Chapter V: Appendix (4)

Of the same size and general characters as the preceding species, to which it is very closely allied. The colour seems to be usually of a richer ruddier tint, and the black stripe on the face that passes from the eye towards the corner of the mouth is generally, but not always; continued downwards on to the lower edge of the jaw, thence backwards, bounding the inter-ramal area on each side and uniting with the lower end of the stripe that runs from below the base of the ear to the throat. In some cases, however, the stripe in question stops short behind the corner of the mouth as in _O. beisa_. The frontal patch and the nose-patch are sometimes entirely separated, sometimes joined by a narrow stripe as in _O. beisa_. The stripes on the body and fore legs resemble those of _O. beisa_, but there is no black patch upon the front of the cannon-bone on the fore leg, such as is present in that species.

The most striking difference between the two species consists in the development of the hairs on the tips of the ears in _O. callotis_ so as to form a long black tuft; in _O. beisa_ the hairs at the extremity of the ear are scarcely longer than those covering the adjacent edges of that organ. Lastly, in _O. callotis_, the hairs along the median dorsal line are reversed in direction of growth from a point, only a little behind the middle of the back; whereas in _O. beisa_ the parting is situated on the rump.

_Hab._ British East Africa, south of the River Tana, and
interior of German East Africa.

Southwards of the River Tana in British East Africa, or thereabouts, the Beisa appears to be replaced by a nearly allied form, distinguishable by the conspicuous tufts which adorn the tips of its ears and by other less noticeable characters. It will be easily understood that this animal was not at once distinguished from the typical form by those who first met with it, and was consequently referred to “_Oryx beisa_” by Mr. Hunter in his Appendix to Willoughby’s ‘Big Game in East Africa,’ and by other earlier authorities.

It was not, in fact, until 1892 that the conspicuous difference of this species from _O. beisa_, as regards its ears, attracted notice, when Mr. Rowland Ward, F.Z.S., first called Thomas’s attention to it. Thomas, after examining into the subject, brought it before the notice of the Zoological Society of London on March 15th of that year, and proposed to call the new form _Oryx callotis_. Thomas’s communication was subsequently printed in the Society’s ‘Proceedings’ accompanied by a good coloured figure of the mounted head of the typical specimen, which was subsequently presented by Messrs. Rowland Ward and Co. to the British Museum.

As will be seen by reference to Mr. Rowland Ward’s ‘Records of Big Game,’ the horns of this typical specimen are among the shortest of the series of 18 specimens of this species of which measurements are there given, the longest pairs being over 30 inches in length. These latter are, no doubt, those of females, which in all the species of _Oryx_ seem to be rather longer and thinner than those of males.

In the first volume of ‘Big Game Shooting’ in the ‘Badminton Library,’ Mr. F. J. Jackson gives us the following account of _Oryx callotis_ in British East Africa:—

“The East African Oryx is known to the Swahilis as ‘Cheroa.’ The
Cheroa is found in the Kilimanjaro district in greater numbers
(particularly near Useri) than elsewhere. It is also plentiful in
the Galla country, between the Sabaki and Tana rivers, and I have
myself seen it within a mile of the sea at Merereni.

“It is found more often in open bush country than in the bare arid
plains. It is not only a beautiful beast, but is very shy,
difficult to approach, and exceedingly tough, and for these
reasons many sportsmen covet its head more than the trophies of
any other kind of Antelope. The skin of its neck is
extraordinarily thick, and _à propos_ of this, all head-skins
preserved as trophies should have the skin of the neck shaved down
to at least half its thickness to ensure its being properly cured.

“The Oryx is found in herds varying in number from six or eight up
to thirty or forty. A bull Oryx is often found entirely by
himself, and occasionally along with a herd of _Gazella granti_ or
other Antelopes. It is perhaps as well to warn sportsmen to
approach Oryx, when lying wounded, with caution, as on one
occasion my gun-bearer, on going up to cut the throat of an Oryx,
received a severe blow on the thigh from the side of one of the
wounded beast’s horns. The blow might have been very serious had
the Oryx caught him with the point of his horns instead of with
the flat.”

Mr. R. B. P. Cator, of the British East African Administrative Service, sends us the following account of his adventures with this Antelope:—

“On the morning of the 20th February, 1898, I fell in with a herd
of Oryx on my way down from Machakos to Kibwezi. The herd
consisted of some 15 to 20 animals or possibly more. When I first
saw them they were feeding near some thickets on the edge of a
broad open piece of ground that lay between them and myself, and I
was unable to gain cover before I was detected. On seeing me the
herd divided and made off in different directions, but, so far as
I could judge, the two parts effected a junction before I saw them
again. The country hereabout consists of open glades and meadows
of all sizes alternating with impenetrable thickets, so being very
anxious to secure a specimen of an Oryx, a very uncommon Antelope
in this part of the country, I made a long detour, and, by good
fortune, again hit off what was, I have not the least doubt, the
same herd or a portion of it.

“Without detailing the various attempts that I made to get a good
shot it is enough to say that I was fortunate enough to secure two
specimens, the one a very fine bull and the other a cow.

“The horns of the bull measure respectively 33½″ and 32″ on the
outer curve; circumference of largest horn 7″ and distance from
tip to tip 13″: all these measurements exceeding those of the best
East African Oryx given in Ward’s book. The horns of the cow are
fairly good but much worn and cracked.”

Our figure of this Antelope (Plate LXXXV.) has been prepared by Mr. Smit from the skin and skull of the male specimen obtained on this occasion by Mr. Cator, who kindly placed them at our disposal for this purpose.

The Tufted Beisa extends south of the British Protectorate far into the interior of German East Africa.

Herr Matschie, in his valuable volume on the Mammals of the German Protectorate, includes this Antelope in his list, and gives a figure of it in the text. He tells us that it was met with in Southern Masailand, south-east of Irangi, by Stuhlmann, and in Northern Ugogo, between Mpapwa and Usandawe, by Neumann. This, so far as we know, gives its furthest extension south. We are not aware that the Tufted Beisa has ever been imported alive to Europe.

The typical head of _Oryx callotis_ already mentioned is the only example of this form of Oryx in the collection of the British Museum.

_May,_ 1899.

GENUS III. ADDAX.

