their first living specimen of this scarce Antelope. This was a young
male brought home from the Gambia and presented to the Society, along
with a young male Harnessed Antelope, by Dr. Percy Rendall, F.Z.S., on
the 23rd of June of that year. A photograph presented by Dr. Rendall
to Sclater, which was taken at Bathurst in August 1889, represents the
Harnessed Antelope, at that time one year old, and the little Nagor,
then only four months old, being fed together by Dr. Rendall himself.
The Nagor, we need hardly say, has long ago attained its full stature,
and at the time we write (January 1897) is, we are glad to say, still
living and thriving in the Zoological Society’s Antelope-House.
It stands about 28 inches high at the shoulders, and is above of a
nearly uniform reddish brown in colour, rather darker on the central
line; the insides of the ears and the ocular region are white, the
face being rather more rufous. The belly and inner sides of the limbs
are whitish. The large naked space beneath the ear is white and very
noticeable. The tail is short, broad, and bushy, like the back above,
and white beneath. The horns are black; the distance from their base to
their tips is about 5½ inches in a straight line; the muzzle is moist,
naked, and black; and the hoofs are black.
[Illustration: Fig. 40.
Head of _Cervicapra redunca_. (In viv. Soc. Zool. Lond.)]
So far as we know this is the only example of the Nagor that has
reached Europe alive, except the specimens formerly in the Knowsley
Menagerie and in the Jardin des Plantes of which we have already spoken.
Our figure of the present species has been put on the stone by Smit
from a coloured sketch prepared for the late Sir Victor Brooke by Wolf.
Through the kindness of Sir Douglas Brooke we have been able to examine
the original drawing, which is marked on the back “_C. redunca_”
in Sir Victor Brooke’s handwriting, but we have no clue as to the
original specimen from which it was taken.
_February, 1897._
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLV.
_J. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Roi Rhebok.
CERVICAPRA FULVORUFULA.
_Published by R. H. Porter._]
73. THE ROI RHÉBOK.
CERVICAPRA FULVORUFULA (AFZEL.).
[PLATE XLV.]
_Antilope fulvorufula_, =Afzel.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 250 (1815)
(_ex_ Allamand, in Buff. Suppl. vi. p. 188 (1782); =Goldf.=
Schr. Säug. v. p. 1226 (1818); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 239
(1827).
_Antilope lalandia_, =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 445
(1822); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 378 (1827).
_Antilope landiana_, =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p. 462 (1822).
_Antilope lalandii_, =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 467 (1829);
=Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 621 (1839); =Schinz=, Syn.
Mamm. ii. p. 415 (1845).
_Redunca lalandii_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii. p. 210 (1834).
_Cervicapra lalandii_, =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 34,
pl. i. fig. 4 (1892); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 228 (1893);
=Ward=, Horn Meas. (2) p. 132 (1896); =Rendall=, P. Z. S. 1895,
p. 359 (Transvaal).
_Antilope eleotragus_, =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. ix. (♂ ♀)
(1827) (_nec_ Schreb.); =Smuts=, En. Mamm. Cap. p. 75 (1832);
=Schinz=, Mon. Antil. p. 15, pl. xiv. (1848).
_Cervicapra eleotragus_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl.
1844, p. 194 (1846); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand.
Beitr. ii. p. 145; Reprint, p. 69 (1848).
_Redunca eleotragus_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. 1, p. 169 (1869);
=Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 222 (1880).
_Eleotragus eleotragus_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas. ix.) p. 130 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op.
cit. xi.) p. 159 (1892).
_Eleotragus reduncus_, =Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p. 298 (1889).
_Cervicapra redunca_, =Günth.= P. Z. S. 1890, p. 604.
_Eleotragus arundinaceus_, =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 191
(1853) (_nec_ Bechst.).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Roi Rhébok_ of Dutch and English Cape
Colonists; _Njala_ or _Ihlangu matse_ (_i. e._, Reedbuck of the
Rocks) of the Swazi (_Rendall_).
Size about that of _C. redunca_; height at withers 28 inches.
General colour greyish fawn, brighter, sometimes almost rufous, on
the head and neck, greyer on the body. Chin, upper part of throat,
belly, and inner sides of limbs white. Darker leg-markings absent or
inconspicuous. Tail only reaching about to the level of the groin, very
bushy, fawn above, white below.
Horns slender, not exceeding 4 inches in circumference, evenly curved
upwards and forwards, but showing in a very marked degree the change of
general form with age already referred to in the other species.
