Hunters killed it by spear or gun perhaps (3)
I believe the answer is:
gnu
'hunters killed it by spear' is the definition.
I can't tell whether this definition defines the answer.
'gun perhaps' is the wordplay.
'perhaps' indicates anagramming the letters.
'gun' anagrammed gives 'GNU'.
'or' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for gnu that I've seen before include "Gun to get antelope" , "Animal" , "Creature" , "Large African antelope" , "Large heavy antelope" .)