GenusVIII. LITHOCRANIUS.

Size about as in the larger Gazelles. Form very peculiar, owing to the great elongation of the neck, which gives almost a Giraffe-like appearance to the animal. Limbs also very long; false hoofs quite minute. Colouring of the head less typically Gazelline than inAmmodorcas, but a modification of the light lateral body-line present.

Skull (see fig. 85, p. 231) excessively long and low, the cranial part behind the horns particularly lengthened; the bones of this part very solid and stony. Bullæ low and opaque. A shallow anteorbital fossa present. Premaxillæ not reaching the nasals. Lower jaw slender and delicate. Premolars 3/3, the anterior one above almost as large as the second.

Horns thick, oval in section, very closely ringed, curved backwards as in many species ofGazellafor the greater part of their length, their middle portion more or less lyrate, as inGazella dorcas, their tips recurved upwards or forwards. Female hornless.

Range of the Genus.Somaliland and British East Africa.

One species only.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXIV.J Smit del et lith.Hanhart imp.The Gerenuk.LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI.Published by R H Porter.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXIV.

J Smit del et lith.

Hanhart imp.

The Gerenuk.

LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI.

Published by R H Porter.

Gazella walleri,Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 929, pl. lvi. (skull);Scl.P. Z. S. 1884, p. 538, pl. xlix. (head and skin);Phillips, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 931;Scl.in James’s Unknown Horn of Africa, p. 262, pl. i. (1888);Hunter, in Willoughby’s E. Afr. p. 289 (1889);Flow. & Lyd.Mamm. p. 342 (1891);Inverarity, Journ. Bombay N. H. Soc. vi. p. 459 (1891).Lit(h)ocranius (Gazella) walleri,Kohl, Ann. Mus. Wien, i. p. 79, pl. v. fig. 3, and pl. vi. fig. 1 (skull) (1886) (Somaliland).Lithocranius walleri,Thos.P. Z. S. 1891, p. 207;Scl.P. Z. S. 1892, p. 101;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305;Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 134 (1892), (2) p. 175 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 241 (1893);Jackson, in Badminton Big Game Shooting, i. p. 307 (head) (1894);Scl.P. Z. S. 1893, pp. 101 & 118;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits);id.Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 312 (1895);Matsch.Säug. Deutsch-O.-Afr. p. 132 (1895);Hoyos, Zu den Aulihan, p. 180, pl. x. fig. 4 (1895);Thos.Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107 (1896);Rhoads, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519;Elliot, Publ. Chicago Mus. Zool. i. p. 226 (1897).Vernacular Name:—Gerenukof Somalis (Swayne and others).

Lit(h)ocranius (Gazella) walleri,Kohl, Ann. Mus. Wien, i. p. 79, pl. v. fig. 3, and pl. vi. fig. 1 (skull) (1886) (Somaliland).

Lithocranius walleri,Thos.P. Z. S. 1891, p. 207;Scl.P. Z. S. 1892, p. 101;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305;Ward, Horn Meas. (1) p. 134 (1892), (2) p. 175 (1896);Lyd.Horns and Hoofs, p. 241 (1893);Jackson, in Badminton Big Game Shooting, i. p. 307 (head) (1894);Scl.P. Z. S. 1893, pp. 101 & 118;Swayne, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits);id.Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 312 (1895);Matsch.Säug. Deutsch-O.-Afr. p. 132 (1895);Hoyos, Zu den Aulihan, p. 180, pl. x. fig. 4 (1895);Thos.Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107 (1896);Rhoads, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519;Elliot, Publ. Chicago Mus. Zool. i. p. 226 (1897).

Vernacular Name:—Gerenukof Somalis (Swayne and others).

Height at withers 39 inches in an old male. General colour of back rich chestnut rufous, sharply bounded on the upperside of each flank by the very distinct light lateral line, which passes below imperceptibly into fawn-colour, much paler than the dorsal colour, no trace of a dark lateral line being present. The fawn-colour also extends on to the crown, all round the neck, on the shoulders, hips, and down the limbs. Central line of face deep rufous; area round eye whitish, sometimes extended forwards as a light final streak towards the muzzle, but more often stopping just anterior to the openings ofthe lacrymal glands. Backs of ears pale fawn-colour; area round their bases but little lighter than rest of head. Fawn-colour of throat projecting down on to chest, as inAmmodorcas clarkei. Outer sides of limbs pale fawn throughout. Tail about 10 inches in length, rufous-fawn like the body basally above, whitish below, the tip tufted with black; on each side of its base the white of the hams, which is very narrow, runs up as a pointed projection into the dark body-colour.

