Thian Shan Ibex 169 



Shan range, as well as throughout a considerable portion of Siberia. To- 

 wards the east the habitat ot the species reaches at least as far as Lake 

 Baikal. 



As a summary of the habits of the Asiatic ibex is given in Wi/d Oxoj, 

 Sheep, and Goats, and an extract from Mr. Darrah's notes on the same 

 subject in Great and Small Game of India, etc., it will be unnecessary to 

 reconsider the subject on the present occasion. Since, however, the 

 numbers of the Asiatic ibex have been greatly reduced in many localities 

 where it was formerly abundant, the following extract from Prince 

 Demidotf's work After Wild Sheep in the Altai and Mongolia is quoted in 

 order to show that there are districts in the heart of Central Asia where 

 this magnificent representative of the wild goats is still to be met with in 

 large flocks. 



" The country being still flivourable for game," writes the Prince, " we 

 kept on the look-out, but saw no signs of animals of any kind till we 

 reached the bottom of a deep nullah, where Taba suddenly spotted two or 

 three ibex on the top of a ridge to our left. As it was still early in the 

 day, another stalk was imminent. Circumventing the ridge on which we 

 had located the animals, we found ourselves presently, Taba and I, in a 

 small corrie about 600 yards long, up which we had to toil in order to 

 face the direction in which the ibex were heading. This took us nearly 

 an hour, and as I was just reaching the plateau I suddenly saw a pair of 

 horns coming towards me at less than 50 yards in front ; but unluckily I 

 was quite out of breath, having walked very flist, and instead of waiting, 

 I carelessly took my shot at the only part of the beast in sight, and 

 naturally missed. When I saw him next he was rushing downhill some 

 150 yards below me, and great was my amazement when I found that this 

 was my light-coated friend whom I had already missed. As far as I 

 could judge, his horns must have measured well over 40 inches. His 

 companion, whom I just caught sight of, was a young buck hardly worth 



