192 Game of Europe, W. & N. Asia & America 



down to chew the cud or slumber. Old saigas possess such speed that 

 even swift horses and greyhounds can scarcely overtake them, but the 

 younger animals are short-winded, and can be run down with comparative 

 ease. In spite of their speed many are, however, slain by beasts of prey, 

 especially the wolf As already said, their gait is by no means elegant, and 

 they run with the neck, stretched out and the head carried low. Like all 

 steppe-dwelling animals, they are shy and difficult to approach, but they 

 are by no means clever in avoiding the approach of pursuers. Their sight 

 is said to be indifferent, and at times they appear to be partially blinded 

 by the sun, when they will run headlong into danger. 



The food of the saiga consists almost exclusively of the salt-loving 

 plants which thrive in profusion here and there on the steppe, especially 

 where saline springs break forth and the soil is encrusted with an 

 efflorescence of salt. The statement of Pallas that these animals walk 

 backwards while feeding, and graze on one side of the mouth, on account 

 of the nose preventing them following the usual custom in these respects, 

 has been already mentioned. It has also been asserted, from the time of 

 Strabo downwards, that in drinking they take in water not only with the 

 mouth but through the nose ! The latter statement is, of course, a pure 

 fabrication ; while in regard to the former, Brehm, from observation of 

 specimens in captivity, denied its authenticity. 



In consequence of the nature of the herbs on which the saiga feeds, its 

 flesh exhales a peculiar aromatic and fragrant smell. During the pairing- 

 season, which commences in the latter part of November, the bucks 

 engage in fierce combats with one another for the mastery of the herd. 

 The period of gestation lasts till the following May, when the does give 

 birth to their young. At birth the kids, of which there is never more 

 than one at a time, are exceedingly helpless, and remain so for some time. 



In spite of the aromatic odour of their tiesh, saigas are much hunted 

 for the sake of their venison by the Kalmuks and Kirghiz, who pursue 



