colour matching with the high durr grass in the glades where
they are found. The glossy coat, shining, reflects the
surrounding colours, making it sometimes almost invisible; and
at the best of times its slender body is hard to make out. I
have often mistaken female Waller’s Gazelles for _Dibatag_,
and once shot one of the former in mistake for the latter. The
habits and gait are much the same, save that the _Dibatag_
trots off with head held up, and the long tail held erect over
the back nearly meeting the head, while Waller’s Gazelle trots
away with its head down and its short tail screwed round. Like
Waller’s Gazelle the _Dibatag_ goes singly or in pairs, or
small families up to half a dozen.
“As in the case of Waller’s Gazelle, the _Dibatag_ is enabled by
its long neck and rather long upper lip to reach down branches
of the mimósa bushes from a considerable height. The shape of
head and way of feeding of both Antelopes are Giraffe-like,
and I have seen both standing on the hind legs, fore-feet
planted against the trunk of a tree, when feeding. I have seen
_Dibatag_ feeding both on thorn bushes and on the durr grass.
Both Waller’s and Clarke’s Antelopes can live far from water.
The country most suitable for _Dibatag_ is jungle of the khansa
or umbrella mimósa, alternating with glades of durr grass
which grows about six feet high. The females are hornless. The
_Dibatag_ is a very graceful Antelope, standing higher than an
Indian Blackbuck, but weighing probably a good deal less.”
Another well-known explorer of Somaliland, Mr. G. Percy V. Aylmer,
kindly sends us the following field-notes on this species:--
“_Ammodorcas clarkei_, the Debbertag of the Somali, one
of the most beautiful and interesting of the rare Antelopes
of that country, is, I believe, exceedingly local. From the
reports of Messrs. Gillett, Pease, and other travellers, and my
own experience, I should roughly describe the range of these
Antelopes as contained within North latitude 8° to 9° 30´, and
East longitude 44°, to an unknown distance towards the east.
Morning and evening (within the above limits) they may be found
feeding in the open grass-covered plains which are dotted with
small scrubby bushes, patches of tall durr-grass, and immensely
tall white-ant hills. During the heat of the day they retire to
the shade of some solitary tree, where the dark mouse-colour
of their backs makes them particularly hard to pick out. Here
they stand motionless throughout the hot hours, apparently
drowsy, but in reality alert, and watching the landscape with
the keenest eyes for signs of danger from man, or the deadliest
of all their enemies--the leopard. In the opinion of the Midgan
(the Somāli hunting tribe) these are the wariest of Antelope,
and I have always had great difficulty in getting within shot,
partly because of the open nature of their feeding-ground, but
principally on account of their watchfulness and keenness of
vision at unusually great distances. On one occasion, being
lucky enough to get within 100 yards of two, and finding them to
be a female and calf, I contented myself with watching; and for
upwards of half an hour, whilst they fed, not two consecutive
mouthfuls were taken without the head being sharply raised and a
suspicious glance taken all round. In preference they feed upon
the small bushes, their long necks enabling them to reach up to
the young shoots, like Waller’s Gazelle, although they appear to
choose a less thorny variety. I have met with them occasionally
singly, generally in twos or threes, and once only as many as
five together. When disturbed they stand rigid, head upraised,
ears erect, tail stiffening, and the instant they begin to run
the tail (which is unusually long) stands up perpendicularly,
presenting, as they gallop away with their springy bounding
action, rather the appearance of a yawl’s mizzen-mast in a
sea-way. Thus they make a particularly difficult mark for the
disgusted stalker, who, exhausted by a long and arduous crawl
through the scanty cover, probably gets nothing but the flukiest
of snap-shots at the coveted specimen.”
Through the kind intervention of Mr. Pease we have also received some
interesting particulars as to a wider range of the “Dibatag” from
Lieut. R. Ward Jackson, of the 11th Hussars, who, accompanied by Capt.
M. S. Wellby, has recently penetrated far into the eastern interior of
the Somaliland peninsula. Mr. Jackson writes as follows:--
“In my journey I first saw _Dibatag_ between Bair and Kirrit.
They appear to be scattered all over the country between Bair
and Hodayu, and I found them most plentiful about 25 miles from
Kirrit. There Wellby shot three and wounded a fourth in one day,
but, as a rule, I saw two or three each day in a march of about
20 miles.