The skull of an old male measures 8·75 inches in basal length, the greatest breadth being 3·8, and the muzzle to orbit 4·7.

The horns of good specimens attain 15 or 16 inches in length round the curves, but southern specimens, those from East Africa, have not, as a rule, such fine horns as those from Somaliland.

Female.Similar to the male, but without horns.

Hab.Somaliland, and thence southwards to the Tana Valley, and the Kilimanjaro district of British East Africa.

This Antelope was first made known to science by the late Sir Victor Brooke in 1878 in the last of the many excellent articles which he published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings.’ His description was based on two skulls with horns attached to them which were lent to him for examination by Mr. Gerald Waller, F.Z.S., at whose request they were named by Brooke after Mr. Waller’s brother, “who lost his life in Africa.”

Although it is not so stated by Brooke (who was presumably ignorant of the fact), Mr. Waller’s specimens of this Antelope are now known to have been given to him by Sir John Kirk, at that time H.B.M. Consul at Zanzibar. In reply to enquiries Sir John kindly informs us that these skulls were procured by hunters in his employment on the coast near the River Juba in Southern Somaliland. Sir John subsequently shot specimens of it himself in the same district (where at that period it was very common), and also brought living examples of it away to Zanzibar.

In his description Brooke pointed out that, as is well shown in the accompanying figure (p. 231), which has been copied from the plate that illustrates his paper, the skull of this Gazelle, besides its general depression, stands widely apart from those of all other species of the group in the enormous backward prolongation of the occiput—“an extension gained principally by the great size of the occipital bone and the prominence of the occipital crest.”This divergence was so remarkable that Brooke doubted “whether the species should not constitute the type of a new subgenus.” As we shall see later, Brooke’s views have been fully justified by what has taken place since a close acquaintance with the structure of this singular Antelope has been acquired.

Fig. 85.Skull of the Gerenuk.(From Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, pl. lvi.)

Fig. 85.

Skull of the Gerenuk.

(From Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, pl. lvi.)

It was six years after the publication of Brooke’s paper before any additional information concerning this strange Antelope was obtained. In November 1884 Sclater brought before the notice of the Zoological Society a series of flat skins of Mammals, prepared by the natives of Somaliland, which had been lent to him for examination by Mr. C. Hagenbeck, of Hamburg. Amongst these were two skins, at first believed to belong to a new Gazelle, but which, after much research and mainly by the aid of a mounted head obtained in Somaliland by the late Mr. F. L. James, he was enabled to prove must belong to the same Antelope on the skull of whichGazella wallerihad been founded. The skins were at once distinguishable by the well-defined dark brown dorsal stripe which, as we now know, forms such a noticeable feature in the present species. Further evidence of the identity of the Somaliland Antelope withGazella walleriwas obtained by the comparison of Mr. James’s specimen with one of the typical skulls of the last-named species. They differed little, except in the slightly larger size of the northern specimen and in some other minor characters. It was thus first shown that the range of Waller’s Gazelle extends to Northern Somaliland, but we now know that the “Gerenuk,” as the Somalis call it, is one of the most abundant game-animals of that favoured land.

Fig. 86.Sketch of Gerenuk, ♂ and ♀, in characteristic attitudes.(From Neumann’s ‘Elephant-Hunting,’ p. 81. Lent by Messrs.Rowland Ward & Co.)

Fig. 86.

Sketch of Gerenuk, ♂ and ♀, in characteristic attitudes.

(From Neumann’s ‘Elephant-Hunting,’ p. 81. Lent by Messrs.Rowland Ward & Co.)

