The Descent of Man

almost any other group of mammals; this holds
good, especially in their weapons, but also in
other characters. Most deer, cattle, and sheep
are polygamous; as are most antelopes, though
some are monogamous. Sir Andrew Smith, in
speaking of the antelopes of South Africa, says
that in herds of about a dozen there was rarely
more than one mature male. The Asiatic Antilope
saiga appears to be the most inordinate
polygamist in the world; for Pallas (11. Pallas,
'Spicilegia Zoolog., Fasc.' xii. 1777, p. 29. Sir
Andrew Smith, 'Illustrations of the Zoology of
S. Africa,' 1849, pl. 29, on the Kobus. Owen, in
his 'Anatomy of Vertebrates' (vol. iii. 1868, p.
633) gives a table shewing incidentally which
species of antelopes are gregarious.) states that
the male drives away all rivals, and collects a
herd of about a hundred females and kids together;
the female is hornless and has softer
hair, but does not otherwise differ much from
the male. The wild horse of the Falkland Islands
and of the Western States of N. America