Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Harte-Beest

HARTE-BEEST (Alcelaphus caama), a species of antelope, occurring in considerable numbers throughout southern and central Africa. It stands nearly 5 feet high at the shoulders, and is somewhat ungainly in form owing to the disproportionate development of its fore and hind quarters—a difference which gives to the posterior limbs when in motion an appearance of weakness. The head is long and narrow, and is crowned in both sexes by a pair of nearly cylindrical horns, ringed throughout their lower half and smooth above. The hair of this species is short, soft, and recumbent, and is of a brownish-yellow colour above and nearly white beneath, the colour, however, being to some extent dependent on age and sex and on the season of the year. The harte-beest is gregarious, living in herds of from five to ten individuals, and frequenting tracts of uninhabited wilderness, or the light brush forest in the neighbourhood of rivers. It is exceedingly wary, and consequently difficult of approach, and when suddenly come upon, the entire herd, according to Sir Andrew Smith, scampers off in the train of a leader,—the herd being rarely seen, when in flight, otherwise than in a string, one treading on the footsteps of another. Of a mild and gentle disposition, the harte-beest seeks safety, whenever it can, in flight; when at bay, however, it does not hesitate to turn upon its pursuers and to make use of its powerful horns as weapons of offence.

Harte-beest.

During the heat of the day it is said to rest leaning against the trunks of trees, when the colour of its body so harmonizes with that of the bark as frequently to enable it to elude observation. Dr Schweinfurth, who had frequent opportunity of observing those animals in central Africa, describes a curious and as yet unexplained habit of which he was himself a witness. Having approached nearer to a herd of harte-beests than usual without attracting their attention, he observed them running in couples like the horses in a circus, “going round and round a clump of trees, whilst the others stood in groups of three or four intently watching them. After a time these in turn took their places, and, two at a time, ran their own circuit in a similar fashion.” He conjectures that the performance had probably some connexion with pairing time. The flesh of this species is considered superior to that of any other South African antelope, the eland alone excepted.