183 JOURS AL, BOM DA Y XATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XII. 



The Gauk {Bos^ gaurmj. 



This wild bull is found not only in Southern India and the Tir.ns-G angelic- 

 provinces, but it hiis been shot at the foot of the Himalaya mountains, usually 

 called the Terai. I have seen splendid heads brought down from theMishmee 

 hills. There are thirteen pairs of ribs. The chest is broad, the shoulder 

 deep and muscular, and the forelegs short with the joints very short and 

 fitrong,thearm exceedingly large and muscular. The skin on the neck, shoul- 

 ders and thighs is very thick— about two inches — and is very valuable for the 

 soles of shooting-boots. 



Many old bulls have so little h?ar that they appear as if they ha,d been 

 shaved. When the bull arrives at maturity, which is at about six or seven 

 years, rings begin to form at the base of the horns; and, it is said, one is 

 added eich year ; if so, I must ha^e s;hot bulls thirty-five or forty years of age. 

 They prefer hilly ranges with flat table-land at top, at an altitude of about 

 2,500ft. ; but they have been killed up to 5,0C0 ft. and traced up eveniiigher. 

 They are wonderfully active animals for their size and bulk. They browse 

 on young bamboo shoots, and are also fond of grazing on the young grass 

 which springs up after the annual fires. They retire during the heat of the 

 day either to forests, or force their way into heavy patches of long elephant- 

 grass, and lie there to escape the gadflies, which otherwise torment them 

 dreadfully. As a rule they are inoffensive, but a solitary bull has been known 

 to charge without provocation ,• if closely followed, allgaur are Hpt to prove 

 pugnacious. They are not difficult to kill ; a bullet well placed behind the 

 shoulder, in the middle of the shoulder, or behind the ear, or a I'aking shot 

 forward, will account for one. I have known one paralyzed by a shot through 

 the dorsal ridge. When alarmed, their enormous strength and weight enable 

 them to crash through tree and bamboo jungle as if they were but reeds. I 

 have knowu them when alarmed to snort and stamp with their feet before 

 retiring. The tongue and marrow-bones are unexceptionable ; the only por- 

 tion of the beast fit to eat by Europeans is the middle layer on either side of 

 the dorsal side, just below the hump ; the tail makes very good ox-taii soup. 



Mr. Sanderson shot a gaur in Assam and as its name and that of the gayal 

 is " Mithun " he came to the conclusion that there were no wild gayal ; but 

 although " Mithun "' is usually applied to both the gaur and gayal, yet, if 

 pressed, the people will own to an "Asseel Mithun," or true gaur, and a " iVlith- 

 un",or bastard gaur, the gayal. In a natural history lately published,* it 

 has been asserted that the gaur has been tamed, and that they are kept in 

 captivity by natives on our North-Eastern Frontier; but this is altogether 

 erroneous. The very old bulls are either driven away from the herds, or 

 retire and become solitaires, and are the best worth shooting ; but they are 



* " The Boyal Natural Histdry " was evidently misled by Mr. Sanderson. Aliliough a gayal at a 

 distance looks very like a gaur, the heads arc totally dissimilar; the gaur's has a Bcmi-cyllndrical 

 ei est and a concave forehead ; the guyal I'Osses.-es neither. 



