Chapter II: Part 2

So far as we know, this is all the evidence to be offered as to the existence of this species, concerning which further particulars would be very desirable. There is no example of it in the British Museum.

_August_, 1897.

GENUS III. SAIGA.

Type.
_Saiga_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. xxvi (1843) S. TATARICA.
_Colus_, =Wagner=, Schreber’s Säugeth. Suppl.
iv. p. 419 (1844) S. TATARICA.

Size medium. Nose large, elongate, bent downwards, and inflated; the nostrils opening downwards. Tail short. Mammæ 4. Accessory hoofs present.

Skull with short nasals and premaxillaries, and an exceedingly large and high nasal opening; small supraorbital pits; no lachrymal vacuities; anteorbital fossæ shallow. Lower premolars two, at least in the recent species.

Horns of medium length, cylindrical, rather irregularly lyrate, strongly ringed, pale whitish or amber-coloured. Female hornless.

_Range of the Genus._ Steppes of S.E. Europe and Western
Asia.

One species only.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. XLIX.

_Wolf del. J. Smit lith. Hanhart imp._

The Saiga

SAIGA TATARICA.

_Published by R. H. Porter._]

79. THE SAIGA.

SAIGA TATARICA (LINN.).

[PLATE XLIX.]

_Ibex imberbis_, =Gmel.= N. Comm. Ac. Petrop. v. p. 345 (1760) &
vii. p. 39, pl. xix. (♂ ♀) (1761). (Not binomial.)

_Le Saiga_, =Buff.= Hist. Nat. xii. p. 198, pl. xxii. fig. 2
(horn) (1764).

_Capra tatarica_, =Linn.= Syst. Nat. (12) i. p. 97 (1766) (ex
Gmel.); =Müll.= Natursyst. i. p. 417 (1773).

_Saiga tatarica_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 160 (1843); =id.=
List Ost. B. M. p. 55 (1847); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 3 (1850);
=id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p. 112; =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 51, pl.
vi. figs. 1 & 2 (skull) (1852); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 189
(1853); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 231 (1862); =Glitsch=,
Bull. Soc. Moscow, 1865, p. 207; =Sclat.= P. Z. S. 1867, p. 240,
pl. xvii.; =Murie=, P. Z. S. 1870, p. 451 (anatomy & position);
=Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 33 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M.
p. 102 (1873); =Scl.= List An. Z. S. (8) p. 143 (1883), (9) p.
157 (1896); =Flow. & Gars.= Cat. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 265 (1884);
=Sterndale=, Mamm. Ind. p. 468 (1884); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p.
341 (1891); =Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 101 (1892), (2) p. 145
(1896); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 163 (1893).

_Antilope tatarica_, =Forst.= Descr. Anim. p. 390 (1844);
=Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 270 (1847); =id.=
Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 266; Reprint,
p. 86 (1848).

_Colus tataricus_, =Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 283 (1880).

_Antilope saiga_, =Pall.= Misc. Zool. p. 6 (1766); =id.= Spic.
Zool. xii. pp. 14 & 21 (1777); =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 121
(1780); =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 143 (1785); =Schr.= Säug. pl.
cclxxvi. (1787); =Gmel.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 185 (1788); =Kerr=,
Linn. An. K. p. 309 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beytr. i. p. 626
(1792); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. ii. p. 99 (1795); =G. Cuv.= Tabl.
Élém. p. 163 (1798); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Thierr. ii.
p. 645 (1800); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. ii. pt. 2, p. 339 (1801);
=Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci.
Nat. ii. p. 229 (1804); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (1) xxiv.
Tabl. p. 33 (1804); =Tiedem.= Zool. i. p. 409 (1808); =Pall.=
Zoogr. Ross.-As. i. p. 252 (1811); =G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p.
428 (1814); =Afz.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p. 220 (1815); =Desm.=
N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 181 (1816); =G. Cuv.= R. A. i. p.
261 (1817); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1216 (1818); =Schinz=,
Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 389 (1821); =Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N.
i. p. 44–2. (1822); =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p. 452 (1822); =Less.=
Man. Mamm. p. 391 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 458
(1829); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 289 (1836); =Laurill.= Dict.
Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 616 (1839); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. i.
p. 260 (1840); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1842);
=Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 420 (1844), v. p. 402 (1855);
=Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 408 (1845); =id.= Mon. Antil. p. 12
(1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 313 (1853); =Nehring=, Z. Ges. Erdkunde
Berl. xxvi. pp. 327 & 338 (1891) (distribution); =id.= Zool.
Gart. 1891, p. 328.

_Capra sayga_, =Forst.= Phil. Trans. lvii. p. 344 (1767).

_Antilope (Gazella) saiga_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p.
171 (1814).

_Cerophorus (Antilope) saiga_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom.
1816, p. 75.

_Colus saiga_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 161 (1809).

_Saiga saiga_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.)
p. 134 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 165
(1892).

_Antilope scythica_, =Pall.= Spic. Zool. fasc. i. p. 9 (1767);
=Müll.= Natursyst. Suppl. p. 53 (1776); =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p.
289 (1777); =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. Geog. p. 541 (1777); =Gatt.=
Brev. Zool. i. p. 83 (1780); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1365
(1838).

_Cemas colus_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. p. 736 (1816).

_Antilope colus_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 226, v. p. 335
(1827); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1812).

_Saiga colus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846).

_Gazella colus_, =Turner=, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 168.

VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Saigàk_ in Russian; _Suhak_ or _Baran
polnii_ in Polish; _Ak-kirk_ of the Tartars; _Sogak_ of
the Caucasians; _Gorossuun_, the male _Ohna_, the female
_Scharcholdsi_, of the Calmucks; _Jaban-choin_ of the Turks;
_Beschen-Chusch_ of Circassians; _Linjodsha_ of Chinese.--PALLAS.

Height at withers about 30 inches. General colour in summer dull yellowish, with a whitish throat and indistinct facial markings; in winter nearly uniform whitish all over, without markings anywhere. Ears very short, thickly haired. Tail short, uniform in colour with the body.

