ORDER ARTIODACTYLA I EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 631 



The following remarks by Stockley (1936, pp. 140-144) apply, at 

 least for the most part, to the present subspecies : 



The markhor of the Pir Panjal were the first to receive the attentions of 

 the Nimrods of last century, and shooting ethics being in a crude state . . . , 

 they suffered severely and were reduced almost to vanishing point. The 

 Maharajahs of Poonch State, the north-eastern boundary of which is the 

 crest of the Pir Panjal, began to preserve them strictly, and they are now 

 once more in considerable numbers and would be plentiful if it were not for 

 poaching Gujars. The heads from this area have also begun to improve 

 greatly, and three over 50 inches were shot in 1932 and '33. . . . 



Going north again, the next range holding markhor is the Samshibri, with 

 the Slakalla spur on its north side. Unfortunately neglect to carry out real, 

 as opposed to nominal, preservation, has led to the practical extermination of 

 the markhor in this area at the hands of local poachers, and it is not until 

 the Indus is crossed, and Chilas reached, that there are markhor in any numbers. 

 Nanga Parbat may be considered the hub of the markhor world, and this 

 grand and forbidding mountain has markhor on every side of it. . . . 



The left bank nullahs [on the Indus] from Rondu to Bulachi have been 

 almost cleaned out by poachers, as there is a village in, or at the mouth of, 

 every one .... 



Gilgit is almost entirely a close preserve of the garrison there, and few out- 

 side that small and select body have had the opportunity to a shoot in that 

 excellent district. 



The Bombay Natural History Society writes (in litt., December, 

 1936) that Markhor, while still plentiful, have suffered in certain 

 areas in Kashmir. A survey in the Mogi Nullah, Kaj-i-nag Moun- 

 tains, carried out by a reputable observer and naturalist in 1924 and 

 again in 1934, revealed that a serious depletion had taken place 

 there. 



Calml Markhor 



CAPRA FALCONERI MEGACEROS Hutton 



Capra Megaceros Hutton, Calcutta Jour. Nat. Hist., vol. 2, p. 535, 1842. (From 

 Button's account it is difficult to make out any more definite type locality 

 than Afghanistan; this is restricted by Blanford (1891, p. 507) to "near 

 Cabul.") 



FIGS.: Hutton, op. cit., pi. 20; Wolf, Zool. Sketches, ser. 2, pi. 20, 1867; Blan- 

 ford, 1891, p. 507, fig. 166; Royal Nat. Hist., vol. 2, p. 251. fig., 1894; 

 Lydekker, 1900, p. 117, fig. 19; Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1902, vol. 2, pi. 27 

 (intermediate between megaceros and cashmiriensis) ; Lydekker, 1913c, 

 vol. 1, p. 168, fig. 43; Ward, 1935, p. 266, fig.; Pocock, 1937, p. 680, fig. 



This Markhor, having escaped the attention of European hunters 

 over much of its range in Afghanistan, perhaps survives in better 

 numbers than the other subspecies. Definite information, however, 

 is lacking. 



"The horns . . . diverge gradually from the base so as to form 

 the capital letter V. They are spirally twisted, but differ much in 



