The book of antelopes, vol. 2 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 2 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
Modern authorities on the Mammals of South Africa inform us that the
Klipspringer, although not met with in the immediate vicinity of
Cape Town, is still fairly common in certain districts of the broken
and mountainous interior. In the hills about Kanya and Molopolole
and in Bechuanaland, Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington tell us it is
plentiful. The same is the case in the Zoutspansberg, Waterberg, and
Murchison Ranges, in the Transvaal, and throughout the broken portions
of Matabeleland. Mr. Selous speaks of it as being “particularly
plentiful in the curious detached stony hills of Matabeleland and
Mashonaland.” In Natal Mr. W. H. Drummond tells us that he only found
the Klipspringer on the Drachensberg Range, and, beyond the limits of
the colony, on the precipitous faces of the Bombo Mountains.
Mr. Selous did not meet with this Antelope north of the Zambesi, but
we have excellent authorities for its existence far beyond that limit.
Peters, in his ‘Reise nach Mossambique,’ has recorded its occurrence on
the Caruera Mountains near Tette. Sir John Kirk found it “singly or in
pairs near the Kebrabassa Rapids of the Zambesi and on the Murchison
Rapids of the Shiré;” and Mr. Whyte has sent us specimens from Mount
Milanji, in Nyasaland, where it is found in pairs among rocks and on
the higher ridges. It is also met with on Mount Zomba.
On Lake Nyasa Mr. Crawshay tells us that the Klipspringer is known as
the “Chinkoma,” and is common in rough mountainous country. He praises
its venison as “excellent,” and says that the skins are much prized by
the hill-tribes of Nyasaland, who convert them into bags for carrying
bread. Passing further northwards into German East Africa, we find this
Antelope recorded as found in various mountainous localities. Böhm
met with it on the Venusberg in Ugunda and Böhmer near Mpapwe, while
Stühlmann and Emin Pasha obtained specimens at Bussissi on the Victoria
Nyanza. Herr Oscar Neumann found the Klipspringer near the top of Mount
Gurui in Irangi (see ‘Geographical Journal,’ vi. p. 275). Even the
extreme summit of this extinct volcano is clothed with a vegetation of
alpine flowers and short grass which supplies it with subsistence. In
British East Africa, Mr. Jackson informs us, the Klipspringer is met
with only in the rocky broken ground on the slopes of the hills and
large “earth-boils” between Teita and Turkqueh, where there is no other
game to be found.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account