MOSCHUS. 553 



grizzled grey spots in lines on the back. The young are spotted 

 with white, or yellowish white ; those from Kashmir are much 

 paler in colour than Eastern Himalayan individuals. 



Dimensions. Height of male at shoulder about 20 inches, at 

 croup about 22 ; length, nose to rump, 36; tail without hair 1| to 

 2 ; ear 4 : weight of a female about 20 Ibs. A male skull measures 

 5-15 in basal length, 2-7 in breadth across the orbits. 



Distribution. Throughout the Himalayas as far west as Grilgit, 

 at elevations exceeding 8000 feet (in Sikhim in the summer above 

 12,000), in forest and brushwood. Also in Tibet and other parts of 

 Central Asia as far north as Siberia. 



Habits. The musk-deer is a solitary animal, more than two 

 being seldom if ever seen together. It frequents wooded slopes, 

 often very steep, and, as Kinloch says, resembles a hare in its 

 habits, making a " form " in which it remains throughout the day, 

 and moving about to feed in the mornings and evenings. It is 

 very active and surefooted, its large lateral hoofs apparently giving 

 it the means of holding on to slippery and precipitous rocks, and 

 it progresses by a series of bounds, sometimes of great extent. It is 

 by no means shy where it has not been much hunted. 



The food of the musk-deer is, by Adams, said to consist of 

 grass and lichens, by Kinloch of leaves and flowers. This animal's 

 fur is admirably adapted as a defence against cold. According to 

 Adams, no cry has been observed, even in the rutting-season ; the 

 only sound this animal has been known to make is a series of 

 harsh screams that it utters when captured. 



The breeding-habits were observed by Hodgson in a pair kept 

 in captivity at Katmandu. The rutting-season was in January, the 

 period of gestation about 160 days, and a single young one was 

 born in June. Two are sometimes, but not usually, produced; 

 the young procreate before they are a year old. 



The musk, the contents of the abdominal gland, is only 

 developed at the rutting-seasou, and is a brown soft mass with a 

 peculiar well-known odour. An ounce is about the average pro- 

 duce of one animal. Many musk-deer are snared in nooses, others 

 shot to secure the " musk-pod," which is an article of commerce. 

 The flesh of the animal is excellent, and free from any musky 

 flavour. 



