Game Animals of India, etc. 



and while the inner surface is nearly in one plane, the 

 outer surface is highly convex : along the front inner 

 angle runs a sharp keel, but the hind surface is rounded 

 off. The general colour is dark yellowish brown 

 (greyer in does and kids), with a dark streak down the 

 back, and becoming paler on the under surface. Old 

 bucks are darker, being sepia-brown, passing into 

 blackish on tlie face. They have a fawn-coloured ring 

 round the eye, a grizzled grey streak down the side of 

 the face, and a patch of the same behind the eye ; but 

 their most conspicuous mark is a large grizzled white 

 saddle-shaped patch on the loins, which in very old 

 bucks turns almost white. From this the patriarchs ot 

 the flock take their name of " saddle-backs." The legs, 

 which are blackish brown in front and paler behind, are 

 more or less grizzled in old males. 



The largest horns on record have a length of ly^- 

 inches along the front curve, with a basal circumference 

 of 91^ inches ; the corresponding dimensions of the 

 second best specimen being 17 and ^^ inches ; while a 

 third specimen measures 16^ inches in length. The 

 largest female horns on record have a length of I2§ 

 inches, and a basal girth of 5^ inches. 



The Nilgiri tahr inhabits the chief mountain ranges 

 of Southern India, including the Nilgiris, the Anamalais,. 

 and the Western Ghats ; its range extending from the 

 latter chain nearly as far as Cape Comorin. Although 

 occasionally found at lower levels, these goats are usually 

 met with at elevations of between 4000 and 5000 feet. 



Before its numbers had been reduced by shooting, 

 the Nilgiri tahr was met with in flocks which included 

 from half-a-dozen to half-a-hundred head ; while in 

 instances where two or more flocks had joined, the 

 numbers might be considerably greater. Although 

 occasionally seen on the upland grassy plateaux 

 characteristic of the hills of South India, these goats 

 prefer the scarps and crags above the forest, where 

 they graze on patches of grass occurring in suitable 



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