NOTES ON RHINOCEROSES IN BURMA. 559 



they assuredly are not very quick of sight, but the faintest puff of wind 

 is more than enough. 



The habit of depositing its ordure in one place as attributed to the 

 African species and R. indicus, does not apply to these rhinoceroses, that 

 is, if it is understood to mean that this is a place repeatedly visited for 

 that purpose. Small heaps or mounds, perhaps the droppings of a week, 

 may be found on the hillsides, where they lie up daily. But as a general 

 rule I do not think they can be at all particular in the matter, as one 

 habitually finds single droppings on their tracks on the sides of hills, 

 rid oes, etc, and an abundance of them scattered about in the beds of 

 streams. If the pools in which they lie be disturbed one has rapid 

 olfactory evidence that they contain more than a small quantity of their 

 droppings. In appearance they are much the same as that of an 

 elephant. 



Burmans and others could afford no information of value as to the 

 period of gestation. I have only twice come on the tracks of young 

 rhinoceroses evidently at heel, and these in January. 



Perhaps the most interesting feature about these creatures is the 

 astounding way in which they ascend and descend the steepest of hill- 

 sides. In fact the steeper the gradient the more it would appear to 

 appeal to them. A9 for many of the descents into the beds of streams, 

 they are quite in the nature of slides. For a human being, certainly, a 

 leather seat would be of greater help to him than anything else. It is 

 equally surprising how they ever manage to climb over some of the 

 rocky places one meets with, yet they do. They are the most 

 difficult animals I have ever attempted to follow. I thought serow 

 and goral quite bad enough, but rhinoceros, I think, can give them 

 points. 



The Burmans attribute their agility to the fact of their possessing 

 three large separate claws or hoofs. In descending, only the centre one 

 is in use, the lateral ones being employed as brakes. Going over rocks, 

 ledges, etc., one or more toes may be employed. One thing is certain, 

 viz., that Karens and Burmans are as much astonished as we are at the 

 way they get over seemingly impossible ground. 



As regards dentition, in the skulls I have seen it is quite as irregular 

 as has been noted by various observers. 



The only sound I have heard is a kind of grunt or rather a short 

 harsh blowing sound. I heard one, a sondakus, emit this noise when 