Capt. Swayne sums up his long acquaintance with this Antelope as follows:—

“TheGerenúkis the commonest and most widely distributed of the Somáli Antelopes except the littleSakáro, which springs up like a hare from every thicket.“The long neck of theGerenúk, the large giraffe-like eyes, and long muzzle are peculiar to it and theDibatag(Ammodorcas clarkei). TheGerenúkis more of a browser of bushes than a grass-feeder, and I have twice shot it in the act of standingon the hind legs, neck extended, and fore feet against the trunk of a tree, reaching down the tender shoots, which could not be got in any other way. Thus not only the appearance, but the habits of theGerenúkare giraffe-like. The skull extends far back behind the ears, like that of a camel.“It is found all over the Somali country in small families, never in large herds, and generally in scattered bush, ravines, and rocky ground. I think it subsists almost entirely on bushes, as it is constantly found in places deserted by Oryx and all other Antelopes because there is no grass. Perhaps the Gadabursi country is the best ground for it, but theGerenúkis almost ubiquitous and need not be specially looked for. I have never seen it in the cedar-forests which crown Gólis, nor in the treeless plains which occur in the Haud. It is not necessarily found near water,—in fact, it is generally met with on stony ground, where there is a sprinkling of thorn-jungle.“The gait of this Antelope is peculiar, and when first seen a buck will generally be standing motionless, head well up, looking at the intruder, and trusting to its invisibility. Then the head dives under the bushes, and the animal goes off at a long crouching trot, stopping now and again behind some bush to gaze. It seldom gallops, and its pace is never very fast. In the whole shape of the head and neck, with its extended muzzle and slender lower jaw, there is a marked resemblance between theGerenúkand theDibatag. The texture of the coat is much alike in both. The horns of immature buckGerenúkhave almost exactly the same shape as those of theDibatag. Their average length when fully grown is about 13 inches. The females are hornless; they sometimes lose or desert their young ones, as I have now and then come on fawns living alone in the jungle. TheGerenúkstands a good deal higher than an Indian Blackbuck, but would be of about the same weight.”

“TheGerenúkis the commonest and most widely distributed of the Somáli Antelopes except the littleSakáro, which springs up like a hare from every thicket.

“The long neck of theGerenúk, the large giraffe-like eyes, and long muzzle are peculiar to it and theDibatag(Ammodorcas clarkei). TheGerenúkis more of a browser of bushes than a grass-feeder, and I have twice shot it in the act of standingon the hind legs, neck extended, and fore feet against the trunk of a tree, reaching down the tender shoots, which could not be got in any other way. Thus not only the appearance, but the habits of theGerenúkare giraffe-like. The skull extends far back behind the ears, like that of a camel.

“It is found all over the Somali country in small families, never in large herds, and generally in scattered bush, ravines, and rocky ground. I think it subsists almost entirely on bushes, as it is constantly found in places deserted by Oryx and all other Antelopes because there is no grass. Perhaps the Gadabursi country is the best ground for it, but theGerenúkis almost ubiquitous and need not be specially looked for. I have never seen it in the cedar-forests which crown Gólis, nor in the treeless plains which occur in the Haud. It is not necessarily found near water,—in fact, it is generally met with on stony ground, where there is a sprinkling of thorn-jungle.

“The gait of this Antelope is peculiar, and when first seen a buck will generally be standing motionless, head well up, looking at the intruder, and trusting to its invisibility. Then the head dives under the bushes, and the animal goes off at a long crouching trot, stopping now and again behind some bush to gaze. It seldom gallops, and its pace is never very fast. In the whole shape of the head and neck, with its extended muzzle and slender lower jaw, there is a marked resemblance between theGerenúkand theDibatag. The texture of the coat is much alike in both. The horns of immature buckGerenúkhave almost exactly the same shape as those of theDibatag. Their average length when fully grown is about 13 inches. The females are hornless; they sometimes lose or desert their young ones, as I have now and then come on fawns living alone in the jungle. TheGerenúkstands a good deal higher than an Indian Blackbuck, but would be of about the same weight.”

Mr. Frederick Gillett, F.Z.S., who accompanied Dr. Donaldson Smith during the first part of his expedition to Lake Rudolph, has kindly drawn up for us the following notes on Waller’s Gazelle:—

“This Gazelle is more like Clarke’s Gazelle than any other in Somaliland, not only on account of its long neck, but because of its habits. Never is it found out on the open plains, so much frequented by Soemmerring’s Gazelle, but it prefers the dense Khansa jungles, or, like Clarke’s Gazelle, the high durr-grass of parts of the Haud. Sometimes it is found in company with, or rather in the same neighbourhood as,Gazella soemmerringi, in more or less open country amongst the Khansa-bush and big aloes. It is usually seen in small families of not more than a dozen, but never in herds. It relies on its sharp eyesight and long neck for its safety, standing motionless amongst the bush or grass watching for an enemy. Most of the Somalis dislike its flesh, not so, however, the Lion and Leopard, and many a Waller’s Gazelle is stalked and killed by them. Its native name in Somaliland is ‘Gerenook,’ and in the Arusa Galla country ‘Googoofto.’ In the latter country it is very common, inhabiting the jungles frequented by Elephants and Lesser Koodoos. It is the most ubiquitous of all the Antelopes of this part of Africa, and it is a very common sight to see a buck with its fore legs, like agoat, high up the trunk of a Galol-tree nibbling the small green leaves. The female is hornless, whilst the horns of a good male measure from 14 to 15 inches. Its legs are extremely slender. When disturbed it runs with its long neck stretched out as near the ground as possible, so that it can never be mistaken for a Clarke’s Gazelle, as the latter always holds its head erect and its tail well over its back, and springs instead of runs. The young are born, I believe, early in the year; but I have never seen a really young one, although I have been in the country every month in the year except May and June. On December 8th, 1894, I was stalking an Oryx when a female Waller’s Gazelle ran almost on to me pursued by a male; they did not see me, but turned and ran back, and then again came towards where I was lying, still without seeing me. After they had gone I crawled on, when for the third time they returned and this time saw me. I remained motionless on one knee; the female retired to a bush, and the male with its neck stretched at its full length came cautiously towards me till within 25 yards, and then gave three or four snorts. As it was the Oryx I was after I now moved and they at once trotted off.”

