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Show 658 MR. R. CRAWSHAY ON THE [DeC 2 again he stops to listen, with a foot poised, and his large ears turn uneasily in every direction; watch him when a piece of dead wood drops, or snap a twig and see him start and work his ears. Yet all this caution avails him not, for he falls an easy prey to th« Leopard, and occasionally to the Lion. 7. OREAS CANNA. The Eland, " Nchefu " of the Anyanja, " Mbunju " of the Ajawa, " Impofu " of the Angoni, and " Sefu " of the Ahenga and Anyika or Apoka, may be said to be almost as widely distributed as the Water-buck ; but frequenting as these Antelopes usually do thickly timbered country, and at the same time being by nature more shy and retiring, they are not nearly so often met with. All over Nyasa-land Elands appear to be found, both in the hills and on the wooded plains at the foot of hills; I have only, however, come across them on the West Coast, though a little to the S.E. of the Lake I have often seen them. In 1885, I came across a few a little beyond Mbapi, to the north of Cape Maclear, and from native report they must be plentiful to the north of that again at Bana and Karali, and from that on to Bandawe ; beyond Bandawe, especially in the neighbourhood of Syiska and Ruarwi, and from that north to the Linyina River (Mlowi's Rikuru), the mountains rise to a height of some 2000 feet, rugged and precipitous, sheer out of the Lake, and it is scarcely possible that Elands could frequent such country, though I am told they are plentiful enough on the plateau above. Between Chombi (Mt. Waller) and along the entire range of mountains which skirt the plains of the Hara, Fulirwa, and Taowira countries, especially on the Manchewi slopes, large herds can generally be met with ; but to the north of that again, bordering on the coast, beyond the Chitimba River (Mpyhampya's) they are most numerous, especially in the dry red sandstone hills at the back of Makwawa's, between that and the Kapwekeri River to the north, and again in the undulating highland forests between Nkanga and Fulirwa, and Nkanga and Vuwa, some 20 miles to the northward. At Vuwa, I noticed a great lot of spoor, but actually saw only one animal, a solitary old blue bull with thick stumpy horns. At Mrali, some 18 miles north of Vuwa, we found the remains of a cow Eland killed by Lions. The Eland is so very well known, and has been so often described by others more competent than myself, that it seems unnecessary here to say anything on its natural history ; still, a iew observations as affecting the Nyasa Eland in general may not be altogether without interest. I may begin by saying that I have only been able to identify one species-Oreas canna ; but this, as in other districts, is subject to great variety both in colour and as regards the plainness or otherwise of the white stripes. In a single troop, individuals may be seen varying from a light tawny yellow to a slaty blue in very old age, while in some the stripes are clearly defined, in others faintly, and in others again they are not distinguishable at all. In very |
