The book of antelopes, vol. 4 (of 4)Sclater, Philip Lutley
Science
The book of antelopes, vol. 4 (of 4)
Sclater, Philip Lutley
Antelopes
Mr. J. Benett Stanford, F.Z.S., a well-known sportsman in Somaliland,
tells us a curious story about this Antelope. On one occasion when
shooting in that country he killed a female Beisa, and, leaving his men
to skin her, went on in pursuit of other game. On his return to the
camp, late in the afternoon, he found a young Beisa frolicking about,
and was greeted by one of the party with the words “How _did_
you catch it?” It appeared that the men had cut the young animal out
from the dead mother, and found it perfectly formed in every respect.
This young Antelope lived with the caravan for several months, and was
eventually killed by an accident.
The following extract from Capt. Francis B. Pearce’s recently published
‘Rambles in Lion-Land’ will show that, notwithstanding the persecutions
of the numerous sportsmen who now visit the Somaliland Protectorate
every winter, the Beisa is as yet by no means an extinct animal in the
interior of that attractive country:—
“We struck camp after having spent a very successful week on the
Tyuli Hills, and turned our faces south _en route_ for the zebra-
country. Shortly after leaving camp I saw the largest herd of Oryx
I have ever seen. It is a difficult matter to estimate the number
of a herd of animals unless one possesses some education in that
line, but at the lowest estimate there could not have been less
than five hundred head. This enormous herd galloped past us at a
distance of a little over two hundred yards. It was a beautiful
sight to watch. With glistening coats and horns laid back, they
tore past. Both J—— and I were too fascinated to think of firing.”
The Beisa is well known in the Zoological Gardens of Europe, and has
bred in captivity on more than one occasion. The first living example
of this Antelope (a male) was received by the Zoological Society of
London, as a present from Admiral Cumming, in 1874, and a female was
presented by the Sultan of Zanzibar in the following year, from which
the figure in the Society’s ‘Garden Guide’ for 1876 (see fig. 94, p.
70) was taken. This made a pair of this animal for the Collection,
believed at that time to be the only pair in Europe. In 1877 and 1878
other specimens were obtained. On April 12th, 1881, the first calf
was born, and in September 1885 a second calf from the same pair. At
the present time there are three representatives of this Oryx in the
Society’s Collection, and specimens of it may also be seen in many of
the Zoological Gardens on the Continent.
A coloured figure of the first Beisa calf born in the Zoological
Society’s Gardens will be found in the ‘Proceedings’ for 1881 (plate
liv.).
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account