We copy an account of the native mode of capture of this Gazelle from Messrs. Parkinson and Dunbar’s narrative of their journey in Northern Somaliland in 1896 (Geogr. Journ. xi. p. 25):—

“We found here (on the Bur Dab range) an old man living entirely alone, subsisting on gum and snared game. He was very clever at catching ‘Gerenok,’ or Waller’s Gazelle, by means of a cord made of the fibre of the ‘hig’ aloe. At one end of the cord a running noose, 6 inches in diameter, was laid round the rim of a cup-shaped hole scooped in the ground, and supported by a series of small pegs. Near the noose was attached a fine but strong thread, the other end of which was fastened to a springy branch of a tree bent down for the purpose. The noose was prevented from being dragged out of the hole by two pieces of wood laid crosswise. The loose end of the cord was either tied to an adjacent tree or pegged firmly to the ground, and all traces of the trap neatly covered with leaves and sand. The Gazelle is, of course, caught by the leg, and once the noose is drawn tightly round above the hoof there is no escape; but it must need large experience of the haunts of the game to know where to set these gins. The old man had thirty or forty constantly set, and said he got a Gazelle once every four or five days.”

Mr. Alfred Pease has kindly summarized his field-notes on the Gerenuk in the following paragraphs:—

“The Gerenuk is the commonest and most evenly distributed of all the Somali Antelopes, if we exclude the little Dik-diks, but it is by no means the least interesting. It is as peculiar as it is beautiful. At rest it is graceful, when running grotesque, and when feeding most curious in its pose. But its colouring of red and purple-grey, its reach of view, and its motions all wonderfully facilitate its power of escaping observation.At 300 yards I have often had my eye on them feeding, unable almost to distinguish them from their likeness to stems of trees and dead thorn. They are tree-feeders, and their length of leg, body, and giraffe-like necks enable them to crop the leaves from bush-trees at a great height from the ground. When thus occupied in browsing they are often absolutely vertical, and for minutes together motionless, save for the lips and head, which are buried in the foliage. The male alone carries horns, varying in length and circumference, which reach, in fine specimens, 15½ inches measured along the curve. The female is smaller and slighter than the male. On being disturbed they often remain so motionless that it is difficult to detect them in the bush, and when they make off they do so very quickly, and are immediately transformed from tall elegant animals with heads proudly carried to clumsy crouching fugitives with outstretched heads and necks. I have noticed when in flight they generally take a line more or less parallel to the hunter, as if they did not consider it safe to lose all knowledge of their pursuer’s whereabouts in the bush. With this object apparently they will usually keep the crest of a ridge or rise till they have put a considerable distance between themselves and their enemy. They go singly or in bands, but most commonly there are two, three, or more together. I have never seen more than fifteen in one band, and in that case twelve out of the fifteen were females. There is no part of Somaliland that I have visited where they are not common. In 1897 I saw some within five miles of Berbera, in 1896 and 1897 in the maritime plains, in the Golis, on the Haud, in distant Ogaden, and far Bourha, but nowhere more numerous than in the Godabürsi country. They are easily killed by anyone who can shoot standing up, as the long-line shot at the perpendicular, even when as narrow as that of a Gerenuk’s chest and neck, is a comparatively easy one, and no very nice judgment of range is necessary. Their meat is generally despised by the Somalis, but eaten by the Midgans; but to my own taste it is not very much less nice or more nasty than most other Antelope flesh. The Somalis have an expression ‘Gerenuk,’ which is derived from their opinion as to the merits of its flesh, as it is generally considered nasty meat, yet not actually forbidden, and occasionally even relished by individual Somalis. The word is used constantly as an interjection to express dissent, either in chaff or contempt, in the sense: ‘That may do for you, but it won’t do for me!’”

