(From Neumann’s ‘Elephant-Hunting,’ p. 81. Lent by Messrs.
Rowland Ward & Co.)
Capt. Swayne sums up his long acquaintance with this Antelope as follows:—
“The Gerenúk is the commonest and most widely distributed of the Somáli Antelopes except the little Sakáro, which springs up like a hare from every thicket.
“The long neck of the Gerenúk, the large giraffe-like eyes, and long muzzle are peculiar to it and the Dibatag (Ammodorcas clarkei). The Gerenúk is more of a browser of bushes than a grass-feeder, and I have twice shot it in the act of standing on the hind legs, neck extended, and fore feet against the trunk of a tree, reaching down the tender shoots, which could not be got in any other way. Thus not only the appearance, but the habits of the Gerenúk are giraffe-like. The skull extends far back behind the ears, like that of a camel.
“It is found all over the Somali country in small families, never in large herds, and generally in scattered bush, ravines, and rocky ground. I think it subsists almost entirely on bushes, as it is constantly found in places deserted by Oryx and all other Antelopes because there is no grass. Perhaps the Gadabursi country is the best ground for it, but the Gerenúk is almost ubiquitous and need not be specially looked for. I have never seen it in the cedar-forests which crown Gólis, nor in the treeless plains which occur in the Haud. It is not necessarily found near water,—in fact, it is generally met with on stony ground, where there is a sprinkling of thorn-jungle.
“The gait of this Antelope is peculiar, and when first seen a buck will generally be standing motionless, head well up, looking at the intruder, and trusting to its invisibility. Then the head dives under the bushes, and the animal goes off at a long crouching trot, stopping now and again behind some bush to gaze. It seldom gallops, and its pace is never very fast. In the whole shape of the head and neck, with its extended muzzle and slender lower jaw, there is a marked resemblance between the Gerenúk and the Dibatag. The texture of the coat is much alike in both. The horns of immature buck Gerenúk have almost exactly the same shape as those of the Dibatag. Their average length when fully grown is about 13 inches. The females are hornless; they sometimes lose or desert their young ones, as I have now and then come on fawns living alone in the jungle. The Gerenúk stands a good deal higher than an Indian Blackbuck, but would be of about the same weight.”
Mr. Frederick Gillett, F.Z.S., who accompanied Dr. Donaldson Smith during the first part of his expedition to Lake Rudolph, has kindly drawn up for us the following notes on Waller’s Gazelle:—
“This Gazelle is more like Clarke’s Gazelle than any other in Somaliland, not only on account of its long neck, but because of its habits. Never is it found out on the open plains, so much frequented by Soemmerring’s Gazelle, but it prefers the dense Khansa jungles, or, like Clarke’s Gazelle, the high durr-grass of parts of the Haud. Sometimes it is found in company with, or rather in the same neighbourhood as, Gazella soemmerringi, in more or less open country amongst the Khansa-bush and big aloes. It is usually seen in small families of not more than a dozen, but never in herds. It relies on its sharp eyesight and long neck for its safety, standing motionless amongst the bush or grass watching for an enemy. Most of the Somalis dislike its flesh, not so, however, the Lion and Leopard, and many a Waller’s Gazelle is stalked and killed by them. Its native name in Somaliland is ‘Gerenook,’ and in the Arusa Galla country ‘Googoofto.’ In the latter country it is very common, inhabiting the jungles frequented by Elephants and Lesser Koodoos. It is the most ubiquitous of all the Antelopes of this part of Africa, and it is a very common sight to see a buck with its fore legs, like a goat, high up the trunk of a Galol-tree nibbling the small green leaves. The female is hornless, whilst the horns of a good male measure from 14 to 15 inches. Its legs are extremely slender. When disturbed it runs with its long neck stretched out as near the ground as possible, so that it can never be mistaken for a Clarke’s Gazelle, as the latter always holds its head erect and its tail well over its back, and springs instead of runs. The young are born, I believe, early in the year; but I have never seen a really young one, although I have been in the country every month in the year except May and June. On December 8th, 1894, I was stalking an Oryx when a female Waller’s Gazelle ran almost on to me pursued by a male; they did not see me, but turned and ran back, and then again came towards where I was lying, still without seeing me. After they had gone I crawled on, when for the third time they returned and this time saw me. I remained motionless on one knee; the female retired to a bush, and the male with its neck stretched at its full length came cautiously towards me till within 25 yards, and then gave three or four snorts. As it was the Oryx I was after I now moved and they at once trotted off.”
We copy an account of the native mode of capture of this Gazelle from Messrs. Parkinson and Dunbar’s narrative of their journey in Northern Somaliland in 1896 (Geogr. Journ. xi. p. 25):—
“We found here (on the Bur Dab range) an old man living entirely alone, subsisting on gum and snared game. He was very clever at catching ‘Gerenok,’ or Waller’s Gazelle, by means of a cord made of the fibre of the ‘hig’ aloe. At one end of the cord a running noose, 6 inches in diameter, was laid round the rim of a cup-shaped hole scooped in the ground, and supported by a series of small pegs. Near the noose was attached a fine but strong thread, the other end of which was fastened to a springy branch of a tree bent down for the purpose. The noose was prevented from being dragged out of the hole by two pieces of wood laid crosswise. The loose end of the cord was either tied to an adjacent tree or pegged firmly to the ground, and all traces of the trap neatly covered with leaves and sand. The Gazelle is, of course, caught by the leg, and once the noose is drawn tightly round above the hoof there is no escape; but it must need large experience of the haunts of the game to know where to set these gins. The old man had thirty or forty constantly set, and said he got a Gazelle once every four or five days.”