The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 1 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
Horns cylindrical, evenly curved, starting outwards and backwards,
gradually turning inwards and backwards. There is also a slight
lyration of the horns, so that both points and bases are directed a
little upwards, the general lunate curve being thereby disturbed.
Good male horns attain a length of 14 or 15 inches, with a basal
circumference of 7 or 8.
_Hab._ S.E. Africa, north of the Orange River up to the Zambesi,
and westward to the district of Lake Ngami.
The Sassaby is a fine large Antelope well known to the sportsmen of
South-east Africa. Though it certainly belongs to this group, it is
rather isolated by the peculiar form of the horns, which somewhat
resemble those of the Tora. It nearest allies are no doubt the Blessbok
and Bontebok, which, however, it considerably exceeds in stature, being
nearly as big as a Hartebeest.
The first discovery of the Sassaby is due to the researches of the
celebrated African traveller, Dr. William J. Burchell. On the 10th of
July, 1812, when on the Makkwárin River, in what is now the Orange Free
State, Burchell’s hunters obtained a single specimen of an Antelope
which was at once recognized as “new,” and was subsequently described
in the second volume of the author’s ‘Travels’ (published in 1824), as
the “Crescent-horned Antelope, _Antilope lunata_” Burchell states
that it seemed to be an extremely scarce animal, as he never met with
it again during the whole of his journeyings, the fact being that he
had only just entered within the southern boundary of the range of this
species. Burchell’s typical specimen, or rather portions of it, viz.
the frontlet and horns, is still in the National Collection, to which
he presented it.
Between the period of the discovery of the Sassaby by Burchell and the
publication of its description this Antelope attracted the attention
of another observer, Samuel Daniell, an artist who accompanied Dr.
Somerville on two expeditions into the interior of the Cape Colony
early in the present century. One of the copperplates engraved by
William Daniell from the drawings made by his deceased brother Samuel,
and published in 1820, gives a good representation of this species,
which is stated in the accompanying letterpress to be “an Antelope,
heretofore not described, found in the Booshwana country.” But no
further particulars are given of it.
Hamilton-Smith, in his volume on the Ruminants, published in Griffith’s
Translation of Cuvier’s ‘Règne Animal,’ correctly brought together
Daniell’s “Sassaby” and Burchell’s _Antilope lunata_ under one
head and added a copy of Daniell’s figure.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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