Skull measurements of an adult male:--Basal length 8·1 inches, greatest
breadth 4·1, muzzle to orbit 5·1.
_Female_ similar to the male, but hornless.
_Hab._ Eastern portion of South Africa south of the Zambesi,
especially Natal, Zululand, and Bechuanaland.
Besides the ordinary Reedbuck of the Cape (which is that called in
this work _Cervicapra arundinum_) the Dutch settlers have from an
early date recognized the existence of a second species of the same
group in eastern parts of the Colony, which, instead of frequenting
banks of rivers, resorts to the terraces of the mountains, and is
commonly called the “Roi Rhébok,” or “Red Roebuck.” Great confusion
has prevailed for many years as to the proper scientific name of
this species. By Lichtenstein and Sundevall it has been called
“_eleotragus_,” and by Gray “_reduncus_”; but, according to
our views, both these names are properly applicable to other species.
Until lately we have used for it the specific term “_lalandii_” it
being in all probability the “_Antilope lalandia_” of Desmoulins,
founded by that author in 1822 upon a specimen of a female Antelope in
the Musée d’Histoire Naturelle obtained at the Cape by the well-known
French collector Delalande. But we have lately found another older
name for it, which, under the circumstances, we think we shall be
justified in employing, although we must confess that in all these old
names there is a considerable element of uncertainty. After describing
the Reedbuck (_C. arundinum_) Allamand, in his edition of Buffon
(as quoted by Afzelius), speaks of another similar animal of a darker
colour, which is found in the mountains of the Cape Colony. Upon this
variety of Allamand, Afzelius, in his memoir on Antelopes, published
at Upsala in 1815, proceeds to establish a species _Antilope
fulvorufula_. Between two uncertain names, therefore, in order to
avoid the necessity of proposing a new one, we will select the oldest
and call the Roi Rhébok _Cervicapra fulvorufula_.
The earliest good description and figure of this species were
published by Lichtenstein in the second Heft of his ‘Darstellung der
Säugethiere,’ issued at Berlin about the year 1829. Here _Antilope
eleotragus_, as he unfortunately calls it, is well distinguished by
many characters from the larger Reedbuck (which Lichtenstein termed
_A. isabellina_), and figures are given of it of both sexes.
Harris, during his extensive travels in South Africa in 1836 and
1837, curiously enough does not seem to have recognized this Antelope
as a distinct species, but alludes to it in the letterpress to his
‘Portraits’ as a variety of the Reedbuck, “usually met with on high
rocky mountains along the dry channels of upland streams.” Of this
supposed variety he had killed a single specimen in the Cashan
range, but doubted whether it was more than a young individual of
the well-known Reedbuck. But we have good accounts of the habits and
distribution of this Antelope from more recent authorities, who take a
very different view of its position.
The “Roi-raebuck,” Mr. W. H. Drummond tells us, in his volume on the
‘Large Game of South Africa,’ published in 1875, though inhabiting
thorny districts, prefers such as are on stony or broken ground. It is
a fine large Antelope, but a little smaller than the Reedbuck, though
its colour, he says, as its name implies, is of a reddish tinge.
Messrs. Nicolls and Eglington, writing in 1892 in their ‘Sportsman in
South Africa,’ give a small but very recognizable representation of
the head of the Red Rhébuck (see figure 4 of their first plate), and,
after speaking of what has been called the “Lesser Reedbuck” (which is
probably nothing more than this species under another English name),
point out that the Red Rhébuck is quite a different animal from the
true Reedbuck, and has totally different habits. The Red Rhébuck “runs
in herds, often exceeding twenty in number, and invariably frequents
the summits of hilly and mountainous districts, where there are no
reeds and where water may be miles and miles distant”; whereas the
Reedbuck is found “either in pairs or in parties, never exceeding four
in number,” only in low lying country along rivers which have reeds on
their banks. “The one peculiarity common to both species is the fact
that the males, when alarmed, give vent to a shrill whistle.”
As regards the distribution of this species, the same writers inform
us:--“The Red Rhébuck is generally found in favourable localities
all over that part of Africa south of the Zambesi, but more plentiful
in the mountainous ranges of the Transvaal and the broken country in
the Bechuanaland Protectorate, especially the vicinity of Sichele’s
stronghold. Resorting to inaccessible places, it is nowhere by any
means abundant, and consequently specimens are but seldom obtained.
Like the Vaal Rhébuck (_Pelea capreolus_) one old ram of a herd
constantly acts as sentinel while the remainder feed, and on the least
approach of danger at once gives the alarm by shrilly whistling. The
flesh is somewhat poor.”
