. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE GEMS-BOK. 171 successful duel with the lordly lion, and fairly to beat off its antagonist. Even when the lion has overcome the Gems-bok, the battle may sometimes be equally claimed by both sides, for in one instance the dead bodies of a lion and a Gems-bok were found lying on the plain, the horns of the Antelope being driven so firmly into the lion's body, that they could not be extracted by the efforts of a single man. The lion had evidently sprung upon the Gems-bok, which had re- ceived its foe upon the points of its horns, and had sacri- ficed it
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE GEMS-BOK. 171 successful duel with the lordly lion, and fairly to beat off its antagonist. Even when the lion has overcome the Gems-bok, the battle may sometimes be equally claimed by both sides, for in one instance the dead bodies of a lion and a Gems-bok were found lying on the plain, the horns of the Antelope being driven so firmly into the lion's body, that they could not be extracted by the efforts of a single man. The lion had evidently sprung upon the Gems-bok, which had re- ceived its foe upon the points of its horns, and had sacri- ficed its own life in destroy- ing that of its adversary. As is the case with many long-horned animals, one of the horns, usually the left, is shorter than the other. In a fine pair of Gems-bok horns in my collection, the left horn is nearly three inches shorter than the right. Although the Gems-bok is nearly independent of water, it stands as much in need of moisture as any other animal, and would speedily perish in the arid deserts were it not directed by its instincts towards certain suc- culent plants which are placed in those regions, and which possess the useful power of attracting and retaining every particle of moisture which may happen to settle in their vicinity. The most common and most valuable of these plants is a bulbous root, belonging to the Liliacea, called, from its peculiar property of retaining the moisture, the Water-root. Only a very small portion of the valuable plant appears above the ground, and the water-bearing bulb is so encrusted with hardened soil that it must be dug out with a knife. Several other succulent plants also possess similar qualities, among which may be noticed a kind of little melon which is spread over the whole of the great Kalahari desert. Resembling the Gems-bok in many particulars, the Oryx can be easily distinguished from its predecessor by the shape of the horns, which, instead of being nearly straight, are considerably bent, and sweep
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
