Philip Lutley Sclater

“ 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. ”

“ Their heads are beautifully marked, the pervading tint forming the groundwork being of a slightly browner and fainter hue than the body, relieved by an almost black band running down from between the horns to the nostrils, and covering both sides of the nose and facial ridge; a short band, also very distinct, of the same colour runs down the tear-mark below the eye. In old bucks these dark stripes are often very nearly jet-black; in younger males and females the colouring varies from pale to dark brown. ”

“ There can be no doubt that the two Gazelles which inhabit the maritime plain and the high inland plateau of Somaliland respectively, although they are closely allied, and have been confused together by some writers, belong to distinct species, distinguishable by well-marked characters. The Gazelle of the interior plateau, which we treat of first, when compared with that of the coast-land is at once recognizable by the generally browner colour, the darker lateral band, the black nose-spot, and above all by the wrinkled and elevated nose of the adult, which is not met with in the sister species. ”

“ The Gazelle (Gazella dorcas) is by far the most abundant of all the large game in Palestine; indeed it is the only wild animal of the chase which an ordinary traveller has any chance of seeing. Small herds of gazelles are to be found in every part of the country, and in the south they congregate in herds of nearly 100 together. One such herd I met with at the southern end of the Jebel Usdum, or salt mountain, south of the Dead Sea, where they had congregated to drink of the only sweet spring within several miles, Ain Beida. ”

“ If a doe chance to stray from the herd, the buck immediately gives chase, and, bleating as he goes, tries to drive her back again. While his attention is thus engaged the others give him the slip, and pursuing first one, then another, he often loses his whole harem. At last, deserted by all, he gives vent to his fury and disgust by striking the ground with his hoofs, curving his tail, lowering his horns, and bleating defiance at his compeers. From morning until evening these scenes are constantly occurring, and there appears to be no bond of union between the male antelope and his does ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 that Lithocranius walleri, although actually better known to us from Somaliland, was originally discovered in the southern part of its range, in British East Africa. ”

“ Down come all four feet together with a single thump, and nimbly spurning the earth beneath, away they soar again, as if about to take flight—invariably clearing a road or beaten track by a still higher leap than all—as if their natural disposition to regard man as an enemy indicated them to mistrust even the ground upon which he had trodden. ”

“ Pouring down, like the devastating curse of Egypt, from their native plains in the interior whence they have been driven, after protracted drought and by the failure of the stagnant pools on which they have relied, whole legions of Springboks abandon the parched soil and throng with one accord to deluge and lay waste the cultivated regions around the Cape. ”

“ In colour the Speke’s Gazelles are much darker than Pelzeln’s Gazelles, the predominating colour in life being a rich strong burnt-sienna buff, distinctly darker over the back. The side-stripes are very dark brown, strongly marked, and maintaining their depth of colour to the edge of the white under the ribs and belly. The tail is a dark reddish brown, and the colour on the quarters towards the tail is of a deeper shade. The coat, though fine in texture, is very long for a Gazelle, being sometimes fully two inches long on the withers, and the stern is heavily feathered with long white hair. ”

“ Gradually he comes within range, the rifle is poked through the hole in the screen and he gets his quietus. After this the tame Antelopes are given a handful of corn, and the party sets out to look for another herd. The tame [12] buck employed in this manœuvre should be a brown one, as if an old powerful-looking black one is used the wild buck will often decline the contest.”
The Indian Antelope bears captivity easily, and specimens of it are to be seen in all the Zoological Gardens of Europe, in some of which it has bred and multiplied very successfully. ”

“ Besides mankind, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga Antelope in the Volga district has no special enemy. The wolves and foxes, the only large beasts of prey of these steppes, can only attack quite young animals, the older ones easily making their escape. They have one great plague in the steppes, however, in the insects, especially a species of Œstrus, by which at times they seem to be driven nearly crazy, and with the eggs and larvæ of which their skins seem to be almost always infested. ”

“ Though a few of the old bucks, usually accompanying every herd, are more cautious and experienced, the Orongos generally are not so wary in their habits. In their flight the males follow the herd as though to prevent straggling; whilst with the Dzerens and Kara-sultas this order is reversed. When in motion, either leisurely or at full speed, the Orongo holds its horns erect, which adds greatly to its appearance. When trotting—its usual pace—the legs move so quickly that at a distance they are invisible, and dogs or wolves are soon left behind. ”