“Travelling eastward from Hodayu they gradually appeared to
grow less plentiful, and the last record I have of having seen
one was about 150 miles from Hodayu. After this I saw no more
until between Dagha Dalola and Mudug, about 130 miles from the
former, in the Mijourten country. Here I was surprised to find
them again very plentiful for three days, and I saw a few on
the following three days, after which they again ceased. A week
afterwards I found them again plentiful in the Marehan country,
gradually diminishing in numbers as we travelled south; the last
I saw was about 40 miles before we struck the Webbe Shebeyli.
On the homeward journey I came across an odd pair now and
then in the south of the Ogaden country. I have marked very
roughly (see map, fig. 84) the belts within which I found them
most plentiful. I do not remember having seen more than eight
together. In the Mijourten and Marehan country I have found
them quite close to Barao, and most plentiful in country where
there was very good grazing of ‘gillop,’ ‘jalaalo,’ and a fine
feathery grass. The country between Bair and Hodayu resembled
the Haud. As regards the description of the _Dibatag_, I
can add nothing to that contained in Swayne’s ‘Seventeen Trips
in Somaliland.’”
[Illustration: Fig. 84.
Map of Somaliland (showing the localities of the Dibatag).]
The specimens of _Ammodorcas clarkei_ in the British Museum
consist of a head-skin with its skull from Burao Wells, presented by
Mr. T. W. H. Clarke (the type of the species), and a stuffed male,
the skins of a male and two females and their skulls from the same
district, obtained in his second expedition, and presented by the same
donor. There are also a skin and skeleton of a female from Darror
Wells, on the Haud, presented by Mr. Ford G. Barclay, and the skull of
a male from near the Bur Dap Mountain, Central Somaliland, presented by
Col. A. Paget.
Our illustration of the male of this Gazelle, with the female in the
distance (Plate LXXIII.), has been drawn and put on the stone from the
specimens in the British Museum.
[Since this was written we have received from Dr. Matschie, through
Herr Oscar Neumann, the interesting information that the Dibatag occurs
in the Kilimanjaro district of German East Africa, a considerable
extension of its previously known range.]
_September,_ 1898.
GENUS VIII. LITHOCRANIUS.
Type.
_Lithocranius_[16], =Kohl=, Ann. Mus. Wien,
i. p. 79 (1886) L. WALLERI.
Size about as in the larger Gazelles. Form very peculiar, owing to
the great elongation of the neck, which gives almost a Giraffe-like
appearance to the animal. Limbs also very long; false hoofs quite
minute. Colouring of the head less typically Gazelline than in
_Ammodorcas_, but a modification of the light lateral body-line
present.
Skull (see fig. 85, p. 231) excessively long and low, the cranial part
behind the horns particularly lengthened; the bones of this part very
solid and stony. Bullæ low and opaque. A shallow anteorbital fossa
present. Premaxillæ not reaching the nasals. Lower jaw slender and
delicate. Premolars 3/3, the anterior one above almost as large as the
second.
Horns thick, oval in section, very closely ringed, curved backwards as
in many species of _Gazella_ for the greater part of their length,
their middle portion more or less lyrate, as in _Gazella dorcas_,
their tips recurved upwards or forwards. Female hornless.
_Range of the Genus._ Somaliland and British East Africa.
One species only.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXIV.
_J Smit del et lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Gerenuk.
LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI.
_Published by R H Porter._]
108. THE GERENUK.
LITHOCRANIUS WALLERI (BROOKE).
[PLATE LXXIV.]
_Gazella walleri_, =Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1878, p. 929, pl. lvi.
(skull); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1884, p. 538, pl. xlix. (head and
skin); =Phillips=, P. Z. S. 1885, p. 931; =Scl.= in James’s
Unknown Horn of Africa, p. 262, pl. i. (1888); =Hunter=, in
Willoughby’s E. Afr. p. 289 (1889); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 342
(1891); =Inverarity=, Journ. Bombay N. H. Soc. vi. p. 459 (1891).
_Lit(h)ocranius (Gazella) walleri_, =Kohl=, Ann. Mus. Wien,
i. p. 79, pl. v. fig. 3, and pl. vi. fig. 1 (skull) (1886)
(Somaliland).
_Lithocranius walleri_, =Thos.= P. Z. S. 1891, p. 207; =Scl.=
P. Z. S. 1892, p. 101; =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 305; =Ward=,
Horn Meas. (1) p. 134 (1892), (2) p. 175 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns
and Hoofs, p. 241 (1893); =Jackson=, in Badminton Big Game
Shooting, i. p. 307 (head) (1894); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1893, pp.
101 & 118; =Swayne=, P. Z. S. 1895, p. 305 (habits); =id.=
Seventeen Trips to Somaliland, p. 312 (1895); =Matsch.= Säug.
