Bush Antelope

Bush Antelope, also called BUSH BUCK, and BUSH GOAT, names common to a number of species of Antelope (q.v.), natives chiefly of the southern and western parts of Africa. According to some naturalists, they form a distinct genus (Cephalophus). They are animals of more compact form, shorter limbs, and greater strength, but much less agility, than the true or typical antelopes. They are remarkable for the arched form of the back. They have short, straight, or slightly curved horns, situated far back, and often peculiar to the male sex, with usually a long tuft of hair between them. They have no tear-pits, but instead of them, a naked glandular furrow, formed of two series of pores, on each cheek. They frequent jungles, thick forests, and beds of reeds, and when pursued, seek to escape by diving into a thicket. The commonest species is the Dwyker (C. mergens), living in pairs in the bushy districts of South Africa. It stands about 20 inches high at the shoulder; the horns of the female are small and hidden by the hair-tuft. Among the numerous species of bush buck, the pigmy form or Kleenebok (C. pygmaea) deserves mention. It is abundant in many parts of Cape Colony, is hardly larger than a hare, about 1 foot in height, and with proportionately small horns. It is a timid, gentle animal, easily domesticated, and differs from the typical bush antelopes in the great activity which it displays.