“ When taken young, the Dorcas Gazelle is easily tamed and becomes very docile and affectionate. It is frequently kept in captivity by the Arabs and thus passes into the hands of Europeans who visit the East. As will be seen by reference to the Zoological Society’s List of Animals, specimens of this species reach the Gardens every year. But they cannot be said to thrive in the climate of England, where they miss the bright sun and dry air of their native deserts, and seldom produce young. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Blanford says that it is perhaps a question whether the Eastern Turkestan Gazelle should not be raised to the rank of a species. It differs principally from the typical form in the very much darker markings on the face and in the much smaller degree to which the horns diverge. The size appears rather larger than that of the typical Persian form. But as there are some variations in the face-markings of Persian specimens, Dr. Blanford has considered it better to regard the Yarkand race as only a variety, which he has proposed to call Gazella subgutturosa yarkandensis. ”

“ The greater part of these wild uplands would appear at first to be a perfect desert, but, as a matter of fact, on closer inspection, it will be found that there is hardly a slope, however rocky, or an expanse of sand, however thirsty-looking, where an occasional tuft of grass or bunch of sweet-scented herb may not be found, while wherever streams of water exist their banks are often ornamented by the greenest of turf and studded with flowers of the most brilliant hues. ”

“ Northern and Eastern Africa, and Western and Central Asia to Mongolia and British India.
The genus Gazella contains the great majority of the members of the present subfamily, and forms a very natural and easily defined group. All the species are lightly built and delicate animals, and are among the best known of all the Antelopes, on account of their beauty and the fact that they are common in confinement, so that every zoological garden is always well provided with examples of them. In the Zoological Society’s Gardens at the present time no less than ten species are represented. ”

“ 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. ”

“ In the eastern desert of Egypt the Dorcas Gazelle appears in these days to be not nearly so common. Mr. E. N. Buxton, who traversed the eastern desert in his expedition after Capra sinaitica, tells us that two or three Gazelles together were the most he ever saw at one time. Between the Nile and the granite mountains 80 miles to the east, a very arid district, Mr. Buxton only saw Gazelles once. They were more numerous among the foot hills of the Kettar range and the porphyry mountains, for the obvious reason that there is more vegetation there. ”

“ When the greyhound, which is the large Persian dog, with long silky ears and silky tail, is employed alone, success is very uncertain, and the ‘roe’ often ‘delivers itself from the hand of the hunter.’ When the chase is conducted with the falcon alone, the bird is trained to dash repeatedly at the head of the victim, taking an instinctive care not to [107] impale itself on the horns (which, nevertheless, often happens) , and by its feints so to delay the quarry that the horsemen are able to come up with it. But the favourite chase is by both bird and dog. ”

“ In Algeria we have more definite information available.
From the days of Shaw the “Common Gazelle” has been recognized as an inhabitant of the “Barbary States.” The French naturalist Loche included it in his catalogue of 1858, but is not clear in distinguishing it from its allied species. Canon Tristram, in the ‘Great Sahara,’ published two years later, informs us that this Gazelle is found in small troops in every portion of the Sahara, and is the principal large game to be depended on for food, especially in the neighbourhood of the dayats beyond Laghouat, where pasturage is abundant. ”

“ It is extremely wary, especially in those districts where it has learnt to fear man; on the banks of the Muruiussu it is a little less timid. Its swiftness is amazing; it bounds along like an india-rubber ball, and when startled seems absolutely to fly. During their breeding-season, which begins towards the close of December and lasts a month, the males chase one another from their herds, but we never saw them fighting like the Orongo, nor did we ever hear them utter any sound other than a snort on seeing a man ”

“ I bought in the bazaar at Biskra several pairs of Gazelle horns. They obviously belonged to three species: Gazella dorcas, called by the Arabs ‘Rezal’; Gazella cuvieri, which they call ‘Admi’; and a third called ‘Reem,’ which I was not able to identify with any described species. All these horns were on frontal bones only. It is very rarely that the Arabs bring in any whole skulls or skins for sale, and I have never seen anything but frontlets of the ‘Reem.’
“In 1891 and again in 1893 I went out to Algeria for the purpose of hunting Mouflon (Ovis tragelaphus) . ”

“ In colour they are amongst the most beautiful of the African Antelopes, and to see large herds of them moving about as the first bright gleams of the sun in the early morning touch them is one of the prettiest of the many charming sights that meets the traveller’s eye in this part of Africa. ”