The book of antelopes, vol. 3 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 3 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
“Soemmerring’s Antelope is widely distributed throughout
Somaliland. In the following notes my remarks are confined
to my own personal observations of this species during two
expeditions. The first was in the north-western corner of
the British Somali Protectorate, the second across the Haud
into Ogaden and the country south of Harrar frequented by the
Rer Mellingowr Ogaden. The average height of an adult male
Soemmerring’s Gazelle is about 35 inches at the shoulder, with
a girth behind the elbow of 32 inches. Unfortunately I never
weighed any specimen. In colour they are amongst the most
beautiful of the African Antelopes, and to see large herds of
them moving about as the first bright gleams of the sun in the
early morning touch them is one of the prettiest of the many
charming sights that meets the traveller’s eye in this part of
Africa. Their colour is an extremely rich clear pale orange on
the body, spread evenly over the back, flanks, and running in
narrowing bands down the four legs; this colour is set off by a
wide margin of snowy white, which not only covers the whole of
the belly and inner side of the legs, but which cuts back into
the rump, so that when the Gazelle is standing with its tail
towards you, you see little else but the snowy stern. Their
heads are beautifully marked, the pervading tint forming the
groundwork being of a slightly browner and fainter hue than the
body, relieved by an almost black band running down from between
the horns to the nostrils, and covering both sides of the nose
and facial ridge; a short band, also very distinct, of the same
colour runs down the tear-mark below the eye. In old bucks these
dark stripes are often very nearly jet-black; in younger males
and females the colouring varies from pale to dark brown. The
throat is sometimes white, and when not altogether so, generally
wears a more or less distinct crescent of white about two-thirds
down the lower part of the underside of the neck. Both males
and females carry heavy horns for animals of their size. The
female’s horns are quite as long as, and perhaps slightly longer
in proportion to their age than, the male’s, but they are weaker
and less regular, though almost as deeply notched and annulated
as in the buck. In general form they may be described as lyrate
in a front view; the tips often point exactly towards each
other, being separated sometimes two inches, sometimes even more
than six. Sometimes the tips point backwards, and sometimes
distinctly forwards.
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