Type.

_Addax_, =Rafinesque=, Analyse de la Nature, p. 56 (1815) A. naso-maculatus.

General characters as in _Oryx_, but with the horns spirally twisted; the hoofs expanded as in the Reindeer; a distinct, though short, mane on the forehead and sides of the neck; the hair along the middle line of the back not projecting towards the head; tail-tuft smaller.

_Range of the Genus._ North Africa, from Dongola to Senegal.

118. THE ADDAX.

ADDAX NASO-MACULATUS (Blainv.).

[PLATE LXXXVI.]

_Cerophorus_ (_Gazella_) _naso-maculata_, =De Blainville=, Bull. Soc.
Philom. 1816, pp. 75 & 78.

_Antilope naso-maculata_, =Desm.= N. Dict. d’Hist. Nat. (2) ii. p. 188
(1816); =Blainville=, Oken’s Isis, 1819, p. 1095, pl. xii. figs. 4–7;
=id.= Journ. Phys. 1819, pls., figs. 4 & 7; Desm. Mamm. ii. p. 456
(1822); =Goldf.= Schr. Säug. v. p. 1242 (1824 or 1818); =Licht.= Abh.
Ak. Berl. 1824, p. 215; =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 374 (1827); =J. B.
Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 462 (1829); =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p.
617 (1839); =Huet=, Bull. Soc. Acclim. (4) iv. p. 269 (1887).

_Antilope addax_, =Cretzschm.= Zool. Atl. Rüpp. Reise, p. 19, pl. vii.
(1826); =Licht.= Darst. Säug. pl. ii. (1827); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K.
iv. p. 193, pl., v. p. 328 (1827); =Hempr. & Ehrb.= Symb. Phys. Decas
ii. pl. iv. (1828); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 474 (1829); =Oken=,
Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1379 (1838); =Wagn.= Sehr. Säug. Suppl. iv. p.
486 (1844), v. p. 437 (1855); =Reichenb.= Säug. iii. p. 118, pl.
xxxvi. (1845); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 438 (1845); =id.= Mon.
Antil. p. 36, pls. xl. & xli. (1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 296 (1853);
=Schweinf.= Herz von Afrika, ii. p. 534 (1874).

_Addax suturosus_, =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. p. 178 (1869).

_Antilope suturosa_, =Otto=, N. Act. Nat. Cur. xii. p. 521, pl. xlviii.
(1825); =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. pl. p. 206 (1827); =Less.= Man.
Mamm. p. 382 (1827); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 475 (1829);
=Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 620 (1840); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm.
ii. p. 439 (1845); =id.= Mon. Antil. p. 34, pl. xxxix. (1848).

_Antilope mytilopes_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 204, pl., v. p. 330
(1827).

_Antilope gibbosa_, =Savi=, Mem. Sci. Pisa, i. p. 17 (1828); =id.=
Oken’s Isis, 1832, p. 502.

_Oryx addax_, =A. Sm.= S. Afr. Quart. Journ. ii. p. 188 (1834); =Jard.=
Nat. Misc. (1) vii. p. 205, pl. xxv. (1842); =Sund.= Pecora, K.
Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1844, p. 206 (1846), id. Hornsch. Transl., Arch.
Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 157; Reprint, p. 81 (1848).

_Oryx naso-maculatus_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 156 (1843).

_Addax naso-maculatus_, =Gray=, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (1) xviii. p. 232
(1846); =id.= List Ost. B. M. p. 58 (1847); =id.= P. Z. S. 1850, p.
135; =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 17 (1850); =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 108
(1852); =Tristram=, Sahara, p. 387 (1860); =Gerrard=, Cat. Bones Mamm.
B. M. p. 240 (1862); =Heugl.= Ant. u. Büff. N.O.-Afr. (N. Act. Leop.
xxx. pt. 2) p. 18 (1863); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. pt. 1, p. 178 (1869);
=Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 36 (1872); =id.= Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 104
(1873); =Heugl.= N.O.-Afr. ii. p. 113 (1877); =Garrod=, P. Z. S. 1877,
p. 4; =Brehm=, Thierl. iii. p. 235 (1880); =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8)
p. 139 (1883), (9) p. 154 (1896); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 345 (1891);
=Ward=, Horn Meas. (1) p. 150 (1892), (2) p. 191 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns
and Hoofs, p. 249 (1893); =Pease=, P. Z. S. 1896, p. 810 (habits and
distribution); =Scl.= P. Z. S. 1896, p. 984; =Pousargues=, Ann. Sci.
Nat. (7) iv. p. 131 (1896); =Johnston=, P. Z. S. 1898, p. 352
(Tunisia); =Trouessart=, Cat. Mamm. fasc. v. p. 955 (1898).

_Addax addax_, =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 136
(1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, xi.) p. 167
(1892).

Vernacular Names:—_Abu-akasch_ of Arabs of Senaar and Kordofan (_Hempr.
& Ehrb._). _Anjidohl_ in Dinka and Djur; _Auel_ in Bongo
(_Schweinfurth_). _Akash_ of Arabs on Upper Nile (_Heuglin_); _Bakra
el onash_ of Arabs of Tunisia (_Whitaker_); _Tamita_ of Touaregs in S.
Algeria (_Pease_).

Height at withers about 38 inches. Colour of head, neck, and body in winter a tolerably uniform brownish grey; in summer the hairy covering of the body between the neck and hind-quarters assumes a richer and redder hue, the head and neck remaining the same throughout the year. Mane on forehead nearly black, and back of head behind horns darkish brown; lips and chin white; a broad white stripe on each side of the face extending from near the middle of the cheek upwards in front of and above the eye, and usually meeting its fellow of the opposite side across the upper portion of the nose, though sometimes the union is interrupted in the middle by the black hairs of the frontal mane. Ears mostly white, sometimes blackish at the base; an ill-defined whitish patch sometimes present behind the eye and a black patch on the lower edge of the cheek close to the neck. Fore legs white, with the exception of a brown patch on the knee, a brown rim round the false hoofs, and a tinge of brown which extends downwards on to their upper portions from the shoulder; a black patch sometimes present between the shoulder and the throat; the dark colour of the back and flanks spreads for a short distance on to the hind-quarters; otherwise the hind-quarters, tail, and hind legs are white, the rump and thighs being a dirtier white than the legs. As in the case of the front legs, however, there is a rim of brown hairs round the false hoofs, and the tail-tuft, when present, is brownish. Belly white. Hairs along middle of neck sometimes reversed.