Skull and horns of male as above described (p. 29). The dimensions of an old male skull are:--Basal length 9·5 inches, greatest breadth 5·1, muzzle to orbit 6·3.

The horns attain a length of about 13 or 14 inches, and are of a peculiar waxy or pale amber-colour.

Female similar, but without horns.

_Hab._ Steppes of Southern Russia, and South-eastern
Siberia.

The Saiga, although closely allied to the Gazelles in structure, is, as will be seen from our figure, very different in external appearance, especially as regards the bloated form of the nose in the adult male, which gives it a most ungainly look and renders it easily distinguishable from all its allies of this group.

The Saiga was known to many of the ancient writers, and is described and figured by Gesner, in his ‘History of Quadrupeds,’ as an inhabitant of Scythia and Sarmatia, under the name “Colus,” which is said to have been formed by transposition from the native name “Sulac.” The earliest good account of it, however, is that of the well-known naturalist J. G. Gmelin, who met with it during his travels in Siberia between 1733 and 1743, and described it at full length, in an article on new quadrupeds published at St. Petersburg in 1760, under the name of “_Ibex imberbis_.” Upon Gmelin’s _Ibex imberbis_ Linnæus, in his ‘Systema Naturæ,’ based his _Capra tatarica_. Of the two generic names proposed for this Antelope, _Saiga_ by Gray in 1843, and _Colus_ by Wagner in the following year, we naturally prefer the oldest, and adopt as the proper name of this Antelope, which is the sole representative of its genus, _Saiga tatarica_.

Buffon, in his ‘Histoire Naturelle,’ also employed Saiga as the name of this animal and based his account of it mainly upon Gmelin’s description, stating, however, that there were specimens of its horns in the Royal Cabinet at Paris. Following the prior authorities, he describes the Saiga as a kind of wild goat found at that epoch in Hungary, Poland, Tartary, and Southern Siberia in herds on the plains, very fleet and active, and difficult of capture. We shall see, however, that the range of this animal in Europe has become very much more restricted in recent times.

The best modern account of the Saiga is that given in 1865, in the Bulletin of the Imperial Society of Naturalists of Moscow, by Herr Constantin Glitsch, of Sarepta on the Lower Volga, who was employed for two years by the Imperial Russian Society of Acclimatisation to obtain living examples of this Antelope for the Zoological Garden of Moscow.

In the days of Pallas, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga had a wide distribution in Europe, extending from the borders of Poland, all across the Dnieper and the great flat southern portion of Russia to the Caucasus and the Caspian. The European herds of this animal were also often reinforced by large accessions from the steppes of Western Asia, which, driven by stress of famine from their native haunts, crossed the Ural and the Volga by the ice in winter. A hundred years later we find a great change in the range of the Saiga, caused by the increase of cultivation and population in the European portion of its range, which has driven this animal back into the East. On the Dnieper, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga has altogether disappeared, in the Ukraine it is no longer to be found, and even on the Don, where it was formerly so plentiful, it is quite a scarce animal. Nowadays, in fact, in Europe the Saiga is confined to the Kalmuk Steppes between the Don and the Volga, and is found only within the triangle lying between these two rivers, of which Tzaritzyn on the Volga forms the northern point.

On the flat and treeless plains which lie within these limits the Saiga still exists in tolerable abundance, though diminishing in numbers yearly as population increases. In the summer months it is distributed over the whole of this area; in winter, beginning from November, it is driven by the snow and cold from its northern resorts towards the south, where it finds shelter in the rich grassy valleys of the Sal and the Manitsch. Here the Saiga passes the winter on ground generally free from snow. Here it breeds in the spring, and as soon as the snow is melted in the more northern plains it begins its migration to the North. At this season the Saigas go northwards in considerable herds, the bucks first, followed by the does, and by the end of May they have all reached the most northern boundaries of their range. But there are many circumstances which interfere with the regularity of this migration, and at Sarepta, near the north end of their area, there are remarkable variations in their numbers. In some summers only a few scattered individuals are to be met with, in other years large herds are to be found in this district throughout the summer. But in very severe winters, when even the most southern districts inhabited by this Antelope are invaded by excessive cold and deep snow, the hungry beasts are driven all over the country in search of food, and stray even as far north as the vicinity of Sarepta. On these occasions whole herds are often entombed in the snow-drifts and fall an easy prey to the natives, who follow them on horseback and slaughter them by hundreds. Under these circumstances it can easily be understood that the Saiga is a gradually vanishing animal in Europe. One thing, however, is in their favour, that the males, whose presence is betrayed by their horns, fall more easy victims to the hunter than the hornless females, which are more readily concealed in the herbage and thus escape notice.

Group of Saigas (1/12 nat. size).

(From the ‘Royal Natural History,’ vol. ii. p. 298.)]

Herr Glitsch gives us detailed and excellent descriptions of the form and colouring of the Saiga, and of the other peculiarities of the animal of both sexes and in all ages. In the winter coat the hairs on the upper part of the body are from two to three inches long, rather shorter on the underparts, and a long beard extends from the chin down the middle line of the neck to the breast. The older the animal is the brighter is its winter dress.

The voice of the Saiga is stated by Glitsch to be a deep loud bleat, which is frequently uttered by the young animals, but by the older animals only in the pairing-season and when they are wounded. The hearing, the sight, and the smell of the Saiga are all highly developed, and combine to render it a very difficult animal for the hunter to approach.

The Saigas are said to begin breeding about the middle of December (new style), and at this season commonly assemble in large herds in the warm side-valleys of the Sal and Manitsch, which are mostly free from snow. At this time the young are said to be driven away from the parents in flocks into the thickets, while the males fight fiercely one with another for the possession of the females. The female is stated to go five months with young, and to bring forth about the middle of May amongst the higher vegetation of the steppe. As a rule, she produces two young ones, seldom only one. The mother is sometimes seen followed by three young ones, but in such a case the third is, probably, an adopted animal. In the morning, after suckling her young ones, the mother leaves them concealed in the herbage, and goes far off to feed, returning to them only in the evening and staying with them all night. In about four weeks’ time the young Saigas learn to feed themselves, and the young horns begin to appear in the bucks. They suck, however, till the end of October, and follow after the mother up to the winter. The food of the Saiga consists not so much of the true grasses as of the leafy shrubs of the steppes, such as _Artemisia_, _Atriplex_, and _Glycirhiza_, as well as _Inula dysenterica_ and other saline plants.

