THE GAUR 767 



Distribution ^ e geographical range of the gaur is extensive, Comprising all the 

 larger forest regions of India from Cape Comorin to the foot of the 

 Northeastern Himalayas, but excluding Ceylon. To the northwest its limits in 

 India are marked, according to Mr. Blanford, by the valley of the Narbada river; 

 while in the grass jungles of the Ganges valley the gaur is met with only along the 

 skirts of the Himalayas. Eastward the range of the gaur extends from Nipal 

 through the hilly districts on the south of Assam into Burma, and thence as far 

 south as the Malay Peninsula, where it is known to the natives as the sladong. It 

 has been stated that the gaur occurs in Siam, but this requires confirmation. 



The gaur prefers hilly districts to the plains, and in India is more 

 generally found at elevations of from two thousand to five thousand 

 feet than in the low country. While aged bulls are generally or invariably solitary 

 in their habits, guar, as a rule, collect together in small herds of about a dozen in- 

 dividuals, although the number may be increased to twenty or thirty, and one 

 instance is recorded where the number in a herd was estimated at not less than one 

 hundred head. Such an unusual gathering was, however, probably but temporary, 

 and due to the scarcity of pasture. Each herd is governed by an old bull; the other 

 members of that sex present being always younger animals. The best account of 

 the habits of the gaur is by G. P. Sanderson, from whose work the following ex- 

 tracts are taken, with the substitution of the word gaur for bison. 



The gaur living in herds ' ' are shy and retiring in their habits, and retreat at 

 once if intruded upon by man. They avoid the vicinity of his dwellings, and never 

 visit patches of cultivation in the jungle. The gaur is thus an animal which would 

 soon become extinct before the advance of civilization were the latter rapid, or were 

 the jungles in which he roams limited in extent; but his exemption from serious 

 diminution, except in isolated positions, is secured by the existence of the continu- 

 ous jungles of the Western Ghats and other forest ranges. Gaur, though found in 

 the low-country jungles, are very partial to high and well-wooded tracts and their 

 activity in hilly ground is astonishing. A herd scrambles up a steep hillside 

 almost with the facility of a troop of deer, or thunders down a slope into the thicker 

 cover of a valley when alarmed, at a rapid trot or free gallop." 



The food of the gaur, according to the same writer, consists mainly of grass, 

 but also comprises the leaves and young shoots of bamboo, as well as the bark of cer- 

 tain trees. Gaur ' ' feed till about nine in the morning, or later in cloudy and rainy 

 weather; they then rest, lying down in bamboo cover or light forest till the after- 

 noon, when they rise to graze and drink; they also invariably lie down for some 

 hours during the night. Although certainly quick in detecting an intruder, gaur 

 can scarcely be considered naturally wary animals, as they seldom encounter alarms 

 in their native haunts. Unsophisticated herds will frequently allow several shots to 

 be fired at them before making off, and even then probably will not go far. But if 

 subjected to frequent disturbance they quickly become as shy as deer, and if alarmed 

 by the approach of man they retreat without loss of time." Except when wounded 

 and in such a position as to be unable to escape, Sanderson states that he has never 

 known gaur belonging to a herd to attack human beings. Gaur are very similar in 

 their general habits to elephants, and herds of both may at times be found feeding in 



