The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
If we assume, as is probable, that the Hartebeest of the Bahr-el-Ghazal
belongs to this species, the first examples of it sent to Europe would
be those obtained by Petherick in 1859, which were referred by the
late Dr. Gray to the Bubal of North Africa. Of these specimens the
only one retained by the British Museum is the skull of a female.
Another similar specimen from the Bahr-el-Ghazal was sent to the
British Museum in 1884 by the German collector Bohndorff. Heuglin also
(Reise N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 123) has spoken of the occurrence, on the Kir
and Sobat rivers, of a Hartebeest allied to _B. caama_ of South
Africa. It is quite clear, therefore, that either Jackson’s Hartebeest
or a species closely allied to it is found in the White-Nile district,
although we must await the arrival of fresh specimens from this
country and further information before we can decide exactly what this
Hartebeest is.
It is also probable that the “Central African Hartebeest” of Dr.
Schweinfurth’s ’Im Herzen von Africa,’ and Junker’s “_Bubalis
caama_,” met with in the Niam-Niam country, on the northern
tributaries of the Congo, should both be referred to _Bubalis
jacksoni_.
Thomas’s original characters of _Bubalis jacksoni_ were based on a
specimen transmitted by Mr. Jackson to Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., shot
in November 1889 in Northern Kavirondo, which is now in the British
Museum. In a note accompanying the specimen, in which he expresses a
sagacious doubt as to “its being the same as the South-African animal,”
Mr. Jackson adds:--“Up north all along the top of the Elgeyo Escarpment
(continuation of Mau) into Turquel to the north and north-east of Mount
Elgon it is very common, and takes the place of _B. cokei_. Round
Baringo it is fairly plentiful, but some marches south of Njemps _B.
cokei_ takes its place.”
Mr. Ernest Gedge, who accompanied Mr. Jackson in his adventurous
expedition, has kindly furnished us with the following excellent
field-notes on this Antelope:--
“The first specimens of Jackson’s Hartebeest were obtained on the Mau
plateau in British East Africa. This plateau extends in a northern and
southerly direction through the Masai country, and varies from 8000 to
9000 feet in elevation.
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