Game Animals of India, etc. 



this magnificent animal is almost invariably called bison 

 — a title properly belonging to Bos bonasus of Lithuania 

 and the Caucasus. Questions are sometimes asked in 

 sporting newspapers whether the application of the 

 term bison to the gaur is legitimate. The answer is 

 very simple, namely, that it is not. Domesticated oxen 

 (together with their extinct wild progenitors), gaur and 

 gayal, bison, yak, and buffaloes collectively constitute 

 the ox tribe ; and since the domesticated ox is the type 

 of the whole group, they may all, in a general sense, be 

 classed as oxen. Had the bison of Europe been made 

 the typical representative of the group, then that term 

 might likewise have been employed in the same general 

 sense, and the gaur termed a bison as it now is an ox ; 

 but as matters stand, such a usage is indefensible. 

 The true domesticated oxen form one division of the 

 group. Next to this comes a second and nearly allied 

 section of the group comprising the gaur, the gayal, 

 and the bantin ; all the members of which are 

 characterised by their elevated withers, short hair, and 

 "white-stockinged" limbs. The third section includes 

 the European and American bisons, with which the 

 yak may perhaps be included ; all these having long hair 

 on some part of the body, uniformly dark limbs, and 

 lacking the ridge-like hump of the second section. 

 Lastly, there are the buffaloes, differing from all the 

 others by the peculiar form of their horns. Each 

 sectional group is perfectly well defined, and it would 

 be just as logical to call the gaur a buffalo as to dub it 

 a bison ; but since there are few things more difficult 

 to amend than popular misapplications of names, a 

 bison it will probably remain among sportsmen. 



Of the general characteristics of the ox tribe, little 

 need be stated. With the exception of a few stunted 

 island forms, the members of the group are large and 

 heavily-built animals, with a short and deep neck, a 

 massive head, carried somewhat low, and frequently a 

 large dewlap on the throat and chest. The broad 



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