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Show 1881.] MR. F. C. SELOUS ON AFRICAN ANTELOPES. 759 ten to twenty individuals. On the Zambesi and all its tributaries eastward of the Victoria Falls it is very plentiful, but is never found in herds of more than about twenty together. On the Chobe and its outlet the Sunta it is to be met with sparingly; but on the Mababe and Botletlie rivers I did not meet with any at all during m y visit there in 1879. It is most partial to steep stony hills, and is often found at a distance of more than a mile from the nearest river, for which, however, it always makes when pursued. Though a heavy-looking beast, it can clamber with wonderful speed and sureness of foot up and down the steepest hillsides. It appears to m e that the Waterbucks found on the Upper Zambesi and its tributaries do not attain to the same size as those found on the Limpopo. On the latter river the horns often attain to a length of over 30 inches, whilst on the Zambesi and its tributaries, such as the Omniati and Ganyane rivers, which take their rise in the high plateau of the Mashuna country, it is exceptional to obtain a pair measuring over 28 inches ; and the longest I have met with were a pair the bearer of which I shot myself last year (1880) on the banks of the Ganyane river. These horns measured 31 inches along the curve. The flesh of the Waterbuck is very coarse and rather strong-tasted; and when they become fat the fat sticks to the mouth and clogs on the teeth, unless eaten when very hot. Wherever I have seen them Waterbucks vary much in colour, some being reddish brown, others a very dark grey. 12. COBUS VARDONI. (Plate LXV.) Heleotragus vardoni, Kirk, P. Z. S. 1864, p. 657. (Impookoo of the Masubias.) The only place where I myself met with this Antelope was in a small tract of country extending along the southern bank of the Chobe for about sixty miles westwards from its junction with the Zambesi. They are never found at more than 200 or 300 yards from the river, and are usually to be seen cropping the short grass along the water's edge, or lying in the shade of the trees and bushes scattered over the alluvial flats which have been formed here and there by the shifting of the river's bed. Now and then a few must wander eastwards along the southern bank of the Zambesi as far as the Victoria Falls, as I saw m y friend Mr. J. L. Garden shoot one in 1874 which was standing on the very brink of the precipice. This, however, is the only one I have ever seen to the east of Umparira, though I have been several times backwards and forwards along the river's bank between that place and the Victoria Falls since. Along the Upper Zambesi from Sesheke to the Baroutse valley the natives report them common. W h y the Pookoo does not extend its range further westwards along the southern bank of the Chobe I am at a loss to understand, as there does not appear to be any change in the character of the country or vegetation to account for it. In size this Antelope stands about the same height at the shoulder as the Impala, but, being stouter built, must weigh considerably more. The colour is a uniform foxy red, the hair along the back |