IIU TUE HIGHLANDS OF CENTRAL INDIA. 



They would have us call him the Oaur, which appears 

 to be his vernacular name in the Nepalese forests. I 

 would, however, put in a plea for the retention, by 

 sportsmen at least, of the name "Indian Bison." In 

 the first place it fully accomplishes the object of all 

 names in distinctly denoting the animal meant. Ever 

 since he became known to Europeans he has been so 

 called, and no other animal has ever shared the name. 

 Then his structural distinction from the true bisontine 

 group appears to consist chiefly, if not solely, in his 

 having thirteen instead of fourteen or fifteen pairs of 

 ribs, and somewhat flattened instead of cylindrical horns 

 (Jerdon). Lastly, there is no vernacular name uni- 

 versally applicable to him, " Gaur " being unknown in 

 Central India ; while his occasional Central Indian name 

 of Bliinsa (with Bun or " wild " prefixed to it) is almost 

 identical in sound with " bison," and is no doubt derived 

 from the same root. If you ask for " bison " in these 

 forests where he is known (and speak a little through 

 your nose at the same time), you will certainly be shown 

 Gavceus Gaums and no other animal. 



The respective ranges of this animal and the wild 

 bufialo {Buhrdus) have sometimes been defined by 

 sportsmen in the saying that the bison is not found 

 north, nor the buffalo south, of the Narbada river. Like 

 most apophthegms, however, this contains little more 

 than a flavour of the truth. Not only does the bison 

 inhabit many parts of the Vindhya Mountains, directly 

 to the north of the Narbarla, but ho also stretches round 

 the source of that river and penetrates into the hills of 

 Chota-Nagpiir and Midnapiir, and crosses over to the 

 Nepalese Terae, and the hilly regions in the east of 

 Bengal. The wild bufialo also covers the whole of the 



