The Enigmatic Nyala

THE NYALA IS one of Africa’s most intriguing ntelope. Its natural distribution was originally so limited, and its habits so secretive, that it was not until 1849 that this species was first described science by the artist and naturalis George Angas, who came upon it on the shores of St Lucia estuary in Zululand around 1847-48.

Historically, this animal occurred only in the low-lying, densely foliaged regions of Zululand and Mozambique, with patches in the easternmost reaches of Rhodesia’s Zambezi Valley. If we take the Angas record at face value, this indicates that the Portuguese, who began settling in Mozambique in the year 1505, failed to record this animal for at least 340 years. Furthermore, British hunters regularly travelled throughout Zululand from 1824, but none recorded sighting nyala during the 25 years before Angas did. The French naturalist, Adulphe Delagorgue, hunted throughout Zululand from 1839, primarily to collect specimens of local fauna. His two-volume journal, , published in 1847, contains no record of nyala, despite his having been guided by local Boers (who apparently knew nothing of this species) and by Zulus, who certainly knew of it, but clearly did not find one for