met with by travellers, as, in addition to its being exceedingly wary
and timid, the impenetrable nature of the papyrus-swamps, which are its
habitual resort, precludes easy access to its retreats. It is, however,
occasionally trapped or speared by the native fishermen, and pairs
of the horns thus obtained have occasionally reached Europe. The only
recent traveller, so far as we know, that has personally encountered
the ‘Nzoe’ in its native wilds is Mr. Ernest Gedge, who has kindly
favoured us with the following notes on this subject:—
[Illustration:
Fig. 109.
Horns and feet of Speke’s Sitatunga.
(P. Z. S. 1864, p. 104.)
]
“So far as is known at present, Speke’s Antelope is not to be
found anywhere in East Africa between the Victoria Nyanza and the
coast—in fact, the only occasion on which I had the good fortune
to encounter it was during my sojourn in the Budda district of
Uganda along with Capt. R. H. Williams, in the early part of 1893,
under the following circumstances:—
“We were told by the natives that these Antelopes (called by them
‘_Chobé_’ or ‘_Njobé_’) existed in great numbers on one of the
small outlying islands which constitute the Sesse group in the
Victoria Lake. Being anxious to prove the truth of this report, we
embarked, and proceeded thither in canoes. The island in question,
which is situated well out in the Lake at a distance of some 10
miles from the main island, was reached on the afternoon of the
second day. The shores are low and rocky, and, with the exception
of a small turf-covered portion at its southern extremity, it is
entirely covered with dense, almost impenetrable bush,
interspersed only by a number of fine trees, principally species
of _Ficus_. In shape it is something like an irregular hour-glass,
being possibly a third of a mile in length and a few hundred yards
across its greatest width. A very short examination revealed the
presence of the Antelopes, and finding it impossible to approach
them by any ordinary methods of stalking, a drive was organized,
with the aid of the canoemen, with most satisfactory results: the
total bag amounted to 24 head, including some fine specimens both
male and female. This afforded ample testimony to their
extraordinary numbers, as, owing to the dense character of the
bush, it was impossible to see more than a few yards in any
direction, and many of them passed us unseen. The greater number
were killed in the first drive, after which the majority took
refuge in the Lake, which is said to be their habit when hard
pressed, though Speke describes them as being fierce and
aggressive under such circumstances. The specimens procured on
this occasion have been identified as true Sitatungas, though it
is impossible to imagine how they ever got on to the island, or
came to frequent a locality which is so entirely at variance with
their usual habits.
“These Antelopes are said to have also existed formerly on a small
neighbouring island, but to have been exterminated there by the
Ba-Sesse canoemen.”
During his recent travels in Uganda, Herr Oscar Neumann also obtained
a series of skins of this Antelope, which, as already mentioned, he
has most kindly lent to us for examination. We are sorry not to have
received any exact particulars respecting the specimens, except that
they were procured from the natives in the districts of Kavirondo,
Usoga, and Uganda, on the shores of Lake Victoria. Herr Neumann has
also sent us two pairs of horns of this species, which were obtained
from the “Wakenji” in the swamps west of Mount Elgon. Along with these
specimens we have received for comparison from the authorities of the
Berlin Museum a flat skin obtained by Herr Stuhlmann near the slopes of
Mt. Ruwenzori.
The National Museum of this country is, we regret to say, very
imperfectly furnished with specimens of the East-African form of the
Sitatunga, containing only the original examples of Speke. It will be
evident, therefore, that Herr Neumann’s kind assistance in this matter
has been of considerable value to us.
[Illustration:
Fig. 110.
Speke’s Sitatunga, ♂ et ♀.
]
Our coloured illustration of this Antelope (Plate XCIII.) was prepared
by Wolf, under Sir Victor Brooke’s instructions, from Speke’s original
specimens. It will be noticed that the artist has joined the horns of
the adult animal to a body which must have been copied from the young
male, and has coloured the female from conjecture, representing it as
greyish brown instead of yellowish red. The accompanying woodcut (fig.
110) was likewise prepared by Mr. Wolf under Brooke’s directions.
_April_, 1900.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XCIV.
_Smit del. et lith._
_Hanhart imp._
Selous’ Sitatunga
LIMNOTRAGUS SELOUSI.
_Published by R. H. Porter._
]
128. SELOUS’S SITATUNGA.
LIMNOTRAGUS SELOUSI (Rothsch.).