The horns attain a length of about 28 inches in a straight line and about 36 following the spiral.

Skull and horns as described above. The measurements of a skull are:—Basal length 12 inches, greatest breadth 5·30, muzzle to orbit 8·25.

_Female._ Like the male, but horns thinner.

_Hab._ Desert-regions of North Africa from Dongola to Senegal.

The Addax belongs to the same group of desert-haunting Antelopes as the species of _Oryx_ of which we have just treated, and is essentially of the same structure. But it is at once distinguishable by its spiral horns and expanded hoofs, and may properly be referred to another genus, which Rafinesque in 1815 seems to have been the first to call “_Addax_” adopting the name from Pliny and other early writers. In 1816 De Blainville gave the first scientific description of this Antelope, calling it _Antilope naso-maculatus_, from the conspicuous white blaze across the nose. Combining this with the generic term above mentioned, we obtain “_Addax naso-maculatus_” as the correct scientific name of this Antelope.

It should be stated that the description given by Pliny of his “_Strepsiceros, quem Addacem Africa appellat_” is very short and incomplete, and has been variously interpreted by subsequent writers. But as it was an African animal with twisted horns, and the native Arab name of the present species, according to Hemprich and Ehrenberg, is “_Abu Akass_” (the father of the twist), it seems highly probable that we have in it the veritable “_Addax_” of the ancients.

The first naturalist of modern days to obtain specimens of the Addax in its native wilds was Rüppell, who met with it in the deserts of Dongola south of Ambukol, where, he tells us, it lives in small families apart from all other species of Antelopes, and is hunted by the Arabs on horseback in summer time. Rüppell forwarded examples of both sexes of the Addax to Frankfort, where it was described and figured by Cretzschmar in 1826 from Rüppell’s specimens. Cretzschmar identified it as being without doubt the “_Addax_” of Pliny, and named it _Antilope addax_, being apparently unaware that it had been previously described by De Blainville from specimens which he had examined in London in the Pantherion of Bullock and in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons.

About the same period Hemprich and Ehrenberg had obtained examples of the same Antelope for the Berlin Museum, apparently from nearly the same district. These were first described and figured by Lichtenstein in his ‘Darstellung der Säugethiere,’ and subsequently by Hemprich and Ehrenberg themselves in their ‘Symbolæ Physicæ.’ They tell us that they were obtained about twenty hours’ distant from Ambukol, in the Chor-el-Lebben, where these animals are hunted by the Kubabish Arabs on horseback, in the month of June. Three specimens were sent home, which we suppose are the same that are figured in their plate, and represent, according to their descriptions, an adult female and two young females with straight horns.

Our third great authority on the Mammals of North-east Africa, Th. v. Heuglin, informs us that the Addax extends northwards into the Libyan Desert of Egypt, to the Fayoum and the Oases, and is not rare in the Bayuda Desert. Though he writes as having met with this species himself, he does not give us the exact locality in which he came across it.

Passing westwards, we have no doubt of the occurrence of the Addax in suitable localities all through the Great Sahara, although we have little certain information on the subject, except that a pair of horns, brought back by Denham and Clapperton from their adventurous journey across Central Africa in 1822–24, is in the British Museum.

But the Addax is still to be found in Southern Tunis, whence living examples were formerly brought to England by Louis Fraser and other collectors. In his article on the larger Mammals of Tunisia, published in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1898, Sir Harry Johnston tells us that this fine Antelope “is still a Tunisian animal, although now rarely heard of north of the limits of the real sandy desert.”

The same kind friend and correspondent, writing to Sclater from Tunis in January 1898, says:—

“I have just come back from an interesting journey through the
Tunisian Sahara, and back by Tebessa, as you suggested. I
penetrated south to 32° nearly. I found that the Addax (though I
did not see one) was still fairly abundant in the desert, and I
bought several very fine pairs of horns from the Arabs. But the
finest pair that I saw was at Meduin (Military headquarters,
Tunisian Sahara) in the house of the Commandant. He allowed me to
measure and draw it (see the sketch, fig. 95). You will notice
that this example has a third twist; the majority of male Addaxes
only attain to two or two and a half, though I have a pair in my
collection here which verges on the third turn.

“The cow Addax (see the drawing, fig. 96) has much slenderer and
much less spiral horns, which have departed far less markedly from
the Orygine type.”

Another excellent authority on the Mammals of Tunisia, Mr. Joseph S. Whitaker, F.Z.S., has most kindly placed at our disposal the following results of his observations on this Antelope:—

“The Addax, which is called by the Tunisian Arabs _Bakrah-el-
Ouasch_, or Wild Cow, is still to be found in the inland desert-
country of the south of the Regency, although of late years, even
in these remote and uninhabited districts, its numbers seem to
have diminished considerably. This is said to be owing to the fact
of the peace that has lately reigned between the Saharan Arabs and
the Touaregs having enabled the former to devote themselves more
to the chase than in the previous times of warfare. The meat of
this animal, it appears, is much esteemed by the Arabs as food,
while the hides are still more highly prized for the purpose of
making the soles of shoes and sandals.