Besides mankind, Herr Glitsch tells us, the Saiga Antelope in the Volga district has no special enemy. The wolves and foxes, the only large beasts of prey of these steppes, can only attack quite young animals, the older ones easily making their escape. They have one great plague in the steppes, however, in the insects, especially a species of _Œstrus_, by which at times they seem to be driven nearly crazy, and with the eggs and larvæ of which their skins seem to be almost always infested.

The flesh of the Saiga is said to be particularly tender and well-flavoured, and more like good mutton than anything else.

The favourite mode of chase of the Saiga is to drive out on to the steppes at early dawn with a cart containing provisions, and, after hiding the cart in some ravine, to stalk them with a rifle in the same manner as other large game-animals. But they are also occasionally taken in steel traps which are set upon their favourite runs. The Kalmuks use leather slings for the same purpose.

Beyond the Ural River the Saiga extends widely over the Kirghiz Steppes of Central Asia north of the Aral. Mr. William Bateson, F.R.S., has kindly favoured us with the following notes of what he heard and saw of the Saiga when in this district in 1896–7:--

“The Saiga is fairly common in the Kirghiz Steppes, inhabiting
the dry tracts covered with various species of _Artemisia_
(Kirghiz, _Jusun_), upon which no doubt it feeds. It is not
found in the sandy regions of the Kara-kum. I believe also that
it does not live in the moister steppes, which bear a meadow
vegetation. Its northern distribution in West Central Asia
must therefore be bounded by the valley of the Irtish and its
tributaries, which is all meadow-land. I met with Saigas first
at the end of July 1896, in the neighbourhood of Lake Tschalkar,
in the Turgai district. In this region we came upon their tracks
constantly, and occasionally saw herds of various sizes from ten
or a dozen to about a hundred. When we appeared they made off.
In doing so I noticed that they generally travelled at right
angles to our line of approach, though this may have been due to
some accident in the lie of the ground. The Kirghiz catch them
in traps set in their runs. A young one so caught was brought to
me on July 27, 1896. Its horns and horn-cores were only slightly
developed.

“In the following year I travelled from Kozalinsk, on the
Aral Sea, to Lake Balkhash, following the Shu River. In this
journey we saw Saigas from time to time on the edge of the Bek
Pak Dala, or Hungry Steppe, in April, but no large herds were
seen. The Kirghiz spoke of them as common in the Bek Pak. Both
this district and the Tschalkar Steppes, except for wells on
the caravan-roads, are almost waterless after the snow has
disappeared, so probably the Saiga can subsist without more
water than the dew and its food-plants provide.

“The Kirghiz name of the Saiga is ‘_Kiik_’ and the word
Saiga is only known to them as Russian, in which language,
however, the word is not really ‘Saiga,’ but ‘Säigak.’”

As regards the range of the Saiga at the present time, Herr E. Büchner, Director of the Zoological Museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg, has kindly favoured us with the following particulars:--

The Saiga is still met with, although very unfrequently, in the country of the Ural Cossacks between the Wolga and the Ural, and extends occasionally into the Government of Samara. East of the river Ural its range extends over the Kirghiz Steppes and the steppe district of all West Siberia--Turgai, Akmolinsk, and Semipalatinsk. South of this the Saiga is also found in the steppes of Russian Turkestan and in the Dsungarian steppes of Western Mongolia, but not in Transcaspia.

Such is the range of the Saiga at present. As already shown, it was much wider than now even within the period of history. But when we go back into the Pleistocene times we have good evidence that the Saiga had a very much more extensive range, its fossil remains having been obtained from the caverns and superficial deposits of Hungary, Belgium, and Southern France. In the last-named country the researches of French palæontologists have proved that its bones and teeth occur in considerable numbers in certain of the cave deposits in the Departments of Vienne, Dordogne, Tarn-et-Garonne, and Haute-Garonne. Moreover, as shown by Mons. Gervais, at least one recognizable sketch of the head of the Saiga has been found on an artificially incised bone of the character so often met with in caverns where relics of human handiwork occur. It appears, therefore, that the Saiga inhabited Western Europe as late as the era of Palæolithic man, and was, moreover, in all probability one of the objects of his chase.

Still more interesting, however, is it to find that, as shown by Mr. A. Smith Woodward in a paper read before the Zoological Society in 1890, the Saiga was also found in former days in Great Britain. During excavations made in that year in the Pleistocene deposits near Twickenham, a fine example of the frontlet and horn-cores of an adult male _Saiga tatarica_ was discovered. By the kindness of the Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce the figure of this interesting specimen (fig. 50, p. 39), which was exhibited by Mr. A. Smith Woodward on the occasion in question, and is now in the gallery of the British Museum.

Finally we may mention that, as has been recorded by Prof. Nehring, there have been discovered in Moravia remains of a Saiga differing from the living species in having three, in place of two, lower premolars[2]. From the occurrence of these remains, and those of other mammals now characteristic of the steppes in Western Europe, it has been argued by geologists that steppe-like conditions and climate must formerly have prevailed over large districts that have now quite changed their character.

Frontlet and horns of Saiga (fossil), ♂. ½ nat. size.

(P. Z. S. 1890, p. 614.)]

The Saiga has occasionally, but not often, been brought alive to the menageries of Western Europe. In 1864 and 1865 young male specimens of this Antelope were first received from Moscow by the Zoological Society of London. In November 1866 a pair of Saigas was deposited in the Zoological Society’s Gardens, and subsequently purchased, after living for several months in the Regent’s Park Gardens. An excellent coloured figure of these strange animals was made by Mr. J. Wolf in 1867, and published in the Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ and after their death Dr. Murie, then Prosector to the Society, based upon them an elaborate account of their structure and anatomy, which will be found in the volume of the same publication for the year 1870. By the kindness of the Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce here an excellent figure of the head of the adult male Saiga in its winter coat, taken from a drawing made by Mr. Berjeau under Dr. Murie’s supervision. We cannot do better than refer those who are interested in the structure and anatomy of the Saiga to Dr. Murie’s excellent article, from which, however, we venture to borrow his account of the cutaneous glands of this curious form, which appear to be not less than ten in number.