In his recently published ‘Haunts of Wild Game,’ Mr. F. V. Kirby,
F.Z.S., has given us an excellent account of his sporting wanderings in
the north-eastern provinces of the Transvaal. Here this Reedbuck, as he
tells us, is now only found on the mountain-range of the Drakensberg.
In former days, however, he had seen them amongst the foot-hills and
well down in the flats in the district lying between the Sabi and
Crocodile Rivers, where they run in small troops of from six to eight.
A letter received by Sclater from Mr. Kirby in the summer of 1896 gives
the following further particulars of this Antelope:--
“The so-called Rooi Rhébuck are usually found in pairs, or in small
‘clumpies’ (excuse the Dutch) of four or five. _Never_ on the
bleak open mountain-summits like _Pelea capreolus_, but always
on the ‘hang’ of the mountains--the narrow terraces thickly covered
with sugar-bush. They lie close like Reedbuck, and when alarmed move
off with a shrill whistle, like that of their _confrères_. Their
action when in motion is also similar to that of _C. arundinum_--a
sort of easy, free, rocking-horse motion, like a horse in a hand canter.
“The tail is always fan-spread, as in _C. arundinum_. The fur of
the young animal is very woolly in texture, as in that of the young
Reedbuck. The flesh I consider decidedly coarse, quite as much as that
of _Pelea capreolus_.
“When running off on being alarmed, a sharp whistle will usually bring
them to a stand, under 200 yards. Amongst the rocks they are quite as
active as Vaal Rhébuck, but unlike them, when alarmed, they never run
up hill towards the summits, but invariably make down for the deep
wooded kloofs. The young are born in October to December. I have seen
Rooi Rhébuck running with Vaal Rhébuck (_Pelea capreolus_) in a
troop, but only when all have been alarmed on the edge of the kloof
together.”
Mr. F. C. Selous, who did not include the Roi Rhébok amongst the
species met with in his ‘Hunter’s Wanderings,’ published in 1881,
subsequently obtained full particulars concerning this species, and has
kindly favoured us with the following valuable notes:--
“The ‘Rooi Rhébok’ of the Boers is an inhabitant of arid stony hills,
and wherever such hills are met with one may expect to find this
handsome little Antelope throughout the Cape Colony, Natal, Zululand,
the Orange Free State, the Transvaal, Bechuanaland, and the southern
portion of the Bechuanaland Protectorate. In the west it does not
range further north than Sichele’s country, and though plentiful in
the parched-up stony hills scattered over the territory of that chief,
it is unknown in very similar ground in Khama’s country, only a short
distance further north; nor have I ever heard of its existence in any
country to the north of the Limpopo River, and it is certainly unknown
in Makalakaland, Matabeleland, and Mashunaland. In appearance the Red
Rhébuck looks very much like a miniature Reedbuck, but on a close
inspection, although the resemblance between the two species is very
close, certain points of difference will be noted. Both species have a
large fluffy tail, which they throw up when alarmed, exposing the white
under surface; the shape of the ears is the same in both, and both have
bare spots about the size of a sixpence an inch below the base of the
ears. There is not much difference in the colour of the two species,
and the distribution of white on the underparts of each is the same.
The character of the horns in the two species is, however, different,
for although the male Red Rhébuck has horns crooking forwards like
those of a Reedbuck, a pair of Red Rhébuck horns do not look like a
pair of Reedbuck horns in miniature. The minor points of divergence
would be difficult to explain, though apparent enough on comparison
of actual specimens; but the most important difference is the absence
in the Red Rhébuck of the soft cushion at the base of the horn, which
is always present in the Reedbuck. This soft gristly cushion covered
with black skin, at the base of the horn above the eye, is found in no
other Antelope but the Reedbuck, and is never absent in this species,
nor does it ever disappear or turn into horn with age, being invariably
found at the base of the horns of the oldest males. In the Red Rhébuck
the hair grows close up round the base of the horn, as in all other
Antelopes, with the exception of the Reedbuck. In both species the
females are hornless, and in both the alarm-call is a shrill whistle.
Although the Red Rhébuck is so similar in shape, coloration, and
general appearance that it looks like a miniature Reedbuck, in its
habits and mode of life it differs entirely from that species. The
Reedbuck, as its name implies, loves the neighbourhood of rivers and
lakes and swamps, and is never found far away from water. It does
not occur in herds, but in small families, a male and female usually
living together, the latter often accompanied by its last year’s kid.
