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



Hap/occros, hut since that term is antedated ten years hy Orcamniis^ the 

 hitter title is coming into use among those who consider that priority 

 shouhl he our chief guide in zoological nomenclature. 



In appearance the white goat is a decidedly ungainly animal, chiefly 

 owing to the enormous hump on the withers and neck, which causes the 

 head to be carried very low. In size it may be compared roughly to a 

 rather small individual of the Himalayan tahr, a ram standing just under 

 3 teet at the withers. Were the cannon-bones of the normal length the 

 animal would somewhat exceed the tahr in height. Its weight is stated 

 to range between i8o and 300 lbs. 



With the exception of the Alaskan bighorn, the white goat is the only 

 ruminant which is entirely white at all seasons of the year. It cannot, 

 therefore, be mistaken for any other animal, and its description may 

 consequently be brief. In the winter coat the hair is long and pendant, 

 elongated into a short beard on the sides of the lower jaw behind the 

 chin ; and it is also longer than elsewhere on the neck and the chest ; at 

 the base of the long hair is a thick growth of short and woolly under-fur. 

 In summer the coat becomes comparatively short. The muzzle is hairy, 

 the ears are of moderate size, and the tail is short, and partially buried 

 among the long hair of the rump. There are no glands on the flice. The 

 horns, which are ringed in their basal portion, are comparatively short, 

 and not unlike those of the serows in general characters, being sub- 

 cylindrical, and curving slightly backwards. They taper, however, much 

 more rapidly than those of the serows, and diverge much more widely 

 from the middle line. The lateral hoofs are well developed. Although 

 commonly described as white, the hair has a more or less decided tinge 

 ot yellow, which appears to be more marked in the summer than in the 

 winter coat. 



The white goat is an inhabitant of the higher zones of the Rocky 

 Mountains antl of the hio;her rantres between them and the Pacific as far 



