Frankfort-on-the-Main, whose name we have already frequently mentioned
in this work, was the discoverer of this fine Antelope, which he
met with in 1832 on the coast of the Red Sea west of Massowa, and
subsequently described and figured in his ‘Neue Wirbelthiere.’
Rüppell called this animal “_Beisa_” after the native name by
which it was known to the Arabs of the district, and at the same time
attempted to identify it with an Antelope which he had heard of but
not obtained seven years previously in Dongola, there known as the
“_Dammah_.” But, as Heuglin has pointed out, it seems by no means
certain that the “_Beisa_” of the coastland of Abyssinia is the
same as the “_Dammah_” of Dongola. Although, therefore, the name
“_dammah_” as will be seen by our list of synonyms, was published
by Cretzschmar and Fischer before Rüppell’s “_beisa_” it would
be neither just nor reasonable upon this uncertain plea to deprive
Rüppell, who certainly supplied the first recognizable description of
it, of the name of this species.
Rüppell informs us that the Beisa in his time (about 1832) was not
uncommon in the low-country at the back of Massowa, and extended
northwards along the coast to Suakin. It was usually found in small
families in the flat valleys which are slightly grassed, and was said
to be fleet and shy, being much persecuted by the Turkish soldiers then
in garrison at Massowa.
Mr. W. T. Blanford, F.R.S., met with this Antelope in the same district
during the Abyssinian Expedition of 1867–68, and, in his volume on the
‘Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia,’ writes as follows:—
“On returning from the interior I stopped for three days at a
halting-place in the semi-desert north of Massowa, and succeeded
in shooting four of these superb and rare Antelopes. All were
females; but there is little, if any, difference in the sexes,
both having equally fine horns.
“The Beisa is found singly or in small herds, rarely exceeding ten
in number, in the somewhat hilly barren country near the sea-
coast. They are said to keep to the more hilly parts of Samhar.
Near Annesley Bay, where the country is more wooded, this Antelope
does not occur, but it abounds farther south in the Somali
country, and the horns are brought in considerable numbers to Aden
and Berbera. They are used as weapons by the Somalis.
“The principal food of the Oryx near Massowa is a coarse grass,
almost resembling a diminutive bamboo. They appear to be grazers
rather than browsers, although, like all Antelopes, they
occasionally eat the young shoots of Acacia and other trees. They
are quite diurnal in their habits, feeding in the morning and
evening, in this respect resembling the Gazelles, to which they
are unquestionably closely allied. When we were in the Samhar
country in July and August, the Oryx drank apparently every day,
always coming to the water about one or two o’clock. It is
probable that they drink less regularly in cold weather.
“The appearance of a herd of Oryx is very imposing. They are some
of the most elegant and symmetrical of animals, their motions
being those of a wild horse rather than of an Antelope. Their
favourite pace appears to be either a steady quick walk or a trot;
they rarely break into a gallop unless greatly alarmed. When
frightened, they dash off, sometimes snorting and putting their
heads down as if charging, raising their long tails, and looking
very formidable. They are wary animals, though far less so than
some other Antelopes.
“Like the Gazelles and true Antelopes, all equally inhabitants of
deserts and open plains, the Oryx has a pointed foot, each of the
divisions being rudely triangular. Its tracks may consequently be
instantly distinguished from those of cattle or of any of the
bovine Antelopes. So far as my acquaintance with the family goes,
most of the forest and bush-hunting Antelopes—Koodoo, Nylgai,
_Tetraceros_—have their feet formed like those of the _Cervidæ_,
with rounded hoofs, whilst the Antelopes of the plain, and
especially desert forms, have pointed hoofs.”
Heuglin met with this Antelope further south on the Danakil coast of
the Red Sea, and also in Northern Somaliland, where he states that
it resorts to the more open sandy districts beset with low bushes
(_Salvadora_), occasionally retreating into the lower hills.
But in Somaliland we have excellent accounts of its habits and
distribution from modern observers—of whom we will first quote Captain
Swayne, the leading authority on the game-animals of that country.