We subjoin Mr. E. N. Buxton’s lively account of his experiences with this Antelope, extracted from the second series of ‘Short Stalks’:—

“The long-necked ‘Gerenook’ is a bush-feeder, like the Giraffe, and is built on the same lines, except that the males carry curved horns. The body is on the scale of a small Fallow-deer, but such is its length of leg and neck that the head, when the animal is on guard, is held over six feet from the ground. They are generally found in small families of three or four. The bright chestnut back makes it fairly easy to see them even among the bushes. On the other hand, its sharp sight and length of neck give it a conspicuous advantage against pursuers. At the first sign of danger the Gerenook slinks behind the bushes, and peeps over the tops as from a small watch-tower. Imagine the strategical advantage you would have in guerilla-warfare if youcould screw your head on to your umbrella and gently elevate it till it looked over the parapet, especially if your eyes were placed quite at the top. If they think themselves followed, down go their heads nearly to the ground and they retreat at a slouching trot, keeping completely out of sight. If you can manage to catch sight of one of these animals before he sees you, and that is seldom, do not shoot him, but watch him feeding. You will not have such a chance at the Zoo, for this species has never been brought alive to Europe. When he has consumed what he can reach in a normal attitude he rears up and stands on his hind legs, assuming a perfectly erect position. With the fore feet, which are carried level with the cheeks, he holds the boughs down, and assists his balance. If he happens to be facing you, so as to show his white belly, the appearance is particularly odd, being that of a tall brown man clad in a white apron.”

It will be recollected thatLithocranius walleri, although actually better known to us from Somaliland, was originally discovered in the southern part of its range, in British East Africa. Here, according to Mr. Hunter, it is “very rare in the Kilimanjaro district, though numerous up the Tana River.” Lieut v. Höhnel, who accompanied Count Teleki’s expedition to Lake Rudolph, informs us that it is common also on the Upper Tana, between Hameye and the mouth of the Mackenzie River, but that none were found on the Guaso Nyiro. Mr. Jackson, in the first volume of ‘Big Game Shooting,’ writes as follows concerning the habits of this species in British East Africa:—

“The East-African Waller’s Gazelle is very much smaller than that found in the Somali country. There is no mistaking this Antelope for any other, on account of its extraordinarily long and thin neck, which in the case of a fully adult buck, killed by myself at Merereni, was only 10 inches in circumference. Two females measured only 7 inches each round the neck. When walking and seen at a distance these animals look not unlike pigmy Giraffes, as they carry their long necks stretched out at an angle. They frequent the open bush fringing the outskirts of dense thickets, into which they at once retreat on being disturbed. Their note of alarm is a low short ‘buzz’! This Gazelle is essentially a bush-feeder. At Merereni I once watched a doe feeding on a small-leaved bush not unlike the privet in appearance, and several times I saw her rear up on her hind legs, bend down a branch with her fore legs, and feed on the leaves in this upright position like a goat. This quaint-looking little Antelope, like the Bushbuck, is apt to haunt one particular spot, and may be seen in or quite near to it for weeks together. They are very shy and not easy to stalk, and, as they have a happy knack of hiding behind bushes in the most effective manner, they are not easy to see.”

The Gerenuk was well represented in the collection of Mammals obtainedby Mr. D. G. Elliot in the course of his recent expedition to Somaliland, and a series of specimens of this Antelope obtained on that occasion has been mounted in characteristic attitudes in one of the large show-cases of the Field-Columbian Museum at Chicago. Mr. Elliot has kindly sent us some photographs of this interesting group, which show the male, female, and young, and their peculiar manner of feeding.

The Gerenuk is represented in the British Museum by a fine mounted pair obtained by Herr Menges in the neighbourhood of Berbera, from which our illustration of both sexes (Plate LXXIV.) has been prepared by Mr. Smit. There are also four other skins of both sexes, purchased of Herr Menges, and the skin figured by Sclater (P. Z. S. 1884, pl. xlix.), which was presented to him by Herr Hagenbeck, but was likewise originally procured by Herr Menges. In the National Collection there are also a skin and skull of a male of this Antelope from Burao Wells, Somaliland, presented by Mr. T. W. H. Clarke, another skin and skull from the hills south of Berbera, presented by Capt. J. R. Harkness, R.A., and a mounted skeleton from Somaliland, obtained by purchase.

From the southern part of its range the British Museum has one of the original skulls from the River Juba district upon which the species was founded, and three skulls and some separate horns from the extreme south of the Somali coast, obtained by Sir John Kirk.

September,1898.

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