OXEN. iSi 



Like the gaur, the gayal is essentially an inhabitant of hill- 

 forests, and the facility with which it will traverse rocky country is 

 little short of marvellous for an animal of such bulky proportions. 



Gayal have been exhibited in England alive, but none of them were 

 fully-grown bulls, and consequently failed to give an adequate idea of the 

 magnihcent proportions attained by that sex. Adult bulls have, however, been 

 shown from time to time in the Zoological Gardens at Calcutta, and were most 

 splendid animals, with glossy coats of the deepest shade of brown. Gayal will 

 breed with the humped cattle of India, and the product of such a union born 

 in the London Zoological Gardens was again crossed with a bull American bison. 

 A pure-bred gayal calf produced in the same menagerie was of a light brownish 

 red colour, with the throat, chest, and the inner sides of the legs white. 



The Banting (Bos sondaicus). 



The banting, or Javan ox, differs very considerably from both the preceding 



species, and serves to connect them with the typical oxen. The most distinctive 



feature of this ox is the large white patch on the hind-quarters, which extends 



upwards to the root of the tail, although not surrounding it. Another peculiarity 



of the banting is that the cow has the head, body, and upper portions of the limbs 



of the same reddish brown, almost chestnut colour as the calves. The general 



build of the animal is slighter than that of the gaur, the ridge on the back is much 



less developed, and the legs are proportionately longer. The head is also more 



elongated and pointed ; while the horns, which are cylindrical in the young, are 



relatively smaller. In the adult bull they are flattened at the base, and are much 



curved, the direction being at first outwards and upwards, while towards the tips 



they incline inwards and somewhat backwards. The tail descends below the hocks ; 



and the dewlap is of moderate size. The old bulls are black, with the exception of 



the white patch on the buttocks and the legs, from the knees and hocks downwards. 



The young calves, like those of the gayal, have the whole length of the outer 



surface of the limbs chestnut ; and they are also distinguished by a dark streak 



down the back. A full-grown bull banting from Java measured 5 feet 9i inches 



at the withers ; but Mr. Blanford states that the largest example recorded from 



Burma was only 5 feet 4 inches in height. 



The banting is exclusively confined to the regions lying to the 

 Distribution. to J . to ^ ° 



eastwards of the Bay of Bengal, occurring throughout Burma, and 



probably extending as far north as the hills to the eastwards of Chittagong, while 

 it also inhabits the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of Java, Bali, Borneo, and 

 probably Sumatra. That it also occurs in Siam is almost certain, but its exact range 

 in the Indo-Chinese countries has still to be determined. Large herds of domestic- 

 ated banting are kept by the Malays in Java, and also in the small island of Bali, 

 lying to the south-east. The herds in Bali are replenished by importation from 

 Java. The Malays speak of a wild ox under the name of the sapio, which 

 may prove to be a variety of the banting with ferruginous red instead of white 

 on the legs. 



It has already been noticed that the original colour of the wild ox or aurochs 



