1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Waterbuck
WATERBUCK (Wasserbok), the name of a large South African
antelope (Cobus ellipsiprymnus) belonging to the subfamily
Cervicaprinae, characterized by the white elliptical ring on the
Waterbuck.
buttocks, and the
general reddish
grey colour of the
long and coarse
hair. They have
heavily fringed
necks and tufted
tails, the bucks
carry long sub-lyrate
and heavily
ringed horns, but
the does are hornless.
They seek
refuge from pursuit
in the water.
The name is extended
to include
the sing-sing or
defassa waterbuck
(C. defassa), a
widespread
species, without
the white ring on
the buttocks, and
represented by several local races, one of which is foxy red
while a second is greyish. Both species equal in size the red
deer. The smaller members of the genus Cobus (which is
exclusively African) are generally called kobs. (See Antelope.)