Head of male Saiga in its winter dress.

(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 495.)]

“In the Saiga there are two small suborbital glandular sacs, the
so-called crumen, lachrymal sinus, or tearpit of some authors,
which yield a thick whitish or pale yellow exudation. These are
situated in front of the orbit, and slightly below the median
transverse line of the eye. In the younger female the small
external openings of these were placed ¾ of an inch, and in the
male 1½ inch, in advance of the orbital ring; but the sinuses
or sacs themselves lay in the broadish and moderately excavated
infraorbital fossæ.

“Each foot, as in the sheep, possesses an interdigital sac about
1½ inch in depth, and opening by a narrow constricted aperture
at its front and upper part. The orifice is hidden by very short
closely placed yellowish hairs, whilst below these the sac is
superficially covered by a tuft of much stronger and longer
hairs. The secretion derived from these interdigital bags is
yellow and of a hardish ceruminous character.

“On the anterior aspect, but slightly to the inner side, of
each fore knee is a small dermal gland, or a thickening of the
cutaneous tissues, covered by a brownish patch of firm hairs.

“In the inguinal regions of both sexes bare oblong or
lozenge-shaped spaces exist; each of these is 5 inches or more
in extreme long diameter. Upon these inner edges in the female
the imperfectly developed udders and four teats are situated.”
(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 500.)

The Saiga is represented in the British Museum by a mounted pair from Sarepta on the Volga, and by other skins and skeletons from the same locality. There are also some horns obtained by Dr. O. Finsch on the steppe near Saisan, on the Russo-Chinese frontier, in 1876 (see Finsch, ‘Reise nach West-Sibirien im Jahre 1876,’ p. 193).

Our figure of the Saiga (Plate XLIX.) has been put upon the stone by Mr. Smit from a black-and-white sketch prepared by Mr. Wolf for the late Sir Victor Brooke. The original sketch, which belongs to Sir Douglas Brooke, has been kindly lent to us for examination. We regret to say, however, that we have no particulars as to the individual from which Mr. Wolf’s drawing was taken.

_August,_ 1897.

GENUS IV. PANTHOLOPS.

Type.
_Pantholops_, =Hodgs.= P. Z. S. 1834, p. 81 P. HODGSONI.
_Kemas_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 157 (1843) P. HODGSONI.

Size medium. Nose less bent downwards than in _Saiga_, but more swollen laterally, at least in the male. No suborbital glands. Tail short. Mammæ 2. Large glands in feet and groin.

Skull without distinct pits between the eyes, or lachrymal vacuities, or anteorbital fossæ. Nasal opening ample, but not so large as that of _Saiga_.

Horns long, erect, compressed, slightly diverging, nearly straight below, evenly curving forwards above; ringed in front. Female hornless.

_Range of Genus._ Plateau of Tibet.

One species only.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. L.

_Wolf del, J. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._

The Chiru.

PANTHOLOPS HODGSONI.

_Published by R. H Porter_]

80. THE CHIRU.

PANTHOLOPS HODGSONI (ABEL).

[PLATE L.]

_Antilope hodgsoni_, =Abel=, Calc. Gov. Gazette, _cf._ Phil.
Mag. lxviii. p. 234 (1826); Edin. Journ. Sc. vii. p. 164 (1827);
‘=Editor=,’ Glean, in Sc. i. p. 144 (1829); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn.
Mamm. p. 462 (1829); =Hodgs.= Gleanings in Sci. ii. p. 348, pls.
iii., v. (1830); =id.= P. Z. S. 1831, p. 52, 1832, p. 14, 1833,
p. 110; =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 617 (1839); =Gerv.=
Dict. Sci. Nat. i. p. 264 (1840); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Supp. iv.
p. 420 (1844), v. p. 402 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 415
(1845); =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 270 (1847);
=id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 266;
Reprint, p. 86 (1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 314 (1853); =Hooker=,
Himalayan Journal, ii. pp. 132 & 158 (1854); =Przewalski=,
Mongolia (Russian ed.), ii. pl. iii. ♂, pl. iv. fig. 2 ♀;
Morgan’s Transl. ii. pp. 204 & 223 (1876).

_Pantholops hodgsoni_, =Hodgs.= P. Z. S. 1834, p. 80; =id.=
J. A. S. B. xi. p. 282 (1842); =id.= Calc. Journ. iv. p. 291
(1844); =Gray=, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 53, pl. vi. figs. 3, 4
(skull) (1852); =Adams=, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 521; =Gerr.= Cat.
Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 232 (1862); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. 1, p.
162 (1869); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 33 (1872); =id.= Hand-l.
Rum. B. M. p. 102 (1873); =Blanf.= Yark. Miss., Mamm. p. 89, pl.
xvi. (1879); =Sterndale=, Mamm. Ind. p. 469 (1884); =Kinloch=,
Large Game Shooting, p. 106, plate of head (1885); =Jent.= Cat.
Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1889); =id.= Cat.
Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 166 (1892); =W. Scl.= Cat.
Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 163 (1891); =Blanf.= Mamm. Brit. Ind.
p. 524 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 341 (1891); =Ward=, Horn
Meas. (1) p. 102 (1892), (2) p. 146 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns and
Hoofs, p. 157 (1892); =Percy=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, ii. p.
335 (1894).

_Kemas hodgsoni_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 157 (1843); =id.=
Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Nepal
(Hodgson Coll.) (1) p. 26 (1846), (2) p. 13 (1863); =id.= List
Ost. B. M. p. 55 (1874); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 3 (1850); =id.=
P. Z. S. 1850, p. 112; =Horsf.= Cat. Mamm. Mus. E.I. Co. p. 166
(1851); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 189 (1853); =Blanf.= J. A.
S. B. xli. pt. 2, p. 39 (1872).