Writing of the Antelopes in his ‘Seventeen Trips through Somaliland,’
Col. Swayne sums up his great experience of the Beisa as follows:—
“The Oryx of Somaliland is a very stoutly-built, bovine Antelope,
standing as high as a donkey, and inhabits open stony ground, or
barren hills, or open grass plains. It is fairly common and very
widely distributed over the Somali country, and it may be found in
all kinds of country except in the thick jungle with aloe
undergrowth (which is so much liked by the Lesser Koodoo), and the
cedar-forests on the higher ranges. The best Oryx ground is in the
Haud and in Ogádén.
“The Oryx feeds chiefly on grass, and is often found very far from
water. It has a keen sight, and probably protects itself more by
this than by its sense of hearing or scent. Oryxes are found in
herds of from half a dozen to thirty or forty, chiefly composed of
cows. Bull Oryxes are found wandering singly all over the country,
and possibly these make up in number for the preponderance of cows
in the herds.
“Sometimes two or three cows with growing calves will be found
together, making up a small herd of half a dozen. It is nearly
impossible to distinguish which are the bulls in a herd, and they
are so few in proportion to the cows that it is best, if shooting
for sport alone, not to fire at a herd at all. The bull is
slightly thicker in the neck and higher in the withers than the
cow; and the horns, though an inch or two shorter in the bull, are
more massive, especially about the base, and more symmetrical,
whilst the cow’s horns are frequently bent and of unequal length.
The Oryx is often revengeful when wounded and brought to bay;
twice I have seen a wounded one make a determined charge into a
mob of Somális armed with spears.
“The Midgáns, who are armed with bows and poisoned arrows, hunt
the Oryx with packs of savage yellow pariah-dogs. The thick skin
round the withers of a bull is made by them into a white _gáshan_
or fighting shield. The method of hunting, as carried out by the
Midgáns in the Bulhár Plain, is as follows:—Three or four of them,
with about fifteen dogs, go out just before dawn, and walk along
silently through the scattered thorn-trees till fresh tracks are
found, and these are followed till the game is sighted. By
throwing stones, whistling, and other signs which the dogs
understand, they are shown the herd, and settle down to their
work. The dogs run mute, the men following at a crouching trot,
which in a Somáli is untiring; and this lasts until the dogs open
in chorus, having brought the game to bay. The Oryxes make
repeated charges at the dogs, which, they often wound or kill. If
the latter can avoid the sharp horns of the mother they fasten on
to a calf, and sometimes the whole herd will charge to the rescue.
The Midgáns run up silently under cover of the bushes and let off
a flight of poisoned arrows into the herd, which, seeing the human
enemy, takes to flight. Frequently an animal wounded by a poisoned
arrow takes a line of its own, and is in due time carefully
followed up and found dead, or it may be pulled down in its weak
state by the dogs,”
Mr. D. G. Elliot, in his report on the collection of the Mammals of
Somaliland made for the Field-Columbian Museum of Chicago in 1896,
writes of the Beisa as follows:—
“Oryxes are not often seen in the country north of the Golis
Range, but their numbers increase as the Haud is traversed, and on
the south of Toyo and in Ogaden they are plentiful. At a distance
it is impossible to distinguish the bulls from the cows, as both
carry horns, those of the cows more slender and usually longer
than the average of bulls’ horns. But this difference in size is
not perceptible unless one is very close to the animals. The horns
are annulated for two-thirds their length, then become smooth, and
end in a sharp point. The average lengths of bulls’ horns are not
much over 30 inches, although occasionally specimens are obtained
that are several inches longer, and the cows’ horns sometimes
reach a length of 37 or 38 inches. They are very formidable
weapons, and it is dangerous to approach a wounded Oryx. In
charging its enemy the Oryx puts its head low down between its
fore legs, with the horns pointed forward not much above the
ground, and rushes at the object of its hate with much swiftness.
These lance-like horns are quite capable of passing entirely
through the body of an animal. Oryxes seem to be quite independent
of water, and are often seen many miles from any place where it
could be procured. They frequent the waterless, treeless plains,
such as Toyo, Silo, &c., in herds sometimes of large size, and
subsist upon the harsh dry grass common in such localities. The
skin of a bull is very thick on the neck and withers, in, some
cases as much as three-quarters of an inch through. The natives
select this part of the hide to make their shields, which are
sufficiently tough to stop any spear or arrow. As the bulls are
very pugnacious, no doubt their tough thick hides are a great
protection against the lance-like horns, and save them from being
run through this vital portion of the body.”
