Fig. 95.—Horns of male Addax, 32¾ inches along the curve. (From a pair in the possession of Major Pichot, at Meduin.)
Fig. 96.—Horns of female Addax, 31 inches in length along the curve. (From a pair in Sir Harry Johnston’s collection.)
Another excellent authority on the Mammals of Tunisia, Mr. Joseph S. Whitaker, F.Z.S., has most kindly placed at our disposal the following results of his observations on this Antelope:—
“The Addax, which is called by the Tunisian Arabs Bakrah-el-Ouasch, or Wild Cow, is still to be found in the inland desert-country of the south of the Regency, although of late years, even in these remote and uninhabited districts, its numbers seem to have diminished considerably. This is said to be owing to the fact of the peace that has lately reigned between the Saharan Arabs and the Touaregs having enabled the former to devote themselves more to the chase than in the previous times of warfare. The meat of this animal, it appears, is much esteemed by the Arabs as food, while the hides are still more highly prized for the purpose of making the soles of shoes and sandals.
“With regard to the present range of the Addax in the Tunisian Sahara, I cannot speak from personal knowledge, never having myself penetrated sufficiently far inland to meet with it; but in the course of my travels from time to time in South Tunis I have done my best to obtain reliable information on the subject. Among others, Herr Spatz, who has resided for several years in South Tunis, and is, perhaps, as competent an authority on the matter as any living European, informs me that up to three years ago the Addax was to be met with in considerable numbers in the neighbourhood of Bir Aouine (or Bir Auin), which lies to the east of Berezof, or some eighty miles south of the Chott Djerid, thence extending its range in a southerly and south-westerly direction, throughout the sand-dune country, down to Ghadames, where, from all accounts, the species is abundant. During the last three years, however, it appears the Antelopes have become much scarcer in the country north of Ghadames, and this year they were not to be met with at all anywhere near Bir Aouine. Whether this is due to the incessant persecution of the Arab hunters above referred to, or whether it is merely due to dry seasons, and the consequent lack of food in these thirsty regions having kept the animals away, I cannot say; but as a proof of the recent defection of the Addax in the Tunisian Sahara I may mention the fact of a party of five native hunters this spring having only succeeded in obtaining seven of these Antelopes in an expedition lasting 37 days, while in 1895 a similar party killed ten of the animals in a short trip of 12 days. The Tunisian Arabs hunt the Addax in the same way as they do the pale desert Gazelle (G. leptoceros), viz. by stalking, in which art they are certainly proficients, and it is well for the preservation of the species, with all the keen-wittedness of its race, that these men are, as a rule, armed with but primitive flint-lock weapons, little better than gas-pipes, with a very limited range. Were it otherwise, the Addax would probably long ere this have been exterminated in this part of North Africa.
“This Antelope seems generally to be met with in very small herds, or in pairs, and the young are born, as a rule, in the winter or very early spring, never more than one being produced at a birth, according to my informants. The Arabs sometimes capture the young Addax alive, and I have on more than one occasion been offered fawns of a few weeks old.
Fig. 97.
Head of a female Addax from a photograph (Mr. J. S. Whitaker).
“I have in my collection two complete skins of the Addax obtained in South Tunis in the month of May, both of a milk-white hue, evidently the summer coat, the hair being very short and fine; while other skins in my possession obtained in February and March are of an isabelline dun-colour, and with the hair rather long and coarse, the winter garb, which no doubt varies in intensity of colour according to the season. The thick frontal tuft of hair seems to be of a dark brown colour at all seasons, while part of the face below the transversal white nose-band is a lightish brown, as is also the fringe of hair on the throat. On the nape there is a slight indication of a mane, but it is so slight in some specimens as to be scarcely noticeable. The tail is rather short and tufted. Both males and females carry beautifully-shaped spiral horns, those of the former being, as a rule, longer and stouter than those of the latter. The horns vary somewhat in the amount of spiral twist, probably according to age, as will be seen by two specimens of which the following are the measurements:—