_Antilope kemas_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 196, v. p. 328
(1827); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 285 (1836).

“_The Chíru_,” Quart. Orient. Mag. ii. p. 160 (1824), _undè_

_Antilope chiru_, =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 371 (1827) (_ex_ Quart.
Orient. Mag. 1824, p. 260); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1369
(1838); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 179 (1842).

VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Chíru_ of Southern Tibetans and of sportsmen
generally; _Tsus_ ♂, _Chus_ ♀, Chiru and Chuhu (_Blanford_);
_Orongo_ of Northern Tibetans (_Przewalski_).

Height at withers about 31 or 32 inches. Hair very close, thick, and crisp. Colour pale fawn, with a peculiar fulvous or pinkish suffusion, especially on the flanks. Belly whitish, not sharply separated from the colour of the sides. Face of male black, crown and neck whitish. Sides of muzzle in male markedly swollen. Ears short, but pointed, whitish. Limbs pale greyish white, a black line running down their anterior faces in the male; female without blacker markings. Tail short, coloured like the rump.

Skull dimensions of a male:--Basal length 10·2 inches, greatest breadth 5, muzzle to orbit 6·4.

Horns long, very graceful, nearly straight, only slightly curved backwards below and forwards above, remarkably uniform in length and curvature, generally from 23 to 26 inches in length, the largest recorded being just under 28 inches.

_Female_ similar to male, but without horns.

_Hab._ Plateau of Tibet.

The Chiru, or Tibetan Antelope as it is often called, although known by the vague reports of the natives as long ago, perhaps, as 1816, was first introduced to science by Abel in 1826, from information and specimens furnished to him by the great naturalist and collector Hodgson, whose name it worthily bears. As we learn from Hodgson’s article published in ‘Gleanings in Science’ for 1830, it was in 1824 or 1825 that a live Chiru was sent to him in Nepal, where he was British Resident at the Court of Catmandu. Hodgson, as was his custom, drew up an elaborate description of the animal, and, after its death, sent the notes along with the skin to Dr. C. Abel, who was at that time one of the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta. Dr. Abel, after making a few additions to the description, and proposing to name the animal _Antilope hodgsoni_, read his paper at one of the Meetings of the Asiatic Society, and, as it appears from notices in the ‘Philosophical Magazine’ of 1826 and ‘Brewster’s Journal of Science’ of 1827, had it published in the Calcutta Government Gazette or Journal.

But Hodgson, probably owing to the death of Dr. Abel shortly afterwards, was unaware of this fact, and believing that Dr. Abel had lost or neglected his communication, redescribed the species in 1830 under the name _Antilope hodgsoni_, which he was told that Dr. Abel had applied to it. At that date (1830) Hodgson states that the living specimen already referred to was the only example he had ever seen of this animal, and that up to that time he had never been able to get another example of it alive or dead. It is clear, however, that Hodgson shortly after this date was enabled to obtain further specimens of this Antelope. In one of his letters published in the ‘Proceedings of the Zoological Society’ for 1832 it is stated that three individuals had been examined, and in a subsequent communication (dated from Nepal in February 1834) skins of the Chiru of both sexes are referred to as being amongst other skins of mammals and birds which had been recently despatched to the Society. In the latter communication also Mr. Hodgson suggests the propriety of regarding the Chiru as representing “a new subgenus to be termed _Pantholops_, the vulgar old name for the Unicorn.” Naturalists have generally acquiesced in Hodgson’s suggestion on this point, and we follow the usual practice in denominating the present species _Pantholops hodgsoni_.

Other names, however, have been proposed. In 1827 Lesson, in his ‘Manuel de Mammalogie,’ called this Antelope _Antilope chiru_, quoting as his reference an article in the ‘Quarterly Oriental Magazine’ for 1824 (p. 260), which is, however, merely another version of Abel’s paper.

About the same date also Hamilton Smith, in one of the volumes of Griffith’s edition of Cuvier’s ‘Animal Kingdom,’ proposed, with a note of interrogation, to give the name _Antilope kemas_ to the Chiru, quoting its description from one of the above-mentioned reports of Abel’s original paper.

We are quite satisfied, however, that it is best to employ the specific name _hodgsoni_ for this species as that which was first applied to it.

Since the days when Hodgson was Resident in Nepal many British travellers and sportsmen have penetrated into the snowy ranges of the Himalaya, and have met with the Tibetan Antelope. Sir Joseph Hooker, in the second volume of his ‘Himalayan Journal,’ tells us that he saw Chirus on the Cholamoo lakes near the Donkia Pass in Sikim in October 1849. They were feeding in company with “Gaurs” (_Gazella picticaudata_) upon the short grass about the lake, which lies at an elevation of some 17,000 feet above the sea-level. Sir Joseph Hooker gives an excellent figure of the remarkable horns of this Antelope, which by his kindness we are enabled to reproduce, and alludes to the ideas of Hodgson (which were shared in by Hue and Gabet) of the profile view of these horns having given rise to the belief of the existence of a Unicorn in Tibet. We should mention that Blanford when he visited Sikim in 1871 was told by the Tibetans that the Chiru is not now found within a long distance of the frontier, but only beyond it in Tibet proper. He admits, however, that it is not probable that there could have been any mistake about so fine and conspicuous an animal.

Horns of Chiru.

(From Hooker’s ‘Himalayan Journal,’ vol. ii. p. 158.)]

But by far the most complete account of the Chiru yet published is that given by General Kinloch in his excellent volume on the ‘Large Game of Tibet and Northern India,’ from the second edition of which, published in 1885, we venture to extract the following particulars:--

“So far as we know, Thibetan Antelopes are never found near
the habitations of man, but frequent the plains and elevated
valleys far above the limits of cultivation, where few human
beings, save occasional wandering shepherds, ever disturb them.
The most accessible country to sportsmen where the Thibetan
Antelope is to be found is Chung Chenmo, a desolate valley to
the north of the Pangong lakes. In this valley, and in those of
the streams which flow down to it from the spurs of the Kárá
Koram mountains, Antelope are usually plentiful; and they are
also to be met with all over the lofty plateau which has to be
crossed on the road to Yarkand. A few have been shot in the
neighbourhood of the Mánsarovárá lake near the north-western
frontier of Nepál, but there are great difficulties in the
way of getting there, the Thibetans jealously excluding all
foreigners.