“With regard to the present range of the Addax in the Tunisian
Sahara, I cannot speak from personal knowledge, never having
myself penetrated sufficiently far inland to meet with it; but in
the course of my travels from time to time in South Tunis I have
done my best to obtain reliable information on the subject. Among
others, Herr Spatz, who has resided for several years in South
Tunis, and is, perhaps, as competent an authority on the matter as
any living European, informs me that up to three years ago the
Addax was to be met with in considerable numbers in the
neighbourhood of Bir Aouine (or Bir Auin), which lies to the east
of Berezof, or some eighty miles south of the Chott Djerid, thence
extending its range in a southerly and south-westerly direction,
throughout the sand-dune country, down to Ghadames, where, from
all accounts, the species is abundant. During the last three
years, however, it appears the Antelopes have become much scarcer
in the country north of Ghadames, and this year they were not to
be met with at all anywhere near Bir Aouine. Whether this is due
to the incessant persecution of the Arab hunters above referred
to, or whether it is merely due to dry seasons, and the consequent
lack of food in these thirsty regions having kept the animals
away, I cannot say; but as a proof of the recent defection of the
Addax in the Tunisian Sahara I may mention the fact of a party of
five native hunters this spring having only succeeded in obtaining
seven of these Antelopes in an expedition lasting 37 days, while
in 1895 a similar party killed ten of the animals in a short trip
of 12 days. The Tunisian Arabs hunt the Addax in the same way as
they do the pale desert Gazelle (_G. leptoceros_), viz. by
stalking, in which art they are certainly proficients, and it is
well for the preservation of the species, with all the keen-
wittedness of its race, that these men are, as a rule, armed with
but primitive flint-lock weapons, little better than gas-pipes,
with a very limited range. Were it otherwise, the Addax would
probably long ere this have been exterminated in this part of
North Africa.

“This Antelope seems generally to be met with in very small herds,
or in pairs, and the young are born, as a rule, in the winter or
very early spring, never more than one being produced at a birth,
according to my informants. The Arabs sometimes capture the young
Addax alive, and I have on more than one occasion been offered
fawns of a few weeks old.

“I have in my collection two complete skins of the Addax obtained
in South Tunis in the month of May, both of a milk-white hue,
evidently the summer coat, the hair being very short and fine;
while other skins in my possession obtained in February and March
are of an isabelline dun-colour, and with the hair rather long and
coarse, the winter garb, which no doubt varies in intensity of
colour according to the season. The thick frontal tuft of hair
seems to be of a dark brown colour at all seasons, while part of
the face below the transversal white nose-band is a lightish
brown, as is also the fringe of hair on the throat. On the nape
there is a slight indication of a mane, but it is so slight in
some specimens as to be scarcely noticeable. The tail is rather
short and tufted. Both males and females carry beautifully-shaped
spiral horns, those of the former being, as a rule, longer and
stouter than those of the latter. The horns vary somewhat in the
amount of spiral twist, probably according to age, as will be seen
by two specimens of which the following are the measurements:—

inches. inches.
“Length along front curves 34½ 33½
Do. in straight line 27 27
Circumference at base 6½ 6½
Tip to tip 17½ 17

“I also send a photograph of the head of a female Addax, almost
adult (see fig. 97, p. 85).

“Since writing the foregoing I have received from South Tunis the
complete skin and head of a fine male Addax obtained in the early
part of this year (1898). The horns of this specimen are
remarkably long, being in fact quite a record pair, and measure as
much as 38½ inches along the front curves, and 30½ inches in a
straight line. I have presented this specimen to the National
Museum at South Kensington.”

The Addax has likewise been the object of an expedition into the Sahara made by Mr. A. E. Pease, M.P., F.Z.S., who, in the Zoological Society’s ‘Proceedings’ for 1896, has given us the following account of his adventures in search of it:—

“In February 1895, furnished with all the information I could
obtain from M. Foureau and natives familiar with the _Erg_, Sir
Edmund Loder and I started from Biskra to reach the country
between El Oued Souf and Rhadamis. After a week’s journey across
the desert by way of the great Chotts we reached the Oued Souf. At
El Oued, the last outpost of the French in the direction of
Rhadamis, we were stopped till Capitaine de Prandière had obtained
instructions from the General of Division permitting us to go on.
After a detention, made pleasant by the great kindness and
hospitality of the three French officers in command of the native
garrison, we had the disappointment of being told that we could
not be allowed to proceed southwards. At the time we thought this
very hard, for though we were aware that the Touaregs had lately
raided the Chambas as near as Mey, we felt that a flying visit to
the country east of Bir Beresof would be without danger, as we
could be in and out again before our presence was discovered. But
a few months later M. Foureau and a strong force were driven back
from the south, though he had reached a point far beyond our
proposed destination, and I think our hosts were entirely
justified in their refusal. Our plan had been to reach Bir
Beresof, and then to strike east for Bir Aoueen, where we should
in all probability have come up with the Addax, which visits this
district in large quantities in favourable years. The Addax
country is the Erg, the great region of sand-dunes, covered more
or less thickly with vegetation according to situation and rains.
This sand-dune country covers hundreds—it may be said thousands—of
miles and the Addax follows the rains. In certain districts it is
not uncommon for rain not to fall for several years in succession.
In one year the Addax are only found far south of Rhadamis and Aïn
Taïba (S. of Ouargla), in other years they follow the rain as far
north as the southern borders of the Chott Djereed in the east and
the neighbourhood of Aïn Taïba in the west. Without the help of
the French and a good escort of Chambas it would be vain to
attempt to reach the Rhadamis country by way of Bir Beresof; and
the wells being sometimes nine days apart, it is a difficult route
to follow.

“I heard when at Touzer that a M. Cornex had obtained a ‘_Begra el
Ouash_’ within a few days of Douz; possibly this was the Bubal,
though I was assured that he had got the Addax. M. Cornex (a
Swiss) had adopted the religion and dress of the Arabs, and had
therefore facilities of reaching places and avoiding dangers that
were quite exceptional.

“In 1894 the Touaregs raided as far north as the southern
shores—if they can be called shores—of the Chott Djereed. In 1895
we crossed the western end of this Chott, and, so far as we could
judge or learn, the Chott was without water in any part; it had
been an exceptionally dry year, and the country between the
mountains and the Djereed we found absolutely devoid of
inhabitants.

“At El Oued there was in the fort a tame Addax familiarly called
‘_Begra_,’ and this was the only living specimen we saw during our
journey. It was not a very good example, but had rather a fine
pair of horns. It had been presented by some Chambas to the
Commandant.”

From Morocco we have no intelligence of the Addax, although it will be doubtless found there in the desert south of the Atlas. From Senegal, likewise, we have little certain to record except the receipt of living animals of this species on more than one occasion, especially a fine pair now in the Zoological Garden at Antwerp, where Sclater has lately examined them. We do not usually quote Rochebrune’s ‘Faune de la Sénégambie,’ as it is hardly a reliable authority, but we find that he says that the Addax is “common” in Cayor and Oualo on the right bank of the River Senegal, and this river is probably its southern limit on this side of Africa.

