THE TAHR AND THE NILGIRI GOAT 845 



r'" 



The Nilgiri wild goat (//. hylocrius} the warri-atu of the Tamils, 

 and the Nilgiri ibex of English sportsmen is a southern species in- 

 habiting the Nilgiri and Animalaya hills, and the so-called Western Ghats as far 

 south as Cape Comorin. It is generally found at elevations of from four thousand 

 to six thousand feet above the sea, but occasionally somewhat lower down. This 

 species may be distinguished at a glance from the tahr by the form of the horns, and 

 the absence of the shaggy mane which forms such a conspicuous feature on the 

 fore quarters of the males of the latter. Instead of being flattened externally, the 

 horns of this goat have their outer side highly convex, and tftus have a distinct an- 

 terior surface, internally to which there is a slight ridge; moreover, for some dis- 

 tance the two horns run parallel to one another, after which they diverge gradually. 

 The hair is short, thick, and coarse; the males having a short, stiff mane on the back 

 of the neck and withers. The general color is dark yellowish brown above, with a 

 darker stripe down the back; while the under parts are paler. The females and 

 young show a more or less decided gray tinge. In height old males of the Nilgiri 

 goat stand from three and one-fourth feet to three' and one-half feet at the shoulder, 

 the horns measuring from twelve to sixteen inches in length along the curve, al- 

 though in one instance a length of seventeen inches has been recorded. 



Writing of the habits of this species, Mr. Blanford observes that "the Nilgiri 

 goat is found usually in herds of from five or six to fifty or sixty among the crags 

 and rocky precipices that border the Nilgiris and other high ranges in the extreme 

 south of India. It keeps above the forest, and but rarely enters woods. I have 

 more than once seen these animals feeding on the grassy hills at the top of the Kun- 

 dahs west of the Nilgiris, but their usual haunts are the grassy slopes and precipi- 

 tous crags on the edges of the plateau; they feed on the former in the mornings and 

 evenings, and rest on ledges among the cliffs during the day. They are quite as 

 wary and sharp-sighted as tahr or markhoor, and just as nimble and alert on precipi- 

 tous ground. An old doe, as with other goats, usually acts as sentinel to the herd, 

 and they always appear to suspect danger from below and not from above. ' ' The 

 young appear to be born almost at any season of the year, and it is stated that there 

 are generally two at a birth. 



How this species originally reached its present habitat, so remote from that of 

 its allies, is not very easy to understand; but the occurrence of a fossil goat appar- 

 ently allied to this group in Perim island, in the Gulf of Cambay, may eventually 

 aid in solving the problem. 



In regard to the present distribution of this goat, a recent writer observes that 

 it is still fairly abundant on the Animalaya and Travancore hills; but has sadly de- 

 creased elsewhere owing to the war of extermination waged against it by the native 

 pot hunter and European shooter, who have alike been indefatigable in slaying the 

 does and young all seasons of the year. The ibex, as it has been locally misnamed, 

 has become so scarce on the Nilgiris that its destruction has been wholly prohibited 

 since last year, but it is feared that this prohibition has been effected too late to pre- 

 vent the extinction of the few now left, for the leopards are most deadly and per- 

 sistent enemies, and it is a very difficult matter for a small herd to hold its own and 

 increase in spite of their depredations. 