“The Thibetan Antelope is considerably larger than the Indian
Antelope, and somewhat more heavily made; its remarkable thick
coat of closely set brittle hairs also tending to increase its
apparent bulk. The color is a light fawn, varying in shade on
different parts of the body, and tending almost to white in old
buck. The legs are dark-colored, and the faces of very old males
are nearly black. The muzzle is very curious; instead of being
fine and compressed, as is the case with most deer and antelope,
it is considerably enlarged and puffy-looking; so much so,
that properly stuffed heads are generally supposed by persons
unacquainted with the animal to be failures of the taxidermist.

“The horns are, perhaps, the most graceful of those of any
antelope: set close together at the base, they diverge in
an easy curve for about two-thirds of their length, and
then converging more abruptly, approach each other, in some
specimens, within three or four inches at the tips. Out of
twenty-five that I have shot I have never seen a pair above
twenty-four and a half inches, but considerably longer specimens
are to be obtained, and I have recently heard of a pair
twenty-eight and a half inches. The horns are jet-black, of very
fine grain, with a small central core, and being deeply notched
on their anterior surface, they form perfect knife-handles and
sword-hilts. When seen in profile, the forward inclination of
the horns has a curious effect, the two appearing like a single
horn; which has given rise to the belief that the Thibetan
Antelope is the Tchirou or Unicorn Antelope mentioned by the
Abbé Hue.

“Although living in such remote and sequestered regions, the
Thibetan Antelope is wary in its habits. In the mornings and
evenings it frequents the grassy margins of glacial streams,
which frequently flow between steep banks gradually scarped out
by the floods of centuries and now remote from the ordinary
water’s edge. The ravines have, for the most part, been cut
through gently sloping valleys; and on ascending their steep
sides, slightly undulating plains will be found to stretch away,
until they merge in the easy slopes of the rounded hills which
bound the valley. To these plains the Antelope betake themselves
during the day, and there they excavate hollows deep enough
to conceal their bodies, from which, themselves unperceived,
they can detect any threatening danger at a great distance. In
addition to the concealment afforded by their ‘shelter pits,’
they have an additional safeguard against surprise in the
constant _mirage_ which prevails on these stony wastes
during the bright hours of the day. This _mirage_ not
only distorts all visible objects in an extraordinary manner,
but, like rippling water, refracts the rays of light to such a
degree as to render objects altogether invisible at very short
distances. It is, of course, worst near the surface of the
ground, but on very hot days it attains a level of several feet;
and I well remember, on one occasion, observing the slender
horns of an Antelope gliding past me within three hundred yards,
apparently borne on the surface of a glassy stream, in which
the wearer of the horns was submerged and completely hidden
from view! When Antelope are feeding on the grassy flats by the
streams is the time when they may be easily approached; and then
a knowledge of the ground, and of the habits of the animal,
renders success in stalking them tolerably certain.”

How far the Chiru extends into the high plateau of Northern Asia beyond the Himalayas it is yet a little uncertain. Dr. Blanford, in his account of the mammals collected by Stoliczka during the Second Yarkand Mission (where excellent coloured figures of both sexes of this Antelope are given), tells us that it has been found in the Kuen-lun range, but has not been met with further north-west or west. It is also, as we are told by the great Russian traveller and naturalist Przewalski, a characteristic animal of the highlands of Northern Tibet. The “Orongo,” as it is here called by the Monguls and Tanguts, was first met with by the great traveller after crossing the Burkhan Buddha range, beyond which it was found distributed to the south as far as the Tang-la mountains. In Mr. Delmar Morgan’s translation of Przewalski’s travels will be found the following passages relating to the habits of this animal, of which, in the original Russian edition of the work, both sexes are figured:--

“The Orongo is found in small herds from five to twenty or forty
head, rarely collecting in large troops of several hundred, and
this only where the pasturage is good and plentiful. Though
a few of the old bucks, usually accompanying every herd, are
more cautious and experienced, the Orongos generally are not
so wary in their habits. In their flight the males follow the
herd as though to prevent straggling; whilst with the Dzerens
and Kara-sultas this order is reversed. When in motion, either
leisurely or at full speed, the Orongo holds its horns erect,
which adds greatly to its appearance. When trotting--its usual
pace--the legs move so quickly that at a distance they are
invisible, and dogs or wolves are soon left behind. We arrived
in Tibet during the breeding-season of these animals, which
begins late in November and lasts a month.

“At this time the full-grown males are in a most exited state,
taking little food and soon losing the fat which they had
gained during summer. The buck soon forms his harem of ten to
twenty wives, and these he jealously guards lest any of them
should fall into the power of a rival. No sooner does he see
an adversary approaching than he, the lawful lord of the herd,
rushes to the encounter with head lowered, uttering short deep
bleats. The combat is fierce, and the long sharp horns inflict
terrible wounds, often causing the death of both antagonists.
Should one feel his strength ebbing, he takes to flight pursued
by his enemy, then suddenly wheeling round receives the latter
on his horns. As a proof of the fury with which they fight, I
remember shooting one of the combatants, who, to my surprise,
continued the fight for several minutes after he had received
his death-wound, and then suddenly expired. If a doe chance to
stray from the herd, the buck immediately gives chase, and,
bleating as he goes, tries to drive her back again. While his
attention is thus engaged the others give him the slip, and
pursuing first one, then another, he often loses his whole
harem. At last, deserted by all, he gives vent to his fury and
disgust by striking the ground with his hoofs, curving his tail,
lowering his horns, and bleating defiance at his compeers. From
morning until evening these scenes are constantly occurring, and
there appears to be no bond of union between the male antelope
and his does; to-day they consort with one buck, to-morrow with
another.

