The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
The Tora or Tétel was confounded by von Heuglin and Sir Samuel Baker,
its first discoverers, with the Bubal. But these two Antelopes, though
alike of uniform colour, are easily distinguishable on comparison by
the larger size and higher gait of the Tora and by the different shape
of its horns. The Tora would also seem to inhabit more wooded and
broken country than the open deserts that are the home of the allied
species.
Heuglin tells us that this Antelope is found in families and herds
in the valleys at the foot of Mount Takah, in the district of the
Beni-Ammer Arabs, in Upper Barca, on the Anseba and Atbara and their
confluents, and in the lower districts of Northern Abyssinia. He found
it likewise plentiful on the sources of the Dender and Rahad, and in
Galabat. It inhabits the sheltered country where there is high grass
and underwood, is not particularly timid, and sometimes even stupidly
bold, resorting regularly in the morning and evening to the usual
pastures and drinking-places.
In his volume on ‘The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia’ Sir Samuel Baker
frequently mentions the “Tétel,” as he calls this Antelope.
In August 1861, being on the banks of the Atbara, he writes:--
“The country being now bright green, the Antelopes are distinctly
visible on the opposite side. Three Tétel graze regularly together in
the same place daily. This Antelope is a variety of the Hartebeest of
South Africa; it is of a reddish-chestnut colour, and is of about the
size of an Alderney cow.”
A month later Sir Samuel tells us:--
“When about halfway to the river, as we were passing through grass
about 4 feet high, three Tétel bounded from a ravine, and passing
directly before us, gave me a splendid shot at about sixty yards. The
Ceylon No. 10 struck the foremost through the shoulder, and it fell
dead after running a few yards. This was also my first Tétel; it was in
splendid condition, the red coat was like satin, and the animal would
weigh about five hundred pounds live weight.”
Shortly afterwards the skin of the Tétel was taken off entire, the
apertures at the neck and knees tied up, and the hide inflated and
ingeniously converted into a waterproof bag, to be used for the
conveyance of the flesh of the animal across the river Atbara.
In a subsequent part of his journey in the valley of the Settite, a
confluent of the Atbara, Baker again records his adventures with this
Antelope as follows:--
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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