LITTLE-KNOWN MAMMALS FROM CHINA 



513 



When frigliteued, like our own moun- 

 tain sheep or goats, they Avould run a 

 short distance and stop to look back. 

 This was usually thcii- undoing, for 

 they offered excellent targets as they 

 stood silhouetted against the sky line. 

 They were very difficult to see when 

 lying down among the rocks, but our 

 native hunters, who had most extraordi- 

 nary eyesight, often would discover 

 them when it was almost impossible for 

 me to find them even with the field 

 glasses. We never could be sure that 

 there were no gorals on a mountain- 

 side, for they were adepts at hiding, 

 and made use of a bunch of grass or 

 the smallest crevice in a rock to con- 

 ceal themselves, and did it so com- 

 pletely that they seemed to have van- 

 ished from the earth. Like all sheep 

 and goats, they could climb about 

 where it seemed impossible for any ani- 

 mal to move. I have seen a goral run 

 at full speed down the face of a cliff 

 which appeared to be almost perpen- 

 dicular, and where the dogs dared not 

 venture. As the animal landed on a 

 projecting rock it would bounce off as 

 though made of rubber, and leap eight 

 or ten feet to a narrow ledge which did 

 not seem large enough to support a 

 rabbit. 



There were certain trails leading 

 over the hill slopes which the gorals 

 must have used continually, judging by 

 the way in which these were worn. We 

 also found much sign beneath over- 

 hanging rocks and on projecting ledges 

 to indicate that these were definite re- 

 sorts for numbers of the animals. 

 Many of the gorals which we saw at 

 Hui-yao were young of varying ages 

 running with the herds, and it was in- 

 teresting to see how perfectly they had 

 mastered the art of self-concealment 

 even when hardly a year old. The gorals 

 usually have but a single young at a 

 birth, which takes place during April 

 or early May. Although at Hui-yao 

 almost all the gorals wore on the oast 

 side of the river, thev did not seem to 



lie especially averse to water, and sev- 

 eral times 1 watched wounded animals 

 swim across the stream. 



The gorals are splendid game ani- 

 mals, for the plucky little brutes in- 

 spire the sportsman with admiration, 

 besides leading him over peaks which 

 try his nerve to the utmost, and 1 num- 

 ber among the happiest hours of my 

 life the wonderful hunts in Yunnan, 

 far above the clouds, at the edge of the 

 snow. 



While we were at the Snow Moun- 

 tain the expedition obtained four se- 

 rows, and others were taken later. The 

 serow is a relative of the goral, but is 

 a much larger and heavier animal, and 

 is usually almost black, with fox-brown 

 lower legs and a long whitish mane. 

 The natives of Yunnan call this animal 

 Sha-Iiu, or wild cow; but in Fukien it 

 is known as the wild donkey, because 

 of its very large ears. When alive, the 

 attitude and general appearance of the 

 serow is like nothing so much as a huge 

 goat. On the Snow Mountain we found 

 them living at altitudes of from ten to 

 thirteen thousand feet, in dense spruce 

 forests, among the cliffs. The animals 

 seemed to be fond of sleeping under 

 overhanging rocks, and we were con- 

 stantly finding beds which gave evi- 

 dence of very extensive use. Appar- 

 ently serows seldom come out into the 

 open, but feed on leaves and grass while 

 in the thickest cover, so that it is almost 

 impossible to kill them without the aid 

 of dogs or beaters. 



Sometimes a serow will lead the dogs 

 for three or four miles, and eventually 

 lose them, or it may turn at bay and 

 fight the hounds after only a short 

 chase; a large serow is almost certain 

 to kill several of the dogs if in a favor- 

 al)le ])ositi()n with a rock wall at its 

 back. The animal is. of course, very 

 much more powerful than the goral, 

 witli longer and heavier horns, and for 

 its size it is remarkalily agile. The first 

 one captured by the expedition killed 

 two of the dogs, including the liig red 