“The rutting-season over, the Orongos again live peaceably with
one another, the males and females often collecting in separate
herds. We saw a troop of about 300 does in February in the
valley of the Shuga; the young are dropped in July. The Orongo
is fearless and will let the hunter openly approach within 300
yards, or even nearer. The report of firearms or the whistle of
a bullet does not alarm it; it only shows surprise by walking
quietly away, frequently stopping to look at the hunter. Like
other antelopes it is extremely tenacious of life and will run
a long way although wounded. They are not difficult to shoot,
for besides showing no fear, they haunt rocky defiles in the
mountains, where they may be easily stalked. I have fired as
many as from one to two hundred shots at them in the course of
the day, my bag, of course, varying a good deal with my luck in
the long shots. The Orongo is held sacred by the Mongols and
Tangutans, and lamas will not touch the meat, which, by the way,
is excellent, particularly in autumn when the animal is fat. The
blood is said to possess medicinal virtues, and the horns are
used in charlatanism: Mongols tell fortunes and predict future
events by the rings on these, and they also serve to mark out
the burial-places, or more commonly the circles within which the
bodies of deceased lamas are exposed; these horns are carried
away in large numbers by pilgrims returning from Tibet, and are
sold at high prices. Mongols tell you that a whip-handle made
from one will in the hands of the rider prevent his steed from
tiring.”

It is almost unnecessary to say that living specimens of the Chiru have never, as yet, been brought to Europe.

The British Museum contains a mounted specimen of an adult male of the Chiru, obtained by Mr. Mandelli in Sikim and presented by Dr. W. T. Blanford; also some specimens presented by Hodgson, and a number of very fine skulls and horns from Ladakh and Kumaon from the Hume Collection.

Our illustration (Plate L.), which represents a male of this animal in a snowstorm, has been put upon the stone by Mr. Smit from a coloured drawing prepared by Mr. Wolf under the directions of the late Sir Victor Brooke.

_August,_ 1897.

GENUS V. ANTIDORCAS.

Type.
_Antidorcas_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl.
1845, p. 271 (1847) A. EUCHORE.

General characters as in _Gazella_, but, as in _Saiga tatarica_ alone of Ruminants, with only two lower premolars, and the upper anterior premolar reduced to half the size of the second. Back with a peculiar elongate evertible fold in the skin.

Skull with small but particularly deep anteorbital fossæ, no anteorbital vacuities, and very broad and open posterior nares.

Horns medium, lyrate, twisted inwards, with a double serpentine curvature, convex inwards and in front below, outwards and behind above. The points turned inwards or backwards.

_Range of Genus._ Africa south of the Zambesi.

THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LI

_Wolf del J Smit lith_ _Hanhart imp_

The Springbuck

ANTIDORCAS EUCHORE.

_Published by R H Porter_]

81. THE SPRINGBUCK.

ANTIDORCAS EUCHORE (ZIMM.).

[PLATE LI.]

_La Gazelle à bourse sur le dos_, =Allamand=, in Schneider’s ed.
of Buffon’s Hist. Nat., Suppl. iv. p. 142, pl. lx. (1778); =id.=
Buff. H. N., Suppl. vi. p. 180 (Paris, 1782).

_Antilope marsupialis_, =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 427 (1780);
=Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Thiere, ii. p. 645 (1800).

_Cemas marsupialis_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii. pt. 2, p. 738
(1816).

_Springbok_, =Sparrm.= K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1780, p. 275; =id.=
Reise, p. 396, pl. viii. (1784); =id.= Engl. transl. ii. p. 83
(1786); =Daniell=, Afr. Scenery, no. 18 (1812).

_Antilope euchore_, “Forst.,” =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. iii. p. 269
(1783); =Schr.= Säug. pl. cclxxii. (1787); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool.
ii. pt. 2, p. 314 (1801); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. ii. p.
232 (1804); =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund. vi. p. 169 (1814); =G.
Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 423 (1814); =Afz.= N. Act. Ups. vii. p.
220 (1815); =Desm.= N. Dict. d’H. N. (2) ii. p. 185 (1816); =G.
Cuv.= R. A. i. p. 260 (1817); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1189
(1818); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 387 (1821); =Desmoul.=
Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 441 (1822); =Desm.= Mamm. ii. p.
455 (1822); =Burch.= Trav. i. p. 290 (1822); =id.= List Quadr.
pres. to B. M. p. 5 (1825) (Nugariep R.); =H. Sm.= Griff. An.
K. iv. p. 208, v. p. 331 (1827); =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 373
(1827); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. vii. (♂♀) (1827); =J. B.
Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 461 (1829); =Smuts=, En. Mamm. Cap. p.
72 (1832); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 286 (1836); =Laurill.=
Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 615 (1839); =Gerv.= Dict. Sci. Nat. i.
p. 261 (1840); =Jard.= Nat. Misc. (1) vii. p. 213, pl. xxvii.
(1842); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 176 (1812); =Forst.=
Descr. Anim. p. 388 (1844); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p.
414 (1844), v. p. 407 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 400
(1845); =id.= Mon. Antil. p. 5, pl. iii. (1848); =Temm.= Esq.
Zool. Guin. p. 193 (1853); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 309 (1853); =Brehm=,
Thierl. iii. p. 212 (1880); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. (4) iv.
p. 485 (1887).

_Cerophorus (Gazella) euchore_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom. p.
75 (1816).

_Gazella euchore_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. J. ii. p. 191 (1834);
=Harr.= Wild Anim. S. Afr. pl. iii. (♂ ♀) (1840); =Sund.= K.
Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1842, pp. 201 & 243 (1843); =Gray=, List Mamm.
B. M. p. 160 (1843); =id.= Cat. Ost. B. M. pp. 56 & 145 (1847);
=id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 6 (1850); =Turner=, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 168;
=Brooke=, P. Z. S. 1873, p. 550; =Drumm.= Large Game S. Afr. p.
426 (1875); =Buckley=, P. Z. S. 1876, pp. 282 & 291; =Bocage=,
P. Z. S. 1878, p. 741 (Huilla, Angola); =Selous=, P. Z. S. 1881,
p. 757; =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 142 (1883), (9) p. 156
(1896); =Flow. & Gars.= Cat. Coll. Surg. ii. p. 264 (1884);
=Bryden=, Kloof and Karroo, p. 220, figs. ♀ (1889); =W. Scl.=
Cat. Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 162 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm.
p. 342 (1891); =Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 122 (1892), (2) p. 163
(1896); =Nicolls & Egl.= Sportsm. S. Afr. p. 29, pl. vi. fig. 20
(1892); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p. 238 (1893).

