. Wild game in Zambezia . the opinion of this distinguished ob-server very largely coincided with my own. The Eland, the largest, and to my mindthe most valuable, of all the African antelopes,is common in many parts of Zambezia. Inflat, wooded country—that charming park-likehalf-lorest, half-plain of which so much ofthis interesting region consists—they are foundin large herds. You may perhaps imaginesurroundings in which thinly tree-covered areasalternate for many miles with open grass, theseopenings surrounded by tropical-looking date andhyphoene palms, and overhung at the edges bythe fronds
. Wild game in Zambezia . the opinion of this distinguished ob-server very largely coincided with my own. The Eland, the largest, and to my mindthe most valuable, of all the African antelopes,is common in many parts of Zambezia. Inflat, wooded country—that charming park-likehalf-lorest, half-plain of which so much ofthis interesting region consists—they are foundin large herds. You may perhaps imaginesurroundings in which thinly tree-covered areasalternate for many miles with open grass, theseopenings surrounded by tropical-looking date andhyphoene palms, and overhung at the edges bythe fronds of brilliant, glossy ficus, by acacias,and other forest growths; where in their seasonthe papilionaceous trees are covered with a per-fect blaze of bright colour, and the silvery sheenof acres upon acres of feathery bamboos fill in thegaps in a picture of rare beauty. Here in theearly mornings herds of any number up to sixtyor seventy elands may at times be found eat both by day and by night, but chiefly. THE ELAND 103 during the latter, and are voracious feeders, de-vouring grass together with the leaves of certainshrubs and other plants. I have seen their freshspoor in the gardens of native villages, in whichthey cause great havoc, and more than once havesighted them surprisingly close to human habi-tation. They do not, if unmolested, journey veryfar during the day, the hotter hours of which theyspend in some sheltered locality, moving off atnightfall or in the late afternoon. Elands found in Zambezia differ in severalparticulars from those members of this hand-some family found in other parts of the Africancontinent. They stand well over 5 feet at thewithers, although they vary considerably atdifferent seasons of the year, and the prevail-ing colour of the Zambezian variety is yellowishfawn going to the palest shade of creamy whiteunder the belly. A dorsal ridge of very dark—almost black—bristles extends from the backof the neck over the withers, a curi
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