Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
General
Big Game Shooting, volume 1 (of 2)
Phillipps-Wolley, Clive
Game and game-birds; Hunting
The Lesser Reedbuck (Swahili, ‘Toi’ or ‘Tohi’) is very local, and as a
rule only frequents the vicinity of rivers and swamps which are never
dry. These bucks are found on the shores of Lake Jipi and the Ziwa to
the east of Kilimanjaro, and in a few other places. I also saw several
small herds of them, out of which I shot two bucks, on the top of the
hills to the north-west of Machako’s station. These had evidently
been driven up into the hills by the grass fires in the plains, which
had destroyed every particle of covert. The reed-bucks give a shrill
whistle when disturbed, and are very shy and difficult to stalk. They,
however, lie close when in long grass, and will sometimes allow the
sportsman to approach within twenty or thirty yards of them, when they
rush off at such a pace that, as their colour very closely resembles
the dry grass, they are difficult to hit. They go about in small herds
of three or four, but more often in couples or quite alone.
GRANT’S GAZELLE
[Illustration: Adult and immature Gazella Grantii]
The _Grantii_ (Swahili name, ‘Sala,’ or ‘Swara’) is met with almost
everywhere in the plains and open bush country. It and the impala are
perhaps the most beautiful of all the smaller antelopes, and both are
among the most coveted trophies of the sportsman.
In the Rombo and Useri plains the horns of this antelope grow to a
much greater length than anywhere else that I know of. Thirty inches
along the curve is the length of the record head, but horns of 26 ins.
in length are by no means unusual in this locality. In other parts of
the country a buck with horns 24 ins. in length would be considered to
carry a first-rate head.
These antelopes are found in herds of from three or four up to fifteen
or twenty, though I have seen as many as sixty in one herd at Machako’s.
THOMSON’S GAZELLE
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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