The Addax is occasionally, but not very frequently, brought to Europe alive. In the twelfth volume of the ‘Nova Acta’ of the Leopoldino-Carolinian Academy (1824) will be found a figure and description by Dr. A. W. Otto of this Antelope, taken from a fresh specimen that had died in a menagerie. Otto described it as belonging to a new species, “_Antilope suturosa_,” but it was manifestly only an Addax in its darker winter coat.

In 1827 Geoffroy St.-Hilaire and F. Cuvier published a description of this Antelope in their great work upon Mammals from a male specimen living in the Jardin des Plantes, received from the then Pasha of Egypt. Figures are given of this animal (pls. 388, 389) in both its summer and winter dress, and it is pointed out that in the latter it is the _Antilope suturosa_ of Otto.

The Zoological Society of London appear to have first received living examples of the Addax in 1849. In 1861 a fine male was presented to the Society by Sir John Gaspard Le Marchant, then Governor of Malta. In 1864 one was obtained by purchase, and in 1876 another. At the present time there are no examples of the Addax in the London Gardens, but last summer there was, as already stated, a fine pair in the Jardin Zoologique of Antwerp.

Our illustration of this animal (Plate LXXXVI.) was put upon the stone by Mr. Smit, some twenty years ago, from a water-colour sketch made for Sir Victor Brooke by Mr. Wolf. It represents an adult animal in summer pelage.

The British Museum contains a fine adult mounted male of this Antelope, from the Tunisian Sahara, lately presented by Mr. J. I. S. Whitaker; a front and horns from the Algerian Sahara, presented by Mr. Rowland Ward, F.Z.S.; a pair of horns brought home from Central Africa by Denham and Clapperton; and the specimen, formerly in Bullock’s Museum, upon which de Blainville partly based his _Antilope naso-maculata_, and Hamilton Smith his _A. mytilopes_; besides other older specimens without exact localities.

_May,_ 1899.

Subfamily VII. _TRAGELAPHINÆ_.

_General and Colour Characters._—Medium-sized or large bovine Antelopes, typically, but not invariably, marked with transverse white stripes on the body, a pair of white spots on the cheeks, a white stripe running inwards and downwards from the corner of the eye to form an incomplete v-shaped mark on the upper half of the nose, a large transverse white patch at the upper and another at the lower extremity of the throat, and a pair of white spots on the front of the pasterns, which are black or brown behind. The belly is never white, and often darker than the sides of the body. The typical colour, as exemplified in the females and young males, is tawny, fawn, or reddish brown; but the adult males often assume a deep brown or slaty hue, and differ strikingly from the females.

Horns generally present only in the male; arising just behind the orbit; usually spirally twisted, and always furnished at the base in front with a longitudinal ridge, which generally curves outwards from the base of the horn.

Skull without anteorbital pits, but with large or small lachrymal vacuities, and usually with large pits on the frontal bones at the apertures of the supraorbital foramina.

Muzzle large and naked.

Mammæ 4.

_Range of the Subfamily._ Peninsular India and Africa south
of the Sahara.

The genera of this subfamily may be tabulated as follows:—

_a._ Hind limbs shorter than fore limbs, so that the withers stand
higher than the hind-quarters. Head flatter behind the ears, the
parietals and frontals lying almost in the same plane. Horns present
in the male only, shorter than the face, not twisted 1. Boselaphus.

_b_. Hind and fore limbs subequal in length, withers not appreciably
higher than hind-quarters. Cranium more convex longitudinally. Horns
longer than the face, spirally twisted.

_a1._ Horns present only in the male, inserted just behind eye and
rising so as to form an obtuse angle with the plane of the face.

_a2._ Horns flat behind at the base, with a strong external basal
ridge and rarely more than two complete turns.

_a3._ Hoofs normal, short; back of the pasterns covered with hair. 2.
Tragelaphus.

_b3._ Hoofs exceedingly long; back of the pasterns naked. 3.
Limnotragus.

_b2._ Horns rounded behind at the base, without external basal ridge,
forming an open corkscrew spiral, with three complete turns. 4.
Strepsiceros.

_b1._ Horns present in both sexes, inserted farther behind the eye and
directed straight backwards in the plane of the face. 5. Taurotragus.

Genus I. BOSELAPHUS.

Type.

_Boselaphus_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom. p. 75 (1816) B. tragocamelus.

_Portax_, =H. Smith=, Griff. An. Kingdom, v. p. 366 (1827) B. tragocamelus.

_Tragelaphus_, =Ogilby=, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 138 B. tragocamelus.

Of large size and somewhat heavy build, with the withers considerably higher than the hind-quarters. Muzzle large and naked. Ears small. Tail reaching the hocks, tufted at the end, more or less fringed at the sides.

Skull very flat above, the parietals nearly in the same plane as the frontals; occipital ridge strong. Molars with long crowns; those of the upper jaw with accessory column.

Horns present only in male, short, shorter than length of face, broad and triangular in section at the base, with strong anterior basal ridge; base of horn inclined obliquely backwards, transversely ridged, distal extremity nearly vertical, lightly curved, smooth, and tapering.

_Range of Genus._ Restricted to the Peninsula of India.

One species only.

110. THE NILGAI.

BOSELAPHUS TRAGOCAMELUS (Pallas).

[PLATE LXXXVII.]

_Antilope tragocamelus_, =Pallas=, Misc. Zool. p. 5 (1766); =id.= Spic.
Zool. i. p. 9 (1767), xii. p. 13 (1777); =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p. 279
(1777); =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. Geogr. p. 540 (1777); =Gatterer=, Brev.
Zool. pt. i. p. 80 (1780); =Schreb.= Säug. pl. cclxii. (1784); =Bodd.=
Elench. Anim. p. 140 (1785); =Gm.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 184 (1788);
=Kerr=, Linn. An. K. p. 308 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beytr. i. p. 625
(1792); =Forst.= Zool. Ind. p. 39 (1795); =Lath. & Dav.= Faun. Ind. p.
4 (1795); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. p. 99 (1795); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers.
vierf. Th. ii. p. 77 (1799); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. pt. ii. p. 329, fig.
190, lower fig. (1801); =Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802);
=Tiedem.= Zool. i. p. 409 (1808); =G. Fisch.= Zoogn. iii. p. 412
(1814); =Afz.= N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815); =G. Cuv.= R. A. i.
p. 264 (1817); =Schinz=, Cuv. Thierr. i. p. 396 (1821); =G. Cuv.= H.
N. Mamm. iii. pl. xlvi. (1824); =Masson=, Cuv. R. A. p. 318 (1836).