Deutsch-O.-Afr. p. 132 (1895); =Hoyos=, Zu den Aulihan, p. 180,
pl. x. fig. 4 (1895); =Thos.= Ann. Mus. Genov. (2) xvii. p. 107
(1896); =Rhoads=, P. Ac. Philad. 1896, p. 519; =Elliot=, Publ.
Chicago Mus. Zool. i. p. 226 (1897).
VERNACULAR NAME:--_Gerenuk_ of Somalis (_Swayne and others_).
Height at withers 39 inches in an old male. General colour of back rich
chestnut rufous, sharply bounded on the upperside of each flank by the
very distinct light lateral line, which passes below imperceptibly into
fawn-colour, much paler than the dorsal colour, no trace of a dark
lateral line being present. The fawn-colour also extends on to the
crown, all round the neck, on the shoulders, hips, and down the limbs.
Central line of face deep rufous; area round eye whitish, sometimes
extended forwards as a light final streak towards the muzzle, but more
often stopping just anterior to the openings of the lacrymal glands.
Backs of ears pale fawn-colour; area round their bases but little
lighter than rest of head. Fawn-colour of throat projecting down on to
chest, as in _Ammodorcas clarkei_. Outer sides of limbs pale fawn
throughout. Tail about 10 inches in length, rufous-fawn like the body
basally above, whitish below, the tip tufted with black; on each side
of its base the white of the hams, which is very narrow, runs up as a
pointed projection into the dark body-colour.
The skull of an old male measures 8·75 inches in basal length, the
greatest breadth being 3·8, and the muzzle to orbit 4·7.
The horns of good specimens attain 15 or 16 inches in length round the
curves, but southern specimens, those from East Africa, have not, as a
rule, such fine horns as those from Somaliland.
_Female._ Similar to the male, but without horns.
_Hab._ Somaliland, and thence southwards to the Tana
Valley, and the Kilimanjaro district of British East Africa.
This Antelope was first made known to science by the late Sir Victor
Brooke in 1878 in the last of the many excellent articles which he
published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings.’ His description
was based on two skulls with horns attached to them which were lent to
him for examination by Mr. Gerald Waller, F.Z.S., at whose request they
were named by Brooke after Mr. Waller’s brother, “who lost his life in
Africa.”
Although it is not so stated by Brooke (who was presumably ignorant of
the fact), Mr. Waller’s specimens of this Antelope are now known to
have been given to him by Sir John Kirk, at that time H.B.M. Consul at
Zanzibar. In reply to enquiries Sir John kindly informs us that these
skulls were procured by hunters in his employment on the coast near the
River Juba in Southern Somaliland. Sir John subsequently shot specimens
of it himself in the same district (where at that period it was very
common), and also brought living examples of it away to Zanzibar.
In his description Brooke pointed out that, as is well shown in the
accompanying figure (p. 231), which has been copied from the plate that
illustrates his paper, the skull of this Gazelle, besides its general
depression, stands widely apart from those of all other species of
the group in the enormous backward prolongation of the occiput--“an
extension gained principally by the great size of the occipital bone
and the prominence of the occipital crest.” This divergence was
so remarkable that Brooke doubted “whether the species should not
constitute the type of a new subgenus.” As we shall see later, Brooke’s
views have been fully justified by what has taken place since a close
acquaintance with the structure of this singular Antelope has been
acquired.
[Illustration: Fig. 85.
Skull of the Gerenuk.
(From Brooke, P. Z. S. 1878, pl. lvi.)]
It was six years after the publication of Brooke’s paper before any
additional information concerning this strange Antelope was obtained.
In November 1884 Sclater brought before the notice of the Zoological
Society a series of flat skins of Mammals, prepared by the natives
of Somaliland, which had been lent to him for examination by Mr. C.
Hagenbeck, of Hamburg. Amongst these were two skins, at first believed
to belong to a new Gazelle, but which, after much research and mainly
by the aid of a mounted head obtained in Somaliland by the late Mr. F.
L. James, he was enabled to prove must belong to the same Antelope on
the skull of which _Gazella walleri_ had been founded. The skins
were at once distinguishable by the well-defined dark brown dorsal
stripe which, as we now know, forms such a noticeable feature in the
present species. Further evidence of the identity of the Somaliland
Antelope with _Gazella walleri_ was obtained by the comparison of
Mr. James’s specimen with one of the typical skulls of the last-named
species. They differed little, except in the slightly larger size of
the northern specimen and in some other minor characters. It was thus
first shown that the range of Waller’s Gazelle extends to Northern
Somaliland, but we now know that the “Gerenuk,” as the Somalis call it,
is one of the most abundant game-animals of that favoured land.