[PLATE XCIV.]
“_Nakony_,” =Andersson=, Lake Ngami, p. 449 (1856); =Baines=, Expl.
S.W. Afr. p. 458 (1864).
_Tragelaphus eurycerus_, =Layard=, Cat. Mamm. S. Afr. Mus. p. 79
(1861).
_Tragelaphus spekii_, =Kirk=, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 659 (Chobé); =Brooke=,
P. Z. S. 1871, p. 484 (part.), 1878, p. 884 (part.); =Selous=, P. Z.
S. 1881, p. 753; id. Hunter’s Wanderings, p. 210 (1881); =Sclater=,
P. Z. S. 1890, p. 590, pl. xlvii. (Lake Ngami), 1893, pp. 724, 729
(Lake Mweru); =id.= List An. Z. Soc. 1896, p. 163; =Thomas=, P. Z.
S. 1891, p. 388 (part.); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 347 (1891) (part.);
=Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsman in S. Afr. p. 40 (1892); =Ward=, Horn
Meas. p. 155 (1892), p. 197 (1896) (part.); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs,
p. 254 (1893); =id.= Royal Nat. Hist. ii. p. 276 (1894) (part.);
=Johnst.= Brit. Centr. Afr. p. 306 (1897); =Selous=, in Ward’s Great
and Small Game of Africa, p. 470 (1899).
_Tragelaphus selousii_, =Rothsch.= Novit. Zool. v. p. 206 (1898);
=Rendall=, ibid. p. 212.
_Euryceros spekii_, =J. E. Gray=, Hand-l. Rum. 1873, p. 119 (part.).
Vernacular Names:—_Waterskap_ of Boers (_Nicolls & Eglington_);
_Nakong_ of Batauwani at Lake Ngami; _Sitatunga, Puvula_, and
_Unzuzu_ of the natives of the Chobé and Central Zambesi; _N’zoe_ of
the natives on the Lukanga River north of the Zambesi (_Selous_);
_Mula_ of the Awemba and _Nsowi_ of the Ulungu and Mambwé districts
of Mweru (_Crawshay_).
_Adult male._ Height at withers about 40 inches. Colour nearly
uniform dark yellowish brown, becoming darker and of a more dusky hue
on the shoulder, belly, and legs. Head a darker and richer brown, with
a large whitish patch running inwards on each side from the inner
corner of the eye; also a yellowish patch above the eye; two pale
spots on the cheeks, the upper situated a short distance beneath the
eye. Ears blackish behind, with a large grey patch below. Throat with
an upper and lower white patch. Underside of tail white. Fore legs
white on the inner side at the base and behind the knee; spots on the
pasterns faint; hind legs white on the inner side down to the hock.
_Adult female._ Without horns, but nearly resembling the adult
male in colour.
The skull of an adult male (type) gives the following
measurements:—Basal length 10·5 inches; orbit to muzzle 6·5; greatest
width 4·5; horn 21 in straight line, 25·75 round the curve. Hoof:
length along front 4·10; thickness from back to front 1·5.
These descriptions are taken from the skin and skull of an adult male
(the type), obtained by Mr. Coryndon on the Barotze River, and kindly
lent to us by the Hon. Walter Rothschild, M.P.
[Illustration:
Fig. 111.
Outer view of the right foot of Selous’s Sitatunga. ⅓ nat. size.
]
In his original diagnosis of _Limnotragus selousi_, Mr. Rothschild
took the characters of the female from the specimen of this sex, from
Lake Ngami, now living in the Zoological Society’s Gardens. In the
specimens of _L. selousi_, however, from the Barotze River the
immature female is of a rich red colour, inclining to black in the
dorsal region, whereas the female from Lake Ngami was at the time
of its arrival in England, when only half-grown, of the same nearly
uniform tint as it is now when fully adult. Moreover, Mr. Selous, who
has seen many skins of this Antelope from the Chobé, kindly informs us,
in reply to an inquiry on this point, that the young are, according to
his experience, never rufous in colour; although when newly born they
are marked with white stripes and spots which subsequently disappear.
We cannot explain these discrepancies at present, but must leave the
matter as it stands for the investigation of future observers.
_Hab._ Swamps of the district of Lake Ngami and similar localities
on the Zambesi and its tributaries; thence north to Lake Mweru.
