who have of late years visited the country which it inhabits. Although it does not appear that there is any discontinuity between the ranges of these two forms, and it is quite likely that intermediate specimens may occur where the two forms meet, we cannot but allow that Herr Matschie was justified in assigning a subspecific name to the Southern form. Not only is the latter a larger and finer animal with longer horns, but the curvature of its horns is, as we have already pointed out, so different that, so far as our experience goes, there can be no difficulty in distinguishing the two forms by this character alone.

Capt H. G. C. Swayne, R.E., in his ‘Seventeen Expeditions to Somaliland,’ writes thus ofGazella soemmerringi:—

“Five years ago, when I was staying in the quarters at Bulhár, theAoulcould be seen from the bungalow grazing out on the plain. The Bulhár Maritime Plain used to be full of them, but they have been so persecuted by sportsmen that they have now retired to some distance.“TheAoulweighs about the same as the Gerenúk, but has a shorter neck and a more clumsy-looking head, and is altogether a coarser animal. It is a grass-feeder, and lives in the open plains or in scattered bush, and never in thick jungle, and prefers tolerably flat ground. The white hind-quarters can be seen from a great distance, making a herd ofAoullook like a flock of sheep in the haze of the plains. I have never seen them in the cedar-forests on the top of Gólis, but in the hartebeest-ground to the south they are common. They are often met with in large herds along with the hartebeests, and are very common all over the Haud and Ogádén and near the Webbe.“They are, I think, the most stupid and easy to shoot of all the Somáli Antelopes, and their habits are identical with those of the Indian Blackbuck, but they are not equal to it in beauty and grace of movement.Aouloften make long and high jumps when going away, presumably to look over the backs of the others; they look something like specimens of the Cape Springbuck which I have seen in England. I have never observed them spring vertically to a great height, as the Indian Blackbuck does. They are inquisitive like the Hartebeests, and will follow a caravan in the open, and if fired at they make off across the front, stretching themselves out at racing speed, and drawing up in a troop now and then to gaze.”

“TheAoulweighs about the same as the Gerenúk, but has a shorter neck and a more clumsy-looking head, and is altogether a coarser animal. It is a grass-feeder, and lives in the open plains or in scattered bush, and never in thick jungle, and prefers tolerably flat ground. The white hind-quarters can be seen from a great distance, making a herd ofAoullook like a flock of sheep in the haze of the plains. I have never seen them in the cedar-forests on the top of Gólis, but in the hartebeest-ground to the south they are common. They are often met with in large herds along with the hartebeests, and are very common all over the Haud and Ogádén and near the Webbe.

“They are, I think, the most stupid and easy to shoot of all the Somáli Antelopes, and their habits are identical with those of the Indian Blackbuck, but they are not equal to it in beauty and grace of movement.Aouloften make long and high jumps when going away, presumably to look over the backs of the others; they look something like specimens of the Cape Springbuck which I have seen in England. I have never observed them spring vertically to a great height, as the Indian Blackbuck does. They are inquisitive like the Hartebeests, and will follow a caravan in the open, and if fired at they make off across the front, stretching themselves out at racing speed, and drawing up in a troop now and then to gaze.”

Captain R. H. Light, of the Indian Staff Corps, who visited Somaliland in 1891, and has kindly furnished us with some field-notes on its Antelopes,writes that this Gazelle is found there in couples, and also in herds of fifty or more, and generally frequents plains with slight coverts. They are not usually difficult of approach, and out of a large herd he has shot four, one after the other, within a mile of ground, the herd moving off at every shot, but allowing him to approach again. At 150 yards distance or so Capt. Light says it is very hard to distinguish a buck from a doe of this Antelope, the size of the body being the same, and the slight differences in the thickness of the horns and neck being hardly perceptible. Their gait is longer and slower than that of Pelzeln’s Gazelle, but still not awkward like that of the “Gerenuk” (Lithocranius walleri).

Mr. F. Gillett, F.Z.S., who accompanied Dr. Donaldson Smith during the first portion of his journey to Lake Rudolph, and made other expeditions in Somaliland, has favoured us with the following notes on this species:—

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