_Antidorcas euchore_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845,
p. 271 (1847); =id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr.
ii. p. 267; Reprint, p. 87 (1848); =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1850, p.
116; =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 63 (1852); =Gerr.= Cat. Bones
Mamm. B. M. p. 233 (1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. Mus. As. Soc. p.
171 (1863); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 158 (1869); =Gray=,
Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 40 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 109
(1873); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 169
(1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 137 (1892).

_Antilope saccata_, =Bodd.= Elench. Anim. p. 142 (1785).

_Capra pygargus_, =Thunb.= Resa, ii. p. 28 (1789), Engl. Transl.
ii. p. 24 (1793).

_Antilope pygarga_, =Thunb.= Mém. Ac. Pétersb. iii. p. 315
(1811) (and no doubt of many other earlier authors; _nec_ Pall.).

_Antilope saltans_, =Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p. 312 (1792).

_Antilope saltatrix_, =Link=, Beytr. p. 79 (1795) (_nec_ Bodd.).

_Antilope saliens_ and _A. dorsata_, “Lac.,” =Desm.= N. Dict.
d’H. N. (1) xxiv. Tabl. p. 33 (1804).

VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Springbuck_ of English; _Springbok_
or _Prongbok_ of Dutch; _Tsebe_ (_A. Smith_) or _Umegi_
(_Drummond_) of Kaffirs. _Insaypee_ of Bechuanas; _Eetsaypee_ of
Makalakas (_Selous_).

Height at withers 31 or 32 inches. General colour bright rufous fawn; a strongly marked, dark, lateral band present, as in many Gazelles. Face pure white, a narrow fawn-coloured line running forwards to the muzzle from the openings of the anteorbital glands on each side. Crown and centre of forehead fawn-coloured like the neck and back. Ears long and pointed, their backs white or pale fawn. Posterior back with a strongly contrasted pure white line, the white hairs of which are placed in a fold of the skin, which fold is everted when the animal is excited, and then forms a prominent white crest; rump white, in continuation with the dorsal line; tail also white basally, black and crested terminally. Belly pure white. Limbs fawn-coloured externally, white on their inner sides and behind.

Skull-dimensions of a male:--Basal length 7·8 inches, greatest breadth 3·7, muzzle to orbit 4·7.

Horns attaining a length of about 14 or 15 inches round the curves, one specimen being recorded as long as 19 inches.

_Female_ similar to male, but horns smaller and not so strongly ringed at the base.

_Hab._ South Africa, south of the Zambesi, extending northwards
on the west to Mossamedes.

The Springbuck is, no doubt, very closely allied to the Gazelles; but in view of its peculiar dentition, which, as we have pointed out above (p. 53), is unique in the bovine family, and of the remarkable dorsal fold of skin, which is not found in any of its allies, we have thought it advisable to adopt for it the generic term _Antidorcas_, first provisionally suggested for it by Sundevall in 1847, and subsequently employed by many naturalists. The locality of the Springbuck is also quite distinct from that of the typical Gazelles, which are essentially a northern group, no true _Gazellæ_ being met with until we advance as far north as German East Africa.

This Antelope, with its bright colour and lively movements, as may be easily imagined, quickly attracted the notice of the early Dutch settlers at the Cape and received from them the appropriate name of “Springbok,” from the extraordinary springs and leaps which it makes in running. The first scientific account of it published appears to be that given by Allamand in Schneider’s edition of the ‘Histoire Naturelle’ of Buffon, published at Amsterdam about 1778. In the fourth volume of the ‘Supplement’ of this rather rare work, for the privilege of consulting which we are much indebted to Sir Edmund Loder, will be found (under the head of an addition to the article on Gazelles issued in the twelfth volume of the original work) described and figured “La Gazelle à bourse sur le dos,” as Allamand named the Springbuck. Allamand informs us that his figure and description (which unmistakably relate to this animal) were taken from a specimen then living in the menagerie of the Prince of Orange, which had been brought from the Cape by Capt. Gordon, and was the only survivor of twelve examples of this animal with which Captain Gordon had started for Europe.

Upon Allamand’s “Gazelle à bourse” Zimmermann, in the second volume of his ‘Geographische Geschichte,’ issued in 1780, established his _Antilope marsupialis_, adding a Latin diagnosis and a shortened translation of Allamand’s description. In the meantime, however, another name seems to have been proposed for the same animal by Forster, who, as we are informed by Zimmermann in the third volume of his ‘Geographische Geschichte,’ had called the Springbuck _Antilope euchore_. This no doubt was done in the famous ‘Descriptiones Animalium,’ which, although generally accessible in manuscript to the naturalists of the day, and frequently quoted by them, was not published until 1844. However, as Forster’s name for the Springbuck has been accepted nearly universally by subsequent naturalists, we do not now propose to change the name by which this animal has been known for so many years.

The immediately succeeding writers added little or nothing to our knowledge of this Antelope until about 1829, when Lichtenstein, in the second number of his ‘Darstellung der Thiere,’ gave coloured figures of both its sexes under the name “_Antilope euchore_, Forster,” from specimens in the Berlin Museum procured by him or his assistants in Cafferland.

A few years later Cornwallis Harris visited South Africa. In his great work on the results of his journey subsequently published, this celebrated sportsman and naturalist devotes his third plate to the illustration of a group of Springbucks, which he describes at the period of his writing (1840) as then still abundant in the Colony and “distributed over the arid plains beyond it in unlimited herds.” “Amongst the many striking novelties,” Cornwallis Harris writes, “which present themselves to the eye of the traveller in Southern Africa there are, perhaps, few objects more conspicuous or more beautiful than the dancing herds of graceful Springbucks which speckle the broad plains of the interior.”