Mr. Elliot’s expedition brought home twelve specimens of the Beisa of
both sexes and of various ages from the Toyo Plain, Hullier, Bodeleh,
the Silo Plain, the Haud, and the Ogaden Country. But he tells us that
this fine animal is already practically extinct north of the Golis
Range, and can only be found in any numbers in the southern portion of
the Haud and in the country beyond.
[Illustration:
Fig. 94.
Female Beisa.
(From the Garden Guide Z. S. L., 1876.)
]
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.).
In the British Museum there is an adult mounted female specimen of the
Beisa Antelope, from the Red Sea coast, obtained in 1871. There is
also the skull of an adult from the River Juba, obtained by Sir John
Kirk and presented by him in 1879, besides other skins and skulls from
various parts of Somaliland presented by Mr. W. F. Sinclair, Col. A.
Paget, and Capt. Swayne.
Our figure of this species (Plate LXXXIV.) was lithographed by Mr. Smit
for Sir Victor Brooke many years ago, and was taken, it is believed,
from a specimen in the British Museum.
_May_, 1899.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXXV.
_Smit del. et lith._
_Hanhart imp._
The Tufted Beisa.
ORYX CALLOTIS.
_Published by R. H. Porter._
]
117. THE TUFTED BEISA.
ORYX CALLOTIS, Thomas.
[PLATE LXXXV.]
_Oryx beisa_, =Hunter=, in Willoughby’s E. Africa, p. 289 (1889).
_Oryx callotis_, =Thomas=, P. Z. S. 1892, p. 195, pl. xiv. (head);
=Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 149 (1892), (2) p. 189 (1896); =True=, Proc.
U.S. Nat. Mus. xv. p. 470, pl. lxxxvi. (1892) (full figure); =Lyd.=
Horns and Hoofs, p. 248 (1893); =Lugard=, E. Afr. i. p. 534 (1893);
=Matsch.= SB. nat. Fr. Berl. 1893, p. 103; =Jackson=, in Badm. Big
Game Shooting, i. p. 293 (1894); =Matsch.= Säug. Deutsch-Ost-Afr. p.
135 (1895); =Pousargues=, Ann. Sci. Nat. (7) iv. p. 131 (1896);
=Jackson=, P. Z. S. 1897, p. 454; =Trouessart=, Cat. Mamm. fasc. iv.
p. 954 (1898).
Vernacular Names:—_Cheroa_ of the Swahilis in Brit. E. Africa
(_Jackson_); _Kiroha_, Swahilis of German East Africa (_Stuhlmann_);
_Muhambura_ in Kirongi (_Stuhlmann_); _Palla-Palla_ or _Kolongo_ in
Uniamuesi (_Matschie_).
Of the same size and general characters as the preceding species, to
which it is very closely allied. The colour seems to be usually of a
richer ruddier tint, and the black stripe on the face that passes from
the eye towards the corner of the mouth is generally, but not always;
continued downwards on to the lower edge of the jaw, thence backwards,
bounding the inter-ramal area on each side and uniting with the lower
end of the stripe that runs from below the base of the ear to the
throat. In some cases, however, the stripe in question stops short
behind the corner of the mouth as in _O. beisa_. The frontal patch
and the nose-patch are sometimes entirely separated, sometimes joined
by a narrow stripe as in _O. beisa_. The stripes on the body and
fore legs resemble those of _O. beisa_, but there is no black
patch upon the front of the cannon-bone on the fore leg, such as is
present in that species.
The most striking difference between the two species consists in the
development of the hairs on the tips of the ears in _O. callotis_
so as to form a long black tuft; in _O. beisa_ the hairs at the
extremity of the ear are scarcely longer than those covering the
adjacent edges of that organ. Lastly, in _O. callotis_, the hairs
along the median dorsal line are reversed in direction of growth from
a point, only a little behind the middle of the back; whereas in _O.
beisa_ the parting is situated on the rump.
