MOSCHUS MOSCHIFERUS. 267 



M. leucogaster, Hodgson 1 — Kasturd, H. — Rous or Boos and Kasture, 

 Kashmir. — Ld and Ldwd, in Tibet. — Bib-jo, in Ladak. — Bend, in 

 Kunawur. 



The Musk-deer. 



Descr. — Colour usually dark fuscous-brown, paler beneath, the hairs 

 being long and harsh, with hoary rings and a black tip ; ears internally 

 and chin whitish ; ears large and erect ; tail very short, hairy in females, 

 almost naked, with a tuft of hair at the end, in males. 



Length of male nearly 3 feet; height 22 to 23 inches. 



The colour varies a great deal, perha])s according to age and season. 

 Markham describes it as a dark speckled brownish-gray, nearly black on 

 the hind quarters, edged down the inside of the thighs with reddish- 

 yellow, the throat, belly, and legs lighter gray. Hodgson describes his 

 chrysogaster as bright sepia-brown above, sprinkled with golden red ; 

 orbital region, lining and base of ears, whole body below and insides of 

 limbs, rich golden-red or orange ; a dark brown patch on the buttocks ; 

 legs fulvescent. Adams says, " others are yellowish-white all over, the 

 upper parts with the belly and inner side of the thighs white." One I 

 got in Kashmir had the back sepia-brown, with grizzled gray spots in 

 lines on the back ; head more or less grizzled, edges and insides of ears, 

 rump, tail, lower parts, and limbs, grizzled gray, very pale and almost 

 white on the rump and tail ; posterior limbs with a dark brown stripe 

 as far as the knee. The young are spotted with white. 



The hairs are long, thick, bristly, very thick-set, white at the base and 

 for more than half their length. The canines of the male are about 

 3 inches long, about as thick as a goose-quill. The tail of the male has 

 a peculiar gland, the secretion from which glues the hairs together. The 

 legs are long and slender, and the toes long and pointed, with the false 

 hoofs very long, touching the ground. 



The musk-deer is found thi-oughout the Himalayas, always at great 

 elevations, in summer rarely below 8,000 feet, and as high as the limits 

 of forest. It extends through the Himalayas to Central and Northern 

 Asia, as far as Siberia. 



Hodgson says that the Musk-deer is '* solitary, living in retired spots 

 near rocks, or in the depths of the forests. They leap well but cannot 

 climb nor descend slopes well.* They rut in winter, and produce one or 



* Thia 13 contrary to the experience of most sportsmen. 