It is worthy of remark, however, that the Reedbuck though, as a rule,
it is a dweller on level ground on the borders of rivers and lakes,
in some parts of the country may often be found on stony ridges where
these latter are in the immediate vicinity of rivers, as is often
the case in Mashunaland. As the Red Rhébuck is not found in any of
the countries between the Limpopo and the Zambesi, through which my
various hunting expeditions have led me, my knowledge of these little
Antelopes is not very extensive. However, whilst journeying slowly from
Port Elizabeth to the Diamond Fields by bullock-waggon first in 1871,
and for the second time in 1876, I saw a considerable number of them
both in the hills of the Cape Colony and in those of the Orange Free
State, and shot in all about a dozen specimens. More recently, in the
early part of 1888, I searched for and found a good many Red Rhébuck
in the arid hills near Sechele’s town[15], and secured the heads of
three fine males for my collection. According to my experience the
Red Rhébuck is usually to be met with in small herds of from three or
four to fifteen animals, only one full-grown buck being with the herd,
though a young male or two with horns not fully developed may also be
present. Old males at certain seasons leave the herds and live alone,
as is the case with all other gregarious Antelopes. The hills on which
I found Red Rhébuck were of no great altitude, rising as a rule from
500 to 1000 feet above the surrounding country. Often they were flat
or table-topped, with a precipitous cliff of 50 or 60 feet in height
just below the table-like summit. In such cases I often found the Red
Rhébuck lying in the bushes just at the base of these cliffs. Where
arid stony hills, which they are known to frequent, are intersected by
ravines, in which grow a certain amount of scrubby bush, Red Rhébuck
will most likely be found in the neighbourhood of such ravines. In my
experience these Antelopes are usually to be met with well up the sides
and near the tops of the hills which they frequent, and are best hunted
from the summit of the hill, as they always run upwards when alarmed.
In the hills where I last hunted Red Rhébuck in Sechele’s country,
there was absolutely no water whatever, and in the Cape Colony and the
Free State the hills are also for the most part arid and waterless;
so that these little Antelopes seem to be able to do without drinking
water for several months in the year, as is the case with many other
Antelopes in South-western Africa. I now forget the general colour
of the Red Rhébucks I shot many years ago in the Cape Colony and the
Orange Free State; but the three males I last shot in the Bechuanaland
Protectorate were fawn-coloured on the head and neck, and dark grey on
the upper parts of the body.”
[Illustration:
Fig. 41.--Horns of _Cervicapra fulvorufula_, not adult.
Fig. 42.--Horns of _Cervicapra fulvorufula_, aged.
The corresponding rings in the two pairs of horns are placed opposite
each other.]
The change of shape of the horns in the Antelopes as the animals
grow older, so frequently referred to in this work, is well marked
in the present species, and we have therefore thought it worth while
to illustrate these differences by figures (figs. 41 and 42). Figure
41 represents the horns of a young, or rather just adult, male, in
which they have attained a length of about 6¼ inches, and are evenly
curved upwards to their slender points. Figure 42 shows those of an
aged specimen, in which it will be seen that the sharp slender point
has got more worn down, while at the same time a long straight basal
portion has been added below. This change causes such a difference in
the general appearance of the horns that authors have in many cases
been led to suppose that the extremes represent different species.
We therefore take the opportunity of pointing out how deceptive such
appearances are, and how careful writers should be when they found
species mainly on the characters presented by the horns. At the
same time, the perfect identity of the curves in the part that is
common to both specimens is very noteworthy, and shows how valuable
horn-characters may be when skill and care are exercised in using them.
Our figure of this Antelope (Plate XLV.) has been taken by the kind
permission of Mr. W. L. Sclater from a specimen of this species
belonging to the South-African Museum at Cape Town, which had been
sent home to Mr. Edward Gerrard of Camden Town to be mounted. It is an
adult male and was obtained by Dr. D. R. Kannemeyer near Burghersdorp
in the Cape Colony on the 28th May, 1894. The specimen stands about 27½
inches high at the shoulders, and the body from the nape to the rump
measures about 29 inches. The tail is very bushy, and measures at least
9 inches to the end of the hairs. The bare spot beneath the ear is very
observable. The general colour of the specimen is well shown in Mr.
Smit’s figure.
_February, 1897._
74. CHANLER’S REEDBUCK.
CERVICAPRA CHANLERI, ROTHSCH.
_Cervicapra chanleri_, =Rothschild=, Nov. Zool. ii. p. 53
(1895); =Chanler=, Through Jungle and Desert, p. 431 (cum tab.)