_Antilope (Bubalis) tragocamelus_, =Licht.= Mag. nat. Freund, vi. p. 164
(1814).

_Cemas tragocamelus_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii., Zool. p. 729 (1816).

_Boselaphus tragocamelus_, =Scl.= List Anim. Z. S. (8) p. 137 (1883),
(9) p. 163 (1896); =Flow. & Gars.= Cat. Ost. p. 260 (1884); =Blanf.=
Faun. Brit. Ind., Mamm. p. 517 (1891); =Sclater= f. Cat. Mamm. Calc.
Mus. p. 154 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 345 (1891); =Ward=, Horn
Meas. (1) p. 151 (1892), (2) p. 192 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns and Hoofs, p.
145 (1893); =id.= Royal Nat. Hist. ii. p. 278 (1894); =Trouessart=,
Cat. Mamm. pt. iv. p. 956 (1898).

_Portax tragelaphus_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. lxv. p. 198
(18–16) (corrected to _tragocamelus_, p. 323, 1847); =id.= Hornsch.
Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 149 (_tragocamelus_, p. 315)
(1848); Reprint, p. 73.

_Portax tragocamelus_, =Gray=, P. Z. S. 1850, p. 146; id. Knowsl. Men.
p. 28, pl. xxix. (1850); =id.= Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 141 (1852); =Adams=,
P. Z. S. 1858, p. 523; =Wood=, Ill. Nat. Hist. i. p. 667, fig. (1862);
=Gerr.= Cat. Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 247 (1862); =Blyth=, Cat. Mamm. Mus.
As. Soc. p. 165 (1863); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 51 (1872); =id.=
Hand-l. Rum. B. M. p. 121 (1873).

_Antilope picta_, =Pallas=, Spic. Zool. xii. p. 14 (1777); =Schieb.=
Säug. pls. cclxiii. & cclxiii. B, ♂, ♀ (1784); =Bodd.= Elench. Anim.
p. 141 (1785); =Gm.= Linn. S. N. i. p. 184 (1788); =Pennant=, Quadr.
ed. i. p. 74, pl. vii. (1781), ed. 3, p. 83, pl. xiii. (1793); Linn.
An. K. p. 309 (1792); =Donnd.= Zool. Beitr. i. p. 625 (1792); =Lath. &
Dav.= Faun. Ind. p. 4 (1795); =Link=, Beytr. Nat. p. 99 (1795); =Cuv.=
Tabl. Elém. p. 163 (1798); =Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Th. ii. p.
78, pl. 9 (1799); =Shaw=, Gen. Zool. pt. ii. p. 327, fig. 189 (1801);
=Turt.= Linn. Syst. Nat. i. p. 112 (1802); =G. Cuv.= Dict. Sci. Nat.
ii. p. 248 (1804); =Afz.= N. Act. Upsal. vii. p. 220 (1815); =G. Cuv.=
R. A. i. p. 264 (1817); =Goldf.= Schreb. Säug. v. p. 1159 (1818);
=Desmoul.= Dict. Class. d’H. N. i. p. 447 (1822); =G. Cuv.= H. N.
Mamm. iii. pl. xlvi. (1824); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn. Mamm. p. 476 (1829);
=Bennett=, Gard. & Menag. Z. S. i. p. 125 (1830); =Sykes=, P. Z. S.
1831, p. 105; =Masson=, Cuv. R. A. i. p. 318 (1836); =Waterh.= Cat.
Mus. Z. S. (2) p. 42 (1838); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 449 (1845);
=id.= Nat. Abb. d. Säug. p. 355, t. 161 (1824).

_Antilope (Damalis) picta_, =Schinz=, Mon. Antil. p. 44, t. 49 (1848).

_Antilope (Bubalus) picta_, =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 625
(1861).

_Antilope (Cephalolophus) picta_, =Gieb.= Säug. p. 323 (1853).

_Cemas picta_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii., Zool. p. 729 (1816).

_Damalis picta_, =J. Brooke=, Cat. Mamm. p. 64. (1828).

_Boselaphus pictus_, =Blainv.= Bull. Soc. Philom. p. 75 (1816); =Desm.=
Mamm. ii. p. 471 (1822); =Lesson=, Man. Mamm. p. 384 (1827); =Gerv.=
Dict Sci. Nat., Suppl. i. p. 266 (1840); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm.
p. 181 (1842).

_Portax picta_, =Less.= Compl. Buffon, x. p. 304 (1836); =Gray=, List
Mamm. B. M. p. 154 (1843); =Jardine=, Nat. Libr. xxii. p. 182, pl.
xvi. (1845); =Wagner=, Schreb. Säug. Suppl. iv. p. 467 (1844); =id.=
op. cit. v. p. 450 (1855); =Reichenb.= Säug. iii. p. 148 (1845);
=Hutton=, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, xv. p. 150 (1846); =Gray=, Cat. Ost.
B. M. p. 59 (1847); =Horsf.= Cat. Mamm. E.-I. Comp. p. 170 (1851);
=Jerdon=, Mamm. India, p. 272 (1867); =Fitz.= SB. Ak. Wien, lix. pt.
1, p. 181 (1869); =McMaster=, Notes on Jerdon’s Mamm. p. 122 (1870);
=Kinloch=, Large Game Shooting, i. p. 55 (1876); =Brehm=, Thierl. iii.
p. 251, fig. (1880); =Sterndale=, Mamm. Ind. p. 476 (1884); =Kinloch=,
Large Game Shooting, p. 93 (1885); =Jent.= Cat. Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus.
Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 141 (1887); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-
Bas, xi.) p. 173 (1892); =Percy=, Badminton Big Game Shooting, ii. p.
353 (1894).

_Antilope albipes_, =Erxl.= Syst. R. A. p. 280 (1777); =Gatterer=, Brev.
Zool. pt. i. p. 81 (1780); Zoogn. iii. p. 411 (1814).

