The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)Wood, Theodore
General
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)
Wood, Theodore
Animals -- Juvenile literature
What the gemsbok feeds upon is rather a mystery, for it is often found
in districts where there is no vegetation except a little dry scrub. Yet
it nearly always seems to be in good condition. And it is odder still to
find that for months together sometimes it must go without drinking!
Some hunters, indeed, have declared that they are quite positive that
the animal never drinks at all, obtaining all the moisture it needs from
small watermelons and certain bulbous roots.
The gemsbok is of about the same size as the kudu, and is gray in color
above and white below. But there is a black streak across the face,
while another streak, which is much broader, runs along the sides,
dividing the gray of the upper parts from the white of the lower. This
antelope is hunted on horseback, and is so swift and so enduring, that
there is said to be no animal in Africa which is harder to overtake.
THE SPRINGBOK
The most graceful and elegant of all the antelopes are the gazelles, of
which we may take the springbok as an example.
In former days this was by far the most abundant of all the African game
animals, and would sometimes be seen traveling from one district to
another in enormous herds, covering the country as far as the eye could
reach. So vast were these herds, indeed, and so closely did the animals
march side by side together that sometimes a lion would be seen in their
ranks marching along with them, quite unable to stop, or to make his
escape, because of the pressure all round him!
The springbok, or "springbuck," owes its name to its marvelous activity,
and to its curious habit of suddenly leaping straight up into the air.
In this way it can easily spring to a height of eight or ten feet.
The springbok is easily tamed, and soon comes to know who are its
friends. One of these animals was kept as a pet by a lady living at
Klerksdorp, in South Africa, and would wander about the town by itself,
not seeming to be in the least afraid of the passers-by, or even of the
dogs. Every morning, too, it would cross the river, and go out upon the
veldt to feed; and although it would mix freely with its wild companions
during the day, it always left them in the evening and came home to
sleep.
In height the springbok stands about two feet six inches, and it can
easily be distinguished from all the other gazelles by the white streak
which runs along the middle of the back. The horns are black, with a
number of ridge-like rings running round them, and the color of the coat
is dark cinnamon-yellow above and white beneath, with a blackish stripe
on the flanks between the two.
GNUS
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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