The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
Skull comparatively small, with an unusually long nasal region; the
nasal bones very long and narrow. Basal length (♀) 13·3 inches,
greatest breadth 5·2, muzzle to orbit 9·5.
Horns as in the Korrigum, but shorter and slenderer; those of a female
16·4 inches in length.
_Hab._ British East-African coast, from the River Juba to the
River Sabaki, and extending thence into Uganda and Uniamwezi.
The “Topi,” as we propose to designate another local representative
of the Korrigum, from the native name given to it by the Swahili, has
been known for some years to the sportsmen who have visited British and
German East Africa as an abundant Antelope in certain districts, and
has been generally called by them the “Senegal Antelope,” from being
supposed to be the same as the “Korrigum.” But, as Herr Matschie first
pointed out, it differs from the typical Senegal form in the absence of
the black band on the inner side of the thigh, in the front legs being
black down to the hoofs, and in the restriction of the black on the
hinder flanks to the hips.
So far as we know, Sir John Kirk, then Consul-General at Zanzibar,
was the first to obtain examples of this fine Antelope on the East
Coast. Sir John has kindly supplied us with the following notes on this
species:--
“The ‘Tope,’ or Senegal Antelope, was very common on the maritime plain
of Formosa Bay when I first went to Zanzibar in 1866; before I left, in
1886, it had become rather rare near the coast. On the maritime plain
it used to be seen in numerous herds of from 5 to 20. The herds of
Tope generally kept alone, but you would see the herds of _Gazella
granti_ grazing near by. I am, however, not satisfied that this
Gazelle was the real _Gazella granti_, for the horns seem to show
a permanent difference of sweep.
“However, to return to the Tope, I may say that I shot it again on the
south bank of the River Juba.
“The River Sabaki (near Malindi) is, so far as I know, the southern
limit of the species _on the coast_; I have little doubt that
further inland it may be met with further south, just as you find the
Oryx, the Vulturine Guinea-fowl, and other species (which never occur
south of the River Sabaki _on the coast_), to be common if you go
inland, and in a latitude far south of Malindi, such as at Mpwapwa in
Usagara.
“The Tope was at one time so common near Witu, and in the district
about Lamu, as to supply a considerable number of hides that were
exported from Zanzibar.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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