_Boselaphus albipes_, =Desm.= Nouv. Dict. d’Hist. N. (2) ii. p. 199, pl.
xxxiii. fig. 2 (1816).

_Antilope leucopus_, =Zimm.= Spec. Zool. Geogr. p. 541 (1777); =Forst.=
Zool. Ind. p. 39 (1795); =id.= Descr. Anim. p. 377 (1844).

_Damalis risia_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 363 (1827); =Elliot=,
Madras Journ. x. p. 226 (1839).

_Damalis (Portax) risia_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. v. p. 366 (1827).

_Tragelaphus hippelaphus_, =Ogilby=, P. Z. S. 1836, p. 138; =Rüpp.=
Verz. Senck. Mus. iii. pt. 2, p. 181 (1839).

_Nyl-ghau_, =Wm. Hunter=, Phil. Trans. lxi. p. 170 (1771).

_White-footed Antelope_, =Penn.= Syn. p. 29, pl. vi. (1771); =id.=
Quadr. i. p. 74, pl. vii. (1781); =id.= op. cit. ed. 3, p. 83, pl.
xiii. (1793).

Vernacular Names:—_Nil, Nilgao_ (♂), _Nilgai_ (♀); _Roz Rojh, Rojra_ in
Hindustani; _Rú-i_ in Dakhani, Mahratti, and Guzrati; _Guraya_, Gond;
_Murim_ (♂), _Susam_ (♀), in Ho Kal; _Mánú-potú_ in Tamil; _Mairu
Maravi, Kard-Kadrai_, Canarese (_Blanford_).

_Male._ About four feet six inches in height at the withers. General colour of the head iron-grey, due to the hairs being black at the base and white at the extremities; nose, neck, and cheeks tinted with black; whitish grey above the eye; two small white cheek-spots generally traceable. Lips and chin white; a large white patch at the upper extremity of the throat; inter-ramal area also white. Ears greyish white, blacker behind towards the extremities, and furnished with two black spots on the outer edge in front. Upper parts of the body iron-grey, like the head; lower portion, chest, and belly black, except a median ventral white streak; groin, inner side of thighs above, and subcaudal area of rump pure white, the latter emphasized on each side by a black vertical streak on the buttocks. Tail white below and at the sides, grey above; tuft white at the base, black at the tip. Fore and hind limbs black inside and outside, except for two large white spots on the front and outer sides of the pasterns and on the outer and inner sides of the fetlocks; fetlock-spot of hind leg sometimes extending right round the front to form a complete half-ring; the corresponding spots on the fore legs much smaller, the outer obsolete. A long tuft of black hair on the throat below the white patch; a short hog-mane on the nape formed of stiff hairs, whitish at the base, blackish at the ends; parting of hair on the withers; behind this point a spinal mane of longish black hairs extends to nearly the middle of the back and is represented as far as the root of the tail by a narrow stripe of short black hairs.

_Female._ Without horns. Smaller and slighter than the male and of a fawn or tawny hue throughout, but with the same white patches and markings as in the male, the fetlock and pastern spots being very conspicuous and set off with black. A short hog-mane on the nape, but no tuft on the throat.

_Young male._ Like the female in colour.

Measurements of an adult male skull:—Basal length 16·3 inches, greatest breadth 5·75, muzzle to orbit 10, horn 8·5.

Horns usually from 8 to 9 inches long, with a basal girth of about 8 inches, and rarely reaching a length of 11·75 inches, with a basal girth of 9·5.

_Hab._ The Peninsula of India from the base of the Himalayas to
the south of Mysore; North-west Provinces, Eastern Punjab,
Guzerat, and the Konkan; but not extending to the Indus on the
west, nor into Eastern Bengal, nor into Malabar. Entirely absent
from the countries to the east of the Bay of Bengal.

The Asiatic division of the Tragelaphine group, which, in the existing stage of the Earth’s fauna, is represented only by the present species, is nearly as different in its structure as it is in its geographical range from its African brethren, being at once distinguishable by its short hind limbs, untwisted horns, bovine nose, and hypsodont molars, not to mention its very different style of colour. The Asiatic form might, in fact, be more naturally arranged as constituting a Subfamily of itself, but we are content to follow recent authorities who have associated this animal with the more typical Tragelaphs of Africa.

The “Nilgai” (said by some authorities to be more correctly written “Nilgau,” from _nil_ or _lil_, blue, and _gau_, cow) was first introduced into scientific literature by Pallas in his memoir on the genus _Antilope_ published in 1766. Pallas’s “_Antilope tragocamelus_,” as he called this species, was based partly upon Ray, who quoted from Gesner, and partly on the description of Dr. James Parsons, F.R.S., who, in the forty-third volume of the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ published in 1745, gave a very fair description of this animal from a living male specimen “brought,” as he tells us, “from Bengal, and shown in London.” There can be no doubt as to the identity of Parsons’s “Quadruped,” whatever we may say regarding the less accurate descriptions of Ray and Gesner, and it follows, consequently, that “_tragocamelus_” must be used as the earliest and most correct specific name of the Nilgai.

In the supplement to his memoir on the genus _Antilope_ published in 1777, besides _A. tragocamelus_, Pallas introduced into his list an _Antilope picta_, founded upon Pennant’s “White-footed Antelope.” On referring to Pennant’s description and figure of this animal in his ‘Synopsis of Quadrupeds,’ there can be no doubt whatever that they likewise refer to the Nilgai. They were taken, as the author informs us, from a pair of animals living at Clermont in 1770. Following Pallas’s second name, a large number of authorities, as will be seen by our list of synonyms, have used _pictus_ and _picta_ as the specific name of the Nilgai; but, as we have already pointed out, _tragocamelus_ is prior in point of date, and being also unquestionably applicable, should have the preference.

Erxleben’s name “_albipes_” and Zimmermann’s “_leucopus_,” both founded on Pennant’s “White-footed Antelope,” have likewise been proposed for the present species, but are also both later in date. Again, in 1827, Hamilton Smith adopted “_risia_” as the specific name of the Nilgai on account of some fancied objection to the term _picta_. But in this change few have been found to follow him. Finally, in 1836, Ogilby proposed to alter the name of the Nilgai to _hippelaphus_, because he thought it was the true Hippelaphus of Aristotle. This is possibly the case, but it does not necessitate the suggested change of the specific term.

