East Caucasian Tur 141 



THE EAST CAUCASIAN TUR 



{Capra cylindricornis) 

 (Plate III. Fig. 6) 



In some at least of the numerous dialects of the Caucasus the word tur 

 (with the // pronounced as oo) seems to be employed for wild goats of all 

 and every kind ; and since that range is the habitat of two very remarkable 

 species of goat-like animals which come, properly speaking, under the 

 designation neither of true ibex or true goats, they are conveniently desig- 

 nated by their native title ot tur. 



The first of these two species, which is frequently known as Pallas's 

 tur, and to many sportsmen as the Caucasian bharal, inhabits the eastern 

 and central part of the range, from Daghestan to Kasbeg, and is conse- 

 quently termed the East Caucasian tur. Prince Demidoff, in his Hunting 

 Trips to the Caucasus, states that the present species is most frequently 

 found on the slopes of the Kasbeg (or Kasbek), and that it also occurs 

 in Svanetia. He adds that where the distributional area of the East 

 Caucasian tur impinges on that of the very different West Caucasian 

 species, presumed hybrids between the two are not uncommonly met with. 

 More will be said with regard to these reputed hybrids at the close of the 

 notice of the next species. 



From the general characters and conformation of its horns, the East 

 Caucasian tur might be regarded as a near relative of the bharal, or blue 

 sheep of Tibet {Ovis ;/^;////r<^), described in Great and Small Game of India, 

 Tibet, and Burma. And since the latter animal serves in some degree to 

 connect the sheep with the goats, this may to a certain extent be true. 

 But the horns of the eastern tur are of a rougher and more rugged type 

 than those of the bharal, while the latter animal lacks the well-marked 

 beard which adorns the chin of the present species. The coloration, also, 



