170 Game of Europe, W. & N. Asia Sc America 



shooting. I was much disgusted at this performance, so was Taha. We 

 sat down to wait for the ponies, which presently came up with the head 

 of the ibex. We started back tor camp, reaching the tents at 5 p.m. 

 Curiously enough, Littledale came back almost simultaneously, bringing 

 with him the head of a fair ram. He told us that he had come across a 

 herd of sixty rams, almost all with good heads, and another lot of fifteen. 

 These were the largest herds ot rams we had yet seen." 



THE IRTISH IBEX 



{Capra sihlricci lyt/ckkcii) 



This race of the Asiatic ibex was named in igoo by Mr. Walter 

 Rothschild,' on the evidence of three specimens collected by Mr. Carl 

 Hagenbeck's travellers in the Katutay range of the Altai during the winter 

 of 1898-99. 



The original description is as follows : — 



" Very old male. Centre of back creamy white, with a deep brown 

 dorsal line running from behind the shoulders to the root ot the tail. 

 Head, neck, shoulders, and tianks pale brown. Nape of neck and hind- 

 quarters creamy white. Tail from the base for halt its length ot the same 

 brown colour as the shoulders, rest very deep brown, white on the whole 

 under-side. 



" Fore-legs from the hoof to the knee, hind-legs from the hoot to the 

 hock brown. Fore-legs from the knee to the shoulder of the same brown 

 colour as the lower part of the leg in front, much paler behind. Hind-legs 

 trom the back to the stitle-joint of a very deep brown in front, much 

 darker than the lower part of the leg, but behind from the hock upwards 



1 Noz'itati-i ZoolngiifF, \-nl. vii. p. 277 (igoo). 