The discovery of the existence of an Antelope of this water-loving
group in South-west Africa was made even before Speke obtained his
specimens of the last species in Karagweh. The well-known traveller,
Charles John Andersson, met with the “Nakong,” as he calls it, during
his explorations of Lake Ngami. In the volume descriptive of his
four years’ wanderings, published in 1856, when calling attention
to the great variety of large animals found in that district, more
especially in the vicinity of the rivers, he mentions “two new species
of Antelope, the _Nakong_ and the _Leché_,” and gives a
lithographic plate, drawn by Wolf, to illustrate them as they appeared
in their native haunts. Not having before him actual specimens of
the former Antelope to draw from, the great artist had apparently
only Andersson’s somewhat imperfect information upon which to prepare
his likeness of the “Nakong.” He consequently gave a more prominent
place in his illustration to the Leché (_Cobus lechee_), and
hid the Nakong in a reed-bed, leaving only its kudu-like horns, of
which Mr. Andersson’s friend, Col. Steele, was fortunately able to
supply specimens, plainly visible. Andersson speaks of the Nakong
as a “Waterbuck,” which, by means of its peculiarly long hoofs, not
unfrequently attaining a length of six or seven inches, is able to
traverse with great facility the reedy bogs and quagmires with which
the country abounds.
Another well-known African explorer, Thomas Baines, who penetrated
far into South-west Africa from Walfisch Bay a few years later, also
mentions the _Nakong_ as amongst several new or little-known
Antelopes found in that district.
About the same time also the South African Museum received specimens of
this Antelope from the Lake Ngami district, through Mr. J. J. Wilson,
of Otjimbinque, and Messrs. Chapman. Mr. Layard, in his Catalogue of
the Mammals of that Museum, published in 1861, refers these specimens
very doubtfully to _Tragelaphus eurycerus_, but shows very clearly
by his description that they really belonged to the present species.
Sir John Kirk, in his article on the Mammals of Zambesia, read before
the Zoological Society in 1864, mentions the “Nakong” as frequenting
the papyrus and rushes on the River Chobé. He naturally refers it to
_Tragelaphus spekii_, with which, until quite recently, it was
generally believed to be identical. In the same way Sir Victor Brooke,
in his article on Speke’s Antelope and its allied species, published
in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1871, comprises in
his list of specimens of _Tragelaphus spekii_ those of the two
allied forms, which we here treat of as probably distinct. Of these,
his specimens “_h_” (“frontal bones, horns, and feet, in the
collection of Mr. Oswell”) are, no doubt, referable to _Limnotragus
selousi_.
Mr. Selous, in his excellent and often-quoted article on the Antelopes
of Central South Africa (P. Z. S. 1881, p. 753), writes of this species
(which Mr. Rothschild has appropriately named after the famous hunter)
as follows:—
“This Antelope is only met with in the extensive swamps which
exist in some parts of the interior of Africa. In the reed-beds of
the Mababe, Tamalakan, and Machabe rivers it is to be found; and
in the vast marshes through which the Chobe runs it must exist in
considerable numbers, although, as it only emerges from the dense
reed-beds at night, it is scarcely ever to be seen. In 1879 I
tried hard to shoot some of these animals on the Chobe, searching
for them in a canoe amongst the reed-beds at early dawn and after
sunset; but though I disturbed several, and heard them splashing
away amongst the reeds and papyrus, I only saw one female alive,
though one morning I found a fine ram lying dead that had
evidently been killed fighting with a rival during the night. The
head and feet of this animal I preserved. The female that I saw
was standing breast deep in the water, in the midst of a bed of
reeds, feeding on the young shoots that just appeared above the
water. When she saw us she at once made off, making a tremendous
splashing as she plunged through the water. The natives told me
that very often when these Antelopes are met with under similar
circumstances they do not attempt to run, but, sinking down in the
water, submerge their whole bodies, leaving only their nostrils
above the surface, and trusting that their enemies will pass them
unobserved; they (the Kafirs) then paddle close alongside and
assegai them from the canoe. As all the Situtungas the skins of
which I saw had been killed with assegais, and not shot, I have no
doubt that this statement is correct. Another way the natives have
of killing them is by setting fire to the reeds when they become
quite dry, and then waiting for the Situtungas in their canoes in
one of the channels of open water by which the marsh is
intersected. Driven forwards by the advancing fire, the Antelopes
are at last obliged to swim across the open water to gain the
shelter of the reeds on the further side; and the natives are thus
often enabled to cut off and assegai some of them in mid stream.”