(1896); =Ward=, Horn Meas. (2) p. 137 (1896).
Apparently similar to _C. fulvorufula_ in all important respects.
A dark stripe present on the top of the nose, similar to that often
found in _C. arundinum_ and _C. fulvorufula_.
Skull and horns exactly like those of _C. fulvorufula_. Dimensions
of the typical skull, taken from a cast:--Basal length 7·65 inches,
greatest breadth 3·9, orbit to tip of muzzle 4·8.
_Hab._ British East Africa, mountains east of Mount Kenia.
This recently described species has been founded upon a single specimen
obtained by Mr. Astor Chanler, during his recent expedition into
the interior of British East Africa, on the slopes of the Jambene
mountains, about 45 miles N.N.E. of Mount Kenia. In his volume entitled
‘Through Jungle and Desert,’ in which an account of his expedition is
given, Mr. Chanler speaks of this animal as follows:--“During the rains
(of 1893) three small Antelopes visited the hill just above my camp (at
Daicho[16]) and I was able to secure one of them. I felt convinced that
it was a new species, so I carefully preserved its skeleton and skin.
It proved to be a species of Reedbuck heretofore unknown, and has since
been designated ‘_Cervicapra chanleri_.’”
[Illustration: Fig. 43.
Head of _Cervicapra chanleri_.
(From the typical specimen.)]
Mr. Chanler’s specimen of this Reedbuck was placed in the hands of
Messrs. Rowland Ward & Co., of Piccadilly, for the purpose of being
mounted, and there attracted Mr. Ward’s special attention, as he
had previously seen a flat skin somewhat similar, and had called Mr.
Chanler’s attention to it before his departure on his expedition.
Before sending the specimen to its destination in the United States
National Museum at Washington, Mr. Ward showed it to Mr. Walter
Rothschild as probably belonging to an undescribed species, and
shortly afterwards Mr. Rothschild dedicated it to its discoverer in
a paper published in the second volume of ‘Novitates Zoologicæ,’
with the following characters:--“This new species belongs to the
group of the smaller species of _Cervicapra_, and is nearest
to _C. bohor_, but much the smallest of the genus. Perhaps the
most striking difference to the ordinary observer is the central
black stripe running from the nose to between the eyes. Head and neck
generally orange-buff, as in _C. bohor_; back, sides of body,
upperside of tail, and outer sides of limbs warm buffy grey, instead of
being of the same colour as the neck, as in _C. bohor_ and _C.
redunca_. Belly, underside of tail, and inside of limbs down to the
knees white. Just below the knee in front is a dark brown patch. The
ears seem to be longer and narrower in proportion than those of _C.
bohor_; they are sparingly covered on the outside with short hair of
the colour of the neck, and inside thickly lined with long white hair.
The horns are much smaller and thinner than those of _C. bohor_,
and much more so, of course, than those of _C. redunca_, both of
which are much more curved forward. The rings on the horns project much
more and are much sharper than in my specimens of _C. bohor_ and
_C. redunca_, and are also much more regular. They are five in
number, besides the basal ring.”
“The skull is in all its proportions much smaller than that of _C.
bohor_, but the palatine is, if anything, longer than in _C.
bohor_.
“Height about 30 inches, hoofs on the bottom line 1½, fore legs 20,
tail about 6, ear 6¼, horns along the curve nearly 6.”
After the description was made the specimen was unfortunately sent off
to America before we had time to make a special examination of it. In
reply to our enquiries, however, Mr. F. W. True, of the U.S. National
Museum at Washington, has most kindly forwarded to us a large-sized
black-and-white drawing of the head of this species, from which the
accompanying reduction (fig. 43, p. 184) has been made by photography.
In the absence of a coloured figure, this we trust will serve to make
Chanler’s Reedbuck, if rediscovered, more easily recognizable by future
travellers.
This is, we fear, nearly all that we can say respecting the present
Antelope, of the claims of which to specific separation we are by no
means certain. In fact, it appears to be doubtfully separable from
_C. fulvorufula_, with which Mr. Rothschild did not compare it,
and we should not have given it a separate heading had it not been for
its very wide difference in locality. Up to the present time _C.
fulvorufula_ has not been found north of the Zambesi, while the
district of British East Africa in which Mr. Chanler shot the type of
this species lies nearly under the Equator.
Our knowledge of the proper position of this Antelope is mainly due to
an accurate cast of the typical skull prepared by Messrs. Rowland Ward
& Co., and generously presented by them to the National Museum.
* * * * *