Fig. 62.
Head of adult male Speke’s Gazelle.
(Brit. Mus.)
Capt. Swayne calls the former Antelope the “Ogo, or Plateau Gazelle,” and the latter the “Guban, or Lowland Gazelle,” and describes the peculiarities of the present species as follows:—
“The Plateau Gazelle, which has the ridges of loose skin over the nose well developed, inhabits the elevated country, commencing about thirty-five miles inland. It is found south of Gólis, in Ogo and in the Haud, as well as in Ogo-Gudan, the country near Hargeisa where Guban rises gradually into Ogo.
“I have shot large numbers of Gazelles for food at various times, and have always noticed that the plateau variety has a much thicker and longer coat than the other. This is possibly the result of natural selection, as the high plains of the Ogo and the Haud, where it lives, are subject to sweeping cold winds, and the nights are very cold indeed. The altitude of these plains inhabited by the Plateau Gazelle is from three thousand to over six thousand feet, but doubtless they go much lower towards Ogádén. The great steppe of Gólis, with its prolongations east and west, which rises some forty miles inland, and separates Guban, the low coast country, from Ogo, the high interior country, forms the natural line of demarcation between these two Gazelles.”
Fig. 63.
Head of adult female Speke’s Gazelle.