As regards the generic name of the Nilgai, we have fortunately only two to choose from—_Boselaphus_ of De Blainville, published in 1816, and _Portax_ of Hamilton Smith, proposed in 1827. Of these two, according to the rules of Zoological Nomenclature, we employ the oldest; and the scientific name of the Nilgai consequently becomes _Boselaphus tragocamelus_, as was first adopted by Sclater in 1883.

Before proceeding further we must call attention to the excellent account of the Nilgai read before the Royal Society in 1774 by the great physiologist and physician William Hunter and published, along with an excellent figure of the animal by Stubbs, in the 61st volume of the ‘Philosophical Transactions,’ from which we make the following extracts:—

“Among the riches which of late years have been imported from
India may be reckoned a fine animal, the Nyl-ghau; which, it is to
be hoped, will now be propagated in this country, so as to become
one of the most useful, or at least one of the most ornamental
beasts of the field. It is larger than any ruminant of this
country, except the ox; its flesh probably will be found to be
delicious; and, if it should prove docile enough to be easily
trained to labour, its great swiftness, with considerable
strength, might be applied, one would think, to valuable purposes.

“Good paintings of animals give much clearer ideas than
descriptions. Whoever looks at the picture, which was done under
my eye by Mr. Stubbs, that excellent painter of animals, can never
be at a loss to know the Nyl-ghau, wherever he may happen to meet
with it. However, I shall attempt a description of the animal; and
then give as much of its history as I have been hitherto able to
learn. The account will be imperfect: yet it will give naturalists
some pleasure in the meantime to know even a little of a large and
elegant animal, which has not hitherto been described or painted.”

After a capital description of both sexes of this animal from the living specimens, Hunter proceeds as follows:—

“Of late years several of this species, both male and female, have
been brought to England. The first were sent from Bombay by Gov.
Cromelen, as a present to Lord Clive: they arrived in August 1767.
They were male and female, and continued to breed every year.
Afterwards two were brought over, and presented to the Queen by
Mr. Sullivan. From Her Majesty’s desire to encourage every useful
or curious enquiry in natural knowledge, I was permitted to keep
these two for some time, which enabled me to describe them, and to
get a correct picture made, and, with my brother’s assistance, to
dissect the dead animal, and preserve the skin and skeleton. Lord
Clive has been so kind to give me every help that he could furnish
me with in making out their history; so has General Carnac, and
some other gentlemen.

“At all the places in India, where we have settlements, they are
rarities, brought from the distant interior parts of the country,
as presents to Nabobs and great men. Lord Clive, General Carnac,
Mr. Walsh, Mr. Watts, and many other gentlemen, who have seen much
of India, tell me they never saw them wild. So far as I have yet
found, Bernier is the only author who has ever mentioned them.

“In the fourth vol. of his Mémoires, he gives an account of a
journey which he undertook, ann. 1664, from Delhi, to the province
of Cachemire, with the Mogul Aurengzeb, who went to that
terrestrial paradise, as it is esteemed by the Indians, to avoid
the heat of the summer. In giving an account of the hunting, which
was the Emperor’s amusement in this journey, he describes, among
others, that of _le Nyl-ghau_, but without saying more of the
animal than that the Emperor sometimes kills them in such numbers
as to distribute quarters of them to all his Omrachs; which shows
that they were there wild, and in plenty, and esteemed good or
delicious food.

“This agrees with the rarity of these animals at Bengal, Madras,
and Bombay; for Cachemire is the most northern province of the
Empire, and it was on the march from Delhi to that place that
Bernier saw the Emperor hunt them.”

Although, as we have already seen, living specimens of the Nilgai were long ago brought to Europe, little addition was made to our knowledge of this animal in its native state until the days of Elliot, Jerdon, and Hodgson. In 1839 Sir Walter Elliot included the Nilgai in his catalogue of the Mammals of the Southern Mahratta country, where he states “it is found in the thick low jungles.” Jerdon, in his volume on the Mammals of India, tells us that the Nilgai “frequents thin forests and low jungles, but is also often found in tolerably open plains with only a few scattered bushes. It associates in small herds, varying from 7 or 8 to 20 and upwards.”

Mr. Robert A. Sterndale, whose popular manual on the Mammals of India and Ceylon was published in 1884, does not speak favourably of his experience of the flesh of the Nilgai as an article of diet:—“The Nilgao,” he says, “feeds on Beyr (_Zizyphus jujuba_) and other trees, and at times devours such quantities of the intensely acrid berries of the Aoula (_Phyllanthus emblica_) that its flesh becomes saturated with the bitter elements of the fruit. This is most noticeable in soup, less so in a steak, which is at times not bad. The tongue and marrow-bones, however, are generally as much as the sportsman claims, and in the Central Provinces at least the natives are grateful for all the rest.”

Col. Kinloch, who writes of the Nilgai mainly from a sporting point of view, gives us the following account of this animal:—

“The Nilgai does not hold a very high place among the Game-animals
of India, and is seldom shot by any but young sportsmen, unless
meat is required for camp-followers. It is, however, one of the
largest and most conspicuous of the ruminants to be found in the
plains, and no records of Indian sport would be complete without
some notice of it.

“The bull is a large and powerful beast, attaining a height of at
least 14 hands at the withers, which are high and narrow like
those of a horse. The neck is long and compressed, and the head
slender and deer-like, the eyes being remarkably full and
lustrous. The hind-quarters fall away considerably, giving the
animal rather an awkward appearance. The legs are slender and
wiry, and the hoofs rather upright. The tail is tufted, something
like that of the domestic cow, but it is not so long in
proportion, reaching only to the hocks. The color is a dark bluish
grey, deepening to nearly black in very old individuals, while the
legs are jet-black, curiously marked with white patches about the
fetlocks. The throat is white, and from the lower part of it
depends a long tuft of blackish hair, while the hair on the
withers is developed into a thin upright mane.

“The cow is of a light brown colour, and is destitute of horns.
The young males are like the females, but become gradually darker
with age.