Horns of Congan Sitatunga.

(P. Z. S. 1871, p. 486.)

In 1880 Mr. Sclater received from Mr. R. W. Rolleston, of Liverpool, a flat skin of the very remarkable red female of this species, said to have been received from Gaboon. This was exhibited and described at the meeting of the Zoological Society on June 15th of that year, and a new species—Tragelaphus gratus—was founded upon it. Sclater’s original description was accompanied by a beautiful figure of the animal prepared by Joseph Wolf, and put upon the stone by Smit. Soon after this date Sclater was able to acquire some further information concerning this interesting Antelope. On visiting the Menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris in the autumn of the same year, his attention was called to a pair of Antelopes lately received from the Jardin d’Acclimatation, which he at once recognized as being the male and female of his Tragelaphus gratus. On returning to England, Sclater sent the typical skin of Tragelaphus gratus to Paris for comparison, and convinced M. Milne-Edwards of its identity with the living pair. Visiting the Jardin des Plantes again in 1881, Sclater had the pleasure of inspecting for the second time this fine pair of Antelopes, which were then accompanied by a young female, born in the previous December. Mr. Keulemans, being at that time in Paris, was employed to execute a water-colour drawing of these Antelopes, which was subsequently published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ along with further notes on the same subject. M. Milne-Edwards informed Mr. Sclater that the female of the pair had been received from the Jardin d’Acclimatation in March 1876, and the male in November 1879, and that both were believed to have come from Gaboon. The female had brought forth her young one on December 4th, 1880, after a period of gestation of 7 months and 24 days. A young male had likewise been born of the same mother in December 1881, but had not lived long.

Besides those of Paris, several other Gardens in continental Europe have of late years obtained specimens of Limnotragus gratus, which, singularly enough, when we consider its habits in a state of nature, appears to thrive in captivity and to breed with facility. There are at present small herds of this species in the Zoological Gardens of Hamburg and Amsterdam. Dr. Kerbert, the Director of the last-named Garden, has kindly sent us for this work a list of the nine individuals bred in that establishment from 1891 to 1896, which is here subjoined:—

Female covered.Young born.Sex.Period of gestation.
days.
1.18.4.9126.12.91♂252
2.31.7.9128.3.92♂240
3.26.5.925.2.93♀255
4.3.7.9217.3.93♂257
5.21.6.934.3.94♂256
6.22.6.937.3.94♂258
7.9.7.9415.3.95♂249
8.30.8.946.5.95♀249
9.25.5.9524.1.96♀245

Dr. Kerbert observes that the colour of the young males and females when born is exactly like that of the mother, but that the sexes are easily distinguishable by the white hairs in the middle of the black stripe over the back in the males.

The Zoological Society of London have not as yet been so successful in the treatment of this Antelope. They received their first female in 1885, but lost it. A male purchased in 1894 bred with the female L. selousi, as already mentioned, and produced two hybrids. A young female bred at Amsterdam, and received in September 1898, was lost shortly after its arrival.

Fig. 113.

Head of the male Congan Sitatunga, from the specimen in the British Museum.