_Hab._ British East Africa, south of the River Tana, and
interior of German East Africa.
Southwards of the River Tana in British East Africa, or thereabouts,
the Beisa appears to be replaced by a nearly allied form,
distinguishable by the conspicuous tufts which adorn the tips of
its ears and by other less noticeable characters. It will be easily
understood that this animal was not at once distinguished from the
typical form by those who first met with it, and was consequently
referred to “_Oryx beisa_” by Mr. Hunter in his Appendix
to Willoughby’s ‘Big Game in East Africa,’ and by other earlier
authorities.
It was not, in fact, until 1892 that the conspicuous difference of
this species from _O. beisa_, as regards its ears, attracted
notice, when Mr. Rowland Ward, F.Z.S., first called Thomas’s attention
to it. Thomas, after examining into the subject, brought it before
the notice of the Zoological Society of London on March 15th of that
year, and proposed to call the new form _Oryx callotis_. Thomas’s
communication was subsequently printed in the Society’s ‘Proceedings’
accompanied by a good coloured figure of the mounted head of the
typical specimen, which was subsequently presented by Messrs. Rowland
Ward and Co. to the British Museum.
As will be seen by reference to Mr. Rowland Ward’s ‘Records of Big
Game,’ the horns of this typical specimen are among the shortest of
the series of 18 specimens of this species of which measurements are
there given, the longest pairs being over 30 inches in length. These
latter are, no doubt, those of females, which in all the species of
_Oryx_ seem to be rather longer and thinner than those of males.
In the first volume of ‘Big Game Shooting’ in the ‘Badminton
Library,’ Mr. F. J. Jackson gives us the following account of _Oryx
callotis_ in British East Africa:—
“The East African Oryx is known to the Swahilis as ‘Cheroa.’ The
Cheroa is found in the Kilimanjaro district in greater numbers
(particularly near Useri) than elsewhere. It is also plentiful in
the Galla country, between the Sabaki and Tana rivers, and I have
myself seen it within a mile of the sea at Merereni.
“It is found more often in open bush country than in the bare arid
plains. It is not only a beautiful beast, but is very shy,
difficult to approach, and exceedingly tough, and for these
reasons many sportsmen covet its head more than the trophies of
any other kind of Antelope. The skin of its neck is
extraordinarily thick, and _à propos_ of this, all head-skins
preserved as trophies should have the skin of the neck shaved down
to at least half its thickness to ensure its being properly cured.
“The Oryx is found in herds varying in number from six or eight up
to thirty or forty. A bull Oryx is often found entirely by
himself, and occasionally along with a herd of _Gazella granti_ or
other Antelopes. It is perhaps as well to warn sportsmen to
approach Oryx, when lying wounded, with caution, as on one
occasion my gun-bearer, on going up to cut the throat of an Oryx,
received a severe blow on the thigh from the side of one of the
wounded beast’s horns. The blow might have been very serious had
the Oryx caught him with the point of his horns instead of with
the flat.”
Mr. R. B. P. Cator, of the British East African Administrative Service,
sends us the following account of his adventures with this Antelope:—
“On the morning of the 20th February, 1898, I fell in with a herd
of Oryx on my way down from Machakos to Kibwezi. The herd
consisted of some 15 to 20 animals or possibly more. When I first
saw them they were feeding near some thickets on the edge of a
broad open piece of ground that lay between them and myself, and I
was unable to gain cover before I was detected. On seeing me the
herd divided and made off in different directions, but, so far as
I could judge, the two parts effected a junction before I saw them
again. The country hereabout consists of open glades and meadows
of all sizes alternating with impenetrable thickets, so being very
anxious to secure a specimen of an Oryx, a very uncommon Antelope
in this part of the country, I made a long detour, and, by good
fortune, again hit off what was, I have not the least doubt, the
same herd or a portion of it.
“Without detailing the various attempts that I made to get a good
shot it is enough to say that I was fortunate enough to secure two
specimens, the one a very fine bull and the other a cow.
“The horns of the bull measure respectively 33½″ and 32″ on the
outer curve; circumference of largest horn 7″ and distance from
tip to tip 13″: all these measurements exceeding those of the best
East African Oryx given in Ward’s book. The horns of the cow are
fairly good but much worn and cracked.”
