Persian Wild Goat 153 



other wild game ; but I think that the head of a wild goat, with horns 

 well over 40 inches in length and 9 inches in circumference at the base, 

 is a trophy that any sportsman might be proud to secure, the more especi- 

 ally as the bearer of such a head is, according to my experience, a most 

 shy and wary animal, requiring a good deal ot patience, perseverance, and 

 hard work to bring to bay by fair hunting." 



Tribute like this from one who has seen and shot such magnificent 

 animals as the gemsbuck and the sable antelope affords unassailable testi- 

 mony to the grand appearance presented by the wild goat in the field. 

 It will be noticed in the foregoing passage that the author alludes to the 

 coat of these animals as being nearly white ; as the time of year was 

 January this lightness of colour may doubtless be attributed to the winter 

 bleaching which is so noticeable in many ruminants, as, tor instance, the 

 wapiti. In his description Mr. Selous mentions the great length ot the 

 beard of these goats, and it is very noticeable in the figure of the one- 

 horned buck given on a later page of his book. On the other hand, in 

 the old male standing in the foreground of the picture by Wolt reproduced 

 in Wild Oxen, Sheep, and Goats, it will be observed that the beard is com- 

 paratively short. The difference is probably due to the one animal being in 

 the winter and the other in the summer dress. 



The horns of the male wild goat, inclusive of all its local varieties, are 

 distinguished from those of all other wild forms of the genus Capra save 

 one, by the circumstance that while sweeping backwards with the same 

 bold scimitar-like curve as in the ibex, their inner front edge is sharp and 

 keeled. In the present race of the species this keel continues uninter- 

 rupted for some distance above the base of the horns in old bucks, but 

 higher up carries a small number of widely separated prominent knobs. 

 Throughout their length the horns are much compressed, with the inner 

 surface flat, the outer convex, and the hinder aspect rounded. Although 

 occasionally divergent, the tips usually incline somewhat inwards. From 