We have already alluded to the occurrence of this species in
Barotze-land, where Mr. Coryndon obtained specimens for Mr. Rothschild.
Still further to the north-east we find that a species of the
Sitatunga group, which, we suppose, should also be referred to _L.
selousi_, occurs, according to Sir Harry Johnston, “in the swamps
of Lake Mweru, in the Loangwa valley, and in other parts of British
Central Africa.” Mr. Richard Crawshay, C.M.Z.S., has favoured us with
the following field-notes which he has drawn up as the result of his
long experience with the animal-life of the district of Lake Mweru:—
“This Antelope is known by the people of the Itawa and Kabwiri—who
are, as I have before mentioned, branches of the Awemba—as ‘Mula.’
By the people of Ulungu and Mambwe (where I suppose it is also
found) it is known as ‘Nsowi.’
“I had been six months or more at Mweru before any proof was
forthcoming that such an animal existed. Then, when shooting wild-
fowl on the outskirts of a vast and impenetrable swamp between
Rhodesia and the Luao River, I came upon the remains of what had
been a fine pair of horns just on the margin of the water. The
horns had been submerged during the rains and were fast decaying.
All that was recoverable was one fairly sound horn with a fragment
of the frontal bone attached. This horn, I think, measured 21¾
inches.
“Some months later when at Mkula’s, on the Chisela River, I was
given by the chief a perfect, though smaller, pair of horns. A
skin was also offered me—I don’t know if it was _the_ skin—but so
discoloured with dirt and smoke, from lying in a native hut, that
I did not think it worth having.
“Mkula told me there were a good many ‘Mula’ in the swamps below
his town, and that one way or another his people had killed seven
or eight during the six years or so he had been at the Chisela
River, but that they were very difficult to get at, and when got
at—viz., roused—even more difficult to kill.
“On expressing my eagerness to shoot, or at least see, a ‘Mula,’
he did not give me much hope of doing either the one or the other.
A glance at the Chisela River reed-beds from a heap outside the
town did not reassure me. All the same, during two visits to
Mkula’s—one the middle of July, the other at the very end of
October 1892—I did my utmost to effect my object, spending the
greater part of my time in the swamp, wading and wallowing in mud,
water, and reeds, but found it killing work. Scarcely a native
would follow me in a second attempt. The combined rays of the sun,
mosquitos, leeches, and a most sickening stench from the swamp,
proved a severe trial to my patience and perseverance. Ultimately
I gave up without getting a shot at a ‘Mula.’ Luckily such hard
labour earned some reward. I saw two ‘Mula’ and heard others,
besides gaining an insight into their ways and haunts. Were I to
try again for this Antelope under similar conditions, I would
build a platform, 20 feet high or so, in the swamp, overlooking
the feeding-grounds of the ‘Mula,’ and would watch from this
platform say from 3.30 P.M. until dark. The remains of the
‘Mula’s’ head from the Luao River swamp, as also the horns given
me by Mkula, were sent home along with the other Antelopes’
heads.”
So far as we know, only two examples of this Sitatunga have ever
reached Europe alive. Both of these are now living, in good health,
in the Zoological Society’s Gardens in the Regent’s Park. The first
arrival was a young female, received as a present from Mr. James A.
Nicolls, F.Z.S., of Belmont House, Navan, Ireland, on October 14th,
1890. In a footnote to Nicolls and Eglington’s ‘Sportsman in South
Africa’ we are informed that the animal in question was captured by Mr.
Nicolls alongside the dead body of its dam, which had been shot by him
in the Taoke swamp, forty miles from Lake Ngami.
On referring to Mr. Nicolls’s articles in the ‘Field’ newspaper, in
which his “Travels and Sport along the Botletle River and round Lake
Ngami” are narrated, we find the occurrence in question described as
follows:—
“At midday (in August 1887) we arrived at Ku-Ku’s. A native
missionary, who has spent several years in this country
representing the London Missionary Society, informed us that his
efforts towards converting the Western Bamangwato tribes and
Makobas to Christianity had up to the present proved unsuccessful.