[Illustration: Fig. 86.
Sketch of Gerenuk, ♂ and ♀, in characteristic attitudes.
(From Neumann’s ‘Elephant-Hunting,’ p. 81. Lent by Messrs. Rowland Ward
& Co.)]
Capt. Swayne sums up his long acquaintance with this Antelope as
follows:--
“The _Gerenúk_ is the commonest and most widely distributed
of the Somáli Antelopes except the little _Sakáro_, which
springs up like a hare from every thicket.
“The long neck of the _Gerenúk_, the large giraffe-like
eyes, and long muzzle are peculiar to it and the _Dibatag_
(_Ammodorcas clarkei_). The _Gerenúk_ is more of a browser of
bushes than a grass-feeder, and I have twice shot it in the act
of standing on the hind legs, neck extended, and fore feet
against the trunk of a tree, reaching down the tender shoots,
which could not be got in any other way. Thus not only the
appearance, but the habits of the _Gerenúk_ are giraffe-like.
The skull extends far back behind the ears, like that of a camel.
“It is found all over the Somali country in small families,
never in large herds, and generally in scattered bush, ravines,
and rocky ground. I think it subsists almost entirely on bushes,
as it is constantly found in places deserted by Oryx and all
other Antelopes because there is no grass. Perhaps the Gadabursi
country is the best ground for it, but the _Gerenúk_ is almost
ubiquitous and need not be specially looked for. I have never
seen it in the cedar-forests which crown Gólis, nor in the
treeless plains which occur in the Haud. It is not necessarily
found near water,--in fact, it is generally met with on stony
ground, where there is a sprinkling of thorn-jungle.
“The gait of this Antelope is peculiar, and when first seen
a buck will generally be standing motionless, head well up,
looking at the intruder, and trusting to its invisibility. Then
the head dives under the bushes, and the animal goes off at a
long crouching trot, stopping now and again behind some bush to
gaze. It seldom gallops, and its pace is never very fast. In the
whole shape of the head and neck, with its extended muzzle and
slender lower jaw, there is a marked resemblance between the
_Gerenúk_ and the _Dibatag_. The texture of the coat is much
alike in both. The horns of immature buck _Gerenúk_ have almost
exactly the same shape as those of the _Dibatag_. Their average
length when fully grown is about 13 inches. The females are
hornless; they sometimes lose or desert their young ones, as I
have now and then come on fawns living alone in the jungle. The
_Gerenúk_ stands a good deal higher than an Indian Blackbuck,
but would be of about the same weight.”
Mr. Frederick Gillett, F.Z.S., who accompanied Dr. Donaldson Smith
during the first part of his expedition to Lake Rudolph, has kindly
drawn up for us the following notes on Waller’s Gazelle:--
“This Gazelle is more like Clarke’s Gazelle than any other in
Somaliland, not only on account of its long neck, but because
of its habits. Never is it found out on the open plains, so
much frequented by Soemmerring’s Gazelle, but it prefers the
dense Khansa jungles, or, like Clarke’s Gazelle, the high
durr-grass of parts of the Haud. Sometimes it is found in
company with, or rather in the same neighbourhood as, _Gazella
soemmerringi_, in more or less open country amongst the
Khansa-bush and big aloes. It is usually seen in small families
of not more than a dozen, but never in herds. It relies on its
sharp eyesight and long neck for its safety, standing motionless
amongst the bush or grass watching for an enemy. Most of the
Somalis dislike its flesh, not so, however, the Lion and
Leopard, and many a Waller’s Gazelle is stalked and killed by
them. Its native name in Somaliland is ‘Gerenook,’ and in the
Arusa Galla country ‘Googoofto.’ In the latter country it is
very common, inhabiting the jungles frequented by Elephants and
Lesser Koodoos. It is the most ubiquitous of all the Antelopes
of this part of Africa, and it is a very common sight to see
a buck with its fore legs, like a goat, high up the trunk of
a Galol-tree nibbling the small green leaves. The female is
hornless, whilst the horns of a good male measure from 14 to 15
inches. Its legs are extremely slender. When disturbed it runs
with its long neck stretched out as near the ground as possible,
so that it can never be mistaken for a Clarke’s Gazelle, as
the latter always holds its head erect and its tail well over
its back, and springs instead of runs. The young are born, I
believe, early in the year; but I have never seen a really young
one, although I have been in the country every month in the year
except May and June. On December 8th, 1894, I was stalking an
Oryx when a female Waller’s Gazelle ran almost on to me pursued
by a male; they did not see me, but turned and ran back, and
then again came towards where I was lying, still without seeing
me. After they had gone I crawled on, when for the third time
they returned and this time saw me. I remained motionless on one
knee; the female retired to a bush, and the male with its neck
stretched at its full length came cautiously towards me till
within 25 yards, and then gave three or four snorts. As it was
the Oryx I was after I now moved and they at once trotted off.”
