GAZELLA. 527 



ascending to the root of the tail ; tail nearly black, knee-brushes 

 varying, often dark brown ; a whitish streak down each side of the 

 face ; middle of face from base of horns to nostrils darker rufous, 

 sometimes with a dusky patch above the nose ; a rufous stripe out- 

 side each pale facial band. 



Dimensions. An adult male measured 26 inches high at the 

 shoulder, 28-5 at the croup, nose to rump 41-5, tail 8-5, ear 6, 

 horns 11 (Elliot). Weight of bucks about 50 lb., of does 35 to 40. 

 Basal length of a male skull 6-75, orbital breadth 3'6. Horns 

 measured in front along the curve are usually 10 to 12 inches 

 long, with a girth of 4 at the base ; the largest recorded dimensions 

 in males are 14 and 5, the longest known female horns measure 

 8 inches. 



Distribution. Throughout the plains and low hills of North- 

 western and Central India, extending throughout Baluchistan to 

 the eastern shore of the Persian Gulf . This gazelle is found in a 

 considerable part of the Peninsula, ranging in suitable localities 

 throughout the Punjab., Sind, Tiajputana, the N.W. Provinces, and 

 the whole Bombay Presidency with the exception of the Western 

 Ghats and Konkan ; also Central India as far east as Palamow 

 and Western Sarguja, and the Central Provinces as far east as 

 Seoni and Chanda, together with the Hyderabad territories, and 

 the Madras Presidency to a little south of the Kistna, gazelles 

 being found at Anantapur, south of Kurnool, and in Northern 

 Mysore. 



Varieties. G. fiisdfrons was described from a doe with distinctly, 

 though not prominently ringed horns, 7*25 inches long, and with 

 the dark portions of the face dark brown, obtained at Jalk in 

 Northern Baluchistan. Sir O. B. St. John, after long search, 

 obtained what he justly concluded must be the male, and this 

 proved to be G. bennetti. The rather pale form of this gazelle 

 from the Indian desert and Sind has been distinguished as Gazella 

 cJiristii, but is perfectly identical with the Central Indian type. 



Habits. The Indian gazelle is far less gregarious than the Indian 

 antelope, and is most commonly seen in small parties of from two 

 to six, though I have found from ten to twenty associating in a herd. 

 It keeps much to waste ground, especially where that is broken up 

 by ravines, but it is seldom seen on alluvial plains, and it haunts 

 cultivation less than the antelope. It is frequently found amongst 

 scattered bushes or thin tree-jungle, and may be met with on undu- 

 lating ground even on the top of hills ; it is commonly found 

 amongst sand-hills, and is nowhere so abundant as in parts of the 

 Indian desert. It lives on grass and the leaves of bushes, and I 

 believe never drinks, for it is common in tracts where there is no 

 water except from deep wells ; and although I was on the look out 

 for some years, and saw the tracks of almost every common wild 

 animal at the pools in stream-beds, the only water remaining in 

 many places in the hot season, I never saw the easily recognized 

 prints of the gazelle's hoofs. It is, however, fond of the green 

 grass near water. 



