ORDER ARTIODACTYLA I EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 465 



(1939, p. 282) records an antler measuring 41 inches "on the chord 

 from the anterior base of the burr to the tip of the most distant 

 point." 



This is one of the rarest of deer in museum collections. Flerov 

 (1930, pp. 115-116) lists six specimens (four in Leningrad, one in 

 London, one in Calcutta) from the following localities: Nan Shan; 

 southern Koko Nor mountains; River Di-chu, eastern Tibet; and 

 200 miles northeast of Lhassa. Rowland Ward (1935, p. 11) men- 

 tions two specimens from central Tibet in Lord Rothschild's col- 

 lection. Besides these, Schafer (1937, p. 208) secured three speci- 

 mens in the vicinity of Batang, near the Szechwan-Tibet boundary. 



Przewalski's party obtained the first two specimens in the western 

 portion of the Nan Shan in 1879 (Przewalski, 1884, p. 76). Dr. 

 W. G. Thorold obtained two more (the types of "Cervus thoroldi") 

 in 1891 about 200 miles northeast of Lhassa. Bower, who was 

 Thorold's companion, writes as follows (1894, pp. 290-291) : 



"This grand stag ... is found in Eastern Tibet from the neigh- 

 bourhood of Tsuk Sun Dong Gong [about lat. 31 40' N., long. 

 93 30' E.] to Garthok [south of Batang], but does not appear to be 

 numerous anywhere. It is found in the scrub jungle just above the 

 forest line at elevations of about 14,000 feet. The herd of which 

 Dr. Thorold got two, consisted of six, all males. According to the 

 natives they wander about a great deal, being found in different 

 parts of the country according to the time of year." 



Wilson (1913, p. 163) writes as follows concerning the "Hung Lu- 

 tsze" (Red Deer) of the Chinese (which is doubtless the present 

 species) on the eastern borders of Tibet: "Perhaps the commonest of 

 the three [deer] found in these regions. It ranges from the Yunnan 

 border northward to south-western Kansu and possibly beyond." 



He also contributes (pp. 161-163) the following account of the 

 Chinese trade in deer horns: 



[The three deer species (Cervus albirostis, C. macneilli, and Rusa unicolor 

 dejeani) of the Chino-Tibetan borderland] are sadly persecuted for their 

 horns when in velvet. Fortunately, it is the males only that are so keenly 

 sought after, otherwise they must have become extinct ere this. The full 

 extent of this trade it is impossible to determine, but . . . speaking of the 

 trade of Tachienlu ... Sir Alexander Hosie says: "Deer horns in velvet, 

 to the value of Tls. 30,000, are exported annually." 



Mr. W. C. Haines-Watson gives 1500 catties of Deer horns in velvet, 

 valued at Tls. 30,000, as the annual export from Kuan Hsien. ... He puts 

 the annual export . . . from Sungpan at Tls. 15,000. There are other places 

 like Chungpa, Kiung Chou, and Sui Fu where a large annual export of Deer 

 horns in velvet obtains, but no figures are obtainable. However, the above 

 is sufficient to indicate how great a slaughter of stags there must be annually 

 in these regions. At the lowest estimate at least a thousand stags are killed 

 every year for their horns in the velvet. 



The Chinese consider these horns ... an extraordinarily valuable medi- 



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