From him we also received intelligence that the Nakon waterbuck
was very plentiful in the Taoke swamp, a distance of twenty miles
off. This was indeed very joyful news to me, as I had always been
most anxious to shoot a specimen of this animal, a prize which, I
understood, had not previously been obtained by any white man, at
least south of the Zambesi. However, Ku-Ku strongly advised me not
to go shooting in the swamp till I had seen Moremi and obtained
his permission to do so, on account, Ku-Ku said, of that chief
being very unwilling to allow any strangers there, the district
being used by his people as a place of refuge in case of another
attack by the Matabele. I adopted his advice, which, as it turned
out afterwards, was rightly given.
“I arrived at De Nokane, Moremi’s town (a distance of 537 miles
680 yards from Khama’s). The station occupied by the chief is
situated on a small river which issues from the Okavango, and
finally gets lost in the vast Taoke swamp.
“At midday I came to a large Makoba village, built on a small
piece of rising ground adjoining the swamp. To the left, right,
and front, as far as the eye could reach, there was nothing
visible but vast patches of tall reeds; here and there, on
portions of more rising ground, little groves of dwarf fan-palms;
and occasionally, as if a godsend to relieve the monotony of such
a dreary landscape, a towering palm waved its feathered head to
the uncertain breeze.
“As I had still a long distance to walk before arriving at the
spot most frequented by the Nakon, and as I desired to be there at
least an hour before sundown (this, or shortly after daylight in
the morning, being the only time at which a fair chance of a shot
could be obtained), without making any delay, I at once entered
the swamp, and for the first half-hour waded knee-deep in water,
caused by a late overflow from the Taoke river, and my progress,
although very tiring, was at least endurable. Resting for about
twenty minutes on a small dry knoll, overgrown with fan-palms, my
Makoba guides, of whom I had three, pointed to a long green streak
of rushes about three miles off, which, they assured me, was very
much frequented by the game I was in search of. Progression now
became more difficult, as the water not only became much deeper,
but firm footing was more uncertain, owing to the burrowing of
fish in the alluvial soil. One of my guides now took the lead, and
with the end of his long fish assegai tried every inch of the
ground in front as we went along. Notwithstanding his solicitude
on my behalf, I had the misfortune to plunge head forward into a
hole, thoroughly saturating my clothing and filling my rifle with
water. It was nearly four o’clock in the afternoon when I arrived
at another small island within 300 or 400 yards of the fringe of
reeds I have before alluded to, and which was really the bed of
the Taoke choked up by rotten vegetation and papyrus-roots, the
river slowly percolating through the mass. Having enjoyed an
hour’s rest on this haven of safety, and the favourable time
having arrived, I again proceeded onwards, and found that my work
up to that time had been merely child’s play, compared to that
which I now had before me. There was no footing whatever
obtainable, with the exception of a network of papyrus-roots,
which stretched along in every direction, and was just
sufficiently tough to support a man, the bog moving up and down at
every footstep. To add to the charm of the situation, the
mosquitoes, prematurely disturbed from their afternoon siesta,
rose in clouds from the rotten swamp, biting my face, neck, and
hands most viciously. Groping and staggering along in this manner
till about an hour before sundown, I had seen no game, and was
just beginning to give it up as a bad job, when one of the Makobas
pointed out the figure of an animal lying, or standing, with a
portion of its back and the whole head out of the water, about 200
yards away. It was a Nakon ram, carrying a very fine pair of
horns; but from the position he was placed in, I saw there was no
earthly chance of killing him at the distance. Thinking to
approach a little, I advanced cautiously; but had scarcely
proceeded a dozen yards when, as if out of the water, not more
than 60 yards off, up jumped another one, bounding along crossways
with a most convulsive-looking movement. I took a very hasty shot,
and had the satisfaction of seeing the animal tumble over with a
big splash in the water. It turned out, unfortunately, to be a
doe, full-grown, with a young one at foot. I had shot my first
Nakon, and I solemnly affirm it will certainly be my last, except
under much more favourable circumstances. An attempt to bring out
the carcase that night being utterly useless, two Makobas slept on
the small island, and I myself turned back to the village, where I
arrived long after midnight, and, although completely done up with
fatigue, could not sleep a wink, owing to the myriads of
mosquitoes which preyed on me the whole night long.”