Game Animals of India, etc. 



being in the possession of Major A. E. Ward, and a 

 second (a female from Dalhousie) in that of Mr. 

 J. Johnston-Stewart. Three specimens measuring 8 

 inches in length are known, one of them having a 

 basal girth of 3^ inches, and an interval of 3^ inches 

 between the tips ; two of these specimens are from 

 Chamba, and the third from Kumaon. 



The Himalayan gorals inhabit the outer and middle 

 ranges of the mountains from Kashmir to Bhutan, and 

 are also said to occur in the Naga Hills. In Kashmir 

 they are probably restricted to the ranges to the south 

 of the valley. Although stated to be far from abundant 

 in the Siwalik Hills, in most districts they are common, 

 and not untrequently found in the neighbourhood 

 of hill-stations. The lowest elevation at which they 

 occur is about 3000 teet, and the highest range about 

 8000 feet. 



Never tound away from forest, goral usually associate 

 in small parties of from four to eight head, and where 

 one is seen, others are almost sure to occur ; old bucks 

 are, however, solitary for the greater part of the year. 

 Grass-clad hills, or ledges among steep cliffs, and rocky 

 ground in the midst of forest form their favourite 

 haunts ; and sometimes the country they frequent is 

 so precipitous that a wounded animal will fall several 

 hundred feet before its body finds a resting-place. 

 General Macintyre mentioning an instance where 

 a goral he had shot fell headlong for a depth of 

 about 1000 feet. Like most Himalayan ruminants, 

 goral usually feed in the morning and evening, 

 taking a long siesta during the mid-day heat ; but 

 on dull and cloudy days they may be seen abroad 

 at all hours. The period of gestation is about six 

 months, and the kids, of which there is usually one at 

 a birth, are born during May and June. Being such 

 common animals, it is surprising to find that up to the 

 year 1896 only a single example of these gorals had 

 been exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens ; at 



152 



