Gemse 1 8 1 



in November, and it is at that time of year alone, when they are in their 

 darlcest and richest vesture, that the old bucks are found continuously with 

 the rest of the herds, as they keep themselves more or less apart at other 

 times. Were it not tor the heavy tails of snow which usually take place 

 before or during November, the pairing-season would undoubtedly afford 

 good opportunities for successful stalking, as the bucks then allow them- 

 selves to be approached with comparative facility. As it is, however, 

 September and October are the months in which chamois- shooting is 

 chiefly practised in the Alps ; although there are certain local differences 

 in the period allowed for shooting, which in some cantons commences in 

 July and ends in December, while in others it does not begin till fully a 

 month later. 



According to Brehm's Tierlebcn the so-called glacial chamois only resort 

 to the higher grounds during the summer months, deserting the herds for 

 this purpose, and being soon driven back if severe weather sets in for any 

 length of time. In summer all chamois frequent the western and north- 

 western slopes of the Alps, but in winter they resort to feeding grounds 

 exposed to the east or south. When the old bucks join the herds in the 

 autumn, the younger males are driven off to shift tor themselves. The 

 period of gestation is about twenty-eight weeks, and the kids, of which 

 there is generally but one at a birth, are dropped in May or June. At 

 birth they are clothed with a reddish woolly coat, and are said to be able 

 to follow their dam within six-and-thirty hours of their arrival in the 

 world. They have, however, often to be defended from the attacks of 

 eagles and lammergeiers (where those splendid birds still survive) by the 

 horns of their dams. A three-year-old chamois is full grown, but it is 

 stated that these animals will live to twenty or even five-and-twenty years. 

 According, however, to Dr. B. Nitsche ^ the milk or deciduous teeth are 

 not entirely replaced by their permanent successors till the fifth year is 



' " Die Altcrsbcstimmung der Schwarz- und Gems-wlldcs," Deutschen 'Jiiger-Zeitung, vol. ix. (1887). 