We copy an account of the native mode of capture of this Gazelle from
Messrs. Parkinson and Dunbar’s narrative of their journey in Northern
Somaliland in 1896 (Geogr. Journ. xi. p. 25):--
“We found here (on the Bur Dab range) an old man living entirely
alone, subsisting on gum and snared game. He was very clever
at catching ‘Gerenok,’ or Waller’s Gazelle, by means of a cord
made of the fibre of the ‘hig’ aloe. At one end of the cord a
running noose, 6 inches in diameter, was laid round the rim of a
cup-shaped hole scooped in the ground, and supported by a series
of small pegs. Near the noose was attached a fine but strong
thread, the other end of which was fastened to a springy branch
of a tree bent down for the purpose. The noose was prevented
from being dragged out of the hole by two pieces of wood laid
crosswise. The loose end of the cord was either tied to an
adjacent tree or pegged firmly to the ground, and all traces of
the trap neatly covered with leaves and sand. The Gazelle is, of
course, caught by the leg, and once the noose is drawn tightly
round above the hoof there is no escape; but it must need large
experience of the haunts of the game to know where to set these
gins. The old man had thirty or forty constantly set, and said
he got a Gazelle once every four or five days.”
Mr. Alfred Pease has kindly summarized his field-notes on the Gerenuk
in the following paragraphs:--
“The Gerenuk is the commonest and most evenly distributed of all
the Somali Antelopes, if we exclude the little Dik-diks, but it
is by no means the least interesting. It is as peculiar as it
is beautiful. At rest it is graceful, when running grotesque,
and when feeding most curious in its pose. But its colouring
of red and purple-grey, its reach of view, and its motions all
wonderfully facilitate its power of escaping observation. At
300 yards I have often had my eye on them feeding, unable almost
to distinguish them from their likeness to stems of trees and
dead thorn. They are tree-feeders, and their length of leg,
body, and giraffe-like necks enable them to crop the leaves
from bush-trees at a great height from the ground. When thus
occupied in browsing they are often absolutely vertical, and for
minutes together motionless, save for the lips and head, which
are buried in the foliage. The male alone carries horns, varying
in length and circumference, which reach, in fine specimens,
15½ inches measured along the curve. The female is smaller and
slighter than the male. On being disturbed they often remain so
motionless that it is difficult to detect them in the bush, and
when they make off they do so very quickly, and are immediately
transformed from tall elegant animals with heads proudly carried
to clumsy crouching fugitives with outstretched heads and necks.
I have noticed when in flight they generally take a line more
or less parallel to the hunter, as if they did not consider it
safe to lose all knowledge of their pursuer’s whereabouts in
the bush. With this object apparently they will usually keep
the crest of a ridge or rise till they have put a considerable
distance between themselves and their enemy. They go singly
or in bands, but most commonly there are two, three, or more
together. I have never seen more than fifteen in one band, and
in that case twelve out of the fifteen were females. There is
no part of Somaliland that I have visited where they are not
common. In 1897 I saw some within five miles of Berbera, in 1896
and 1897 in the maritime plains, in the Golis, on the Haud,
in distant Ogaden, and far Bourha, but nowhere more numerous
than in the Godabürsi country. They are easily killed by
anyone who can shoot standing up, as the long-line shot at the
perpendicular, even when as narrow as that of a Gerenuk’s chest
and neck, is a comparatively easy one, and no very nice judgment
of range is necessary. Their meat is generally despised by the
Somalis, but eaten by the Midgans; but to my own taste it is
not very much less nice or more nasty than most other Antelope
flesh. The Somalis have an expression ‘_Gerenuk_,’ which is
derived from their opinion as to the merits of its flesh, as it
is generally considered nasty meat, yet not actually forbidden,
and occasionally even relished by individual Somalis. The word
is used constantly as an interjection to express dissent, either
in chaff or contempt, in the sense: ‘That may do for you, but it
won’t do for me!’”
We subjoin Mr. E. N. Buxton’s lively account of his experiences with
this Antelope, extracted from the second series of ‘Short Stalks’:--