Our figure of this Antelope (Plate LXXXV.) has been prepared by Mr.
Smit from the skin and skull of the male specimen obtained on this
occasion by Mr. Cator, who kindly placed them at our disposal for this
purpose.
The Tufted Beisa extends south of the British Protectorate far into the
interior of German East Africa.
Herr Matschie, in his valuable volume on the Mammals of the German
Protectorate, includes this Antelope in his list, and gives a figure of
it in the text. He tells us that it was met with in Southern Masailand,
south-east of Irangi, by Stuhlmann, and in Northern Ugogo, between
Mpapwa and Usandawe, by Neumann. This, so far as we know, gives its
furthest extension south. We are not aware that the Tufted Beisa has
ever been imported alive to Europe.
The typical head of _Oryx callotis_ already mentioned is the only
example of this form of Oryx in the collection of the British Museum.
_May,_ 1899.
GENUS III. ADDAX.
Type.
_Addax_, =Rafinesque=, Analyse de la Nature, p. 56 (1815) A. naso-maculatus.
General characters as in _Oryx_, but with the horns spirally
twisted; the hoofs expanded as in the Reindeer; a distinct, though
short, mane on the forehead and sides of the neck; the hair along the
middle line of the back not projecting towards the head; tail-tuft
smaller.
_Range of the Genus._ North Africa, from Dongola to Senegal.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LXXXVI.
_Wolf del. Smit lith._
_Hanhart imp._
The Addax.
ADDAX NASO-MACULATUS.
_Published by R. H. Porter._
]
118. THE ADDAX.
ADDAX NASO-MACULATUS (Blainv.).
[PLATE LXXXVI.]
_Cerophorus_ (_Gazella_) _naso-maculata_, =De Blainville=, Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, pp. 75 & 78.
_Antilope naso-maculata_, =Desm.= N. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. (2) ii. p. 188
(1816); =Blainville=, Oken’s Isis, 1819, p. 1095, pl. xii. figs. 4–7;
=id.= Journ. Phys. 1819, pls., figs. 4 & 7; Desm. Mamm. ii. p. 456
(1822); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1242 (1824 or 1818); =Licht.= Abh.
Ak. Berl. 1824, p. 215; =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 374 (1827); =J. B.
Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 462 (1829); =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p.
617 (1839); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. (4) iv. p. 269 (1887).
_Antilope addax_, =Cretzschm.= Zool. Atl. Rüpp. Reise, p. 19, pl. vii.
(1826); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. ii. (1827); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K.
iv. p. 193, pl., v. p. 328 (1827); =Hempr. & Ehrb.= Symb. Phys. Decas
ii. pl. iv. (1828); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 474 (1829); =Oken=,
Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1379 (1838); =Wagn.= Sehr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p.
486 (1844), v. p. 437 (1855); =Reichenb.= Säug. iii. p. 118, pl.
xxxvi. (1845); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 438 (1845); =id.= Mon.
Antil. p. 36, pls. xl. & xli. (1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 296 (1853);
=Schweinf.= Herz von Afrika, ii. p. 534 (1874).
_Addax suturosus_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. p. 178 (1869).
_Antilope suturosa_, =Otto=, N. Act. Nat. Cur. xii. p. 521, pl. xlviii.
(1825); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. pl. p. 206 (1827); =Less.= Man.
Mamm. p. 382 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 475 (1829);
=Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 620 (1840); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm.
ii. p. 439 (1845); =id.= Mon. Antil. p. 34, pl. xxxix. (1848).
_Antilope mytilopes_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 204, pl., v. p. 330
(1827).
_Antilope gibbosa_, =Savi=, Mem. Sci. Pisa, i. p. 17 (1828); =id.=
Oken’s Isis, 1832, p. 502.
_Oryx addax_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 188 (1834); =Jard.=
Nat. Misc. (1) vii. p. 205, pl. xxv. (1842); =Sund.= Pecora, K.
Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844, p. 206 (1846), id. Hornsch. Transl., Arch.
Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 157; Reprint, p. 81 (1848).
_Oryx naso-maculatus_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 156 (1843).