The Sambar 



and Ceylon these appendages are dropped by the stags 

 only every second or third year. Such, at any rate, is 

 the testimony of those who have had opportunities of 

 studying these deer in their native wilds. March is 

 stated to be the month in which the shedding generally 

 takes place in the plains, while in the Himalaya April is 

 the more usual season. In the plains the master-stags 

 call during October and November, and during that 

 season these deer collect in larger herds than at other 

 times of year. The call of the stags is a loud metallic 

 bellow, to which the hinds reply by 9, kind of grunting 

 low. The fawns in the plains of India are born during 

 June and July, and it is rarely that twins occur. In 

 the herd of sambar at Woburn Abbey the fawns are, 

 however, produced at all times of the year, the same 

 being the case with the shedding of the antlers, which 

 appear to be dropped annually ; and it may be sug- 

 gested, that with these sambar the time of shedding the 

 antlers depends on the season of the year at which each 

 individual came into the world. Whether this irregu- 

 larity in the season of birth and the consequent 

 difference in the time of year at which the antlers are 

 shed is due to the abnormal environment of the Woburn 

 herd, or whether it can in any degree be matched in a 

 state of nature, remains to be proved. During the 

 pairing-season old stags stalk about with erected tail, 

 outstretched muzzle, and everted face-glands, and are 

 by no means pleasant-looking animals ; while in 

 captivity, at any rate, they are highly dangerous. 



With regard to sambar-stalking, it is stated in the 

 Badminton Library that " the sportsman should be on 

 his ground just before daylight, and work slowly 

 through the forest at the edge of the feeding-grounds, 

 taking the bottom of the hill if there are crops on the 

 plain below. Presently, if there are any sambar about, 

 he will hear their trumpet-like call, and, creeping on, 

 see two or three dark forms moving among the trees. 

 ... If the sportsman fails to intercept any stags on 



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