240 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



XVIII. GAUR [GavcEus Gaums) \ 



Native names: ^ Gaor,^ ^ Gaori-gai'' ; generally, ^ Gail,'' Chota Nagpur ; \ 

 '■ Khulgay Western GhatUs ; ^ Karti,'' Mysore ; * Mithati,' Bhootati. 



Gaur, or bison, ^ as they are usually called, are found in ! 

 suitable localities, from the Terai, through Bhootan, Assam ! 

 and Burmah, to the Malayan Peninsula and throughout Central ; 

 and Southern India, but do not extend to Ceylon. The 28th ' 

 degree of North latitude seems their extreme northern limit, ; 

 otherwise it would be difficult to account for their absence in ! 

 what appears to be such thoroughly suitable ground as the - 

 Sewalik range and the lower slopes of the Himalayas north of | 

 this limit, although elephants, whose food and requirements \ 

 are almost identical with those of the gaur, are plentiful there.] 

 Hilly country, covered with extensive tracts of forest ani 

 bamboo jungle, is the likeliest ground for bison, though the 

 occasionally visit the low ground at the foot of the hills, parti- 

 cularly when driven from the higher ridges by flies and th 

 want of suitable pasture. Bison vary much in their habit 

 according to locality ; their migrations from high to low ground 

 being mainly influenced by the rainfall (which regulates the 

 growth of grass) and the prevalence of flies in their districtl 

 During the latter part of the rainy season, when the grass ha^ 

 grown high and coarse and flies are most numerous, Sanderson ! 

 remarks that bison move into the thinner jungle at the foot \ 

 of the hills. Forsyth says that in Central India bison retire to j 

 the tops of the hills at that season. \ 



The general colour of an old bull bison is a dark brown, almost i 

 black, with a light slaty patch on the forehead, a grey muzzle, |i 

 and the legs, from above the knees and hocks downwards, aj; 

 yellowish white, the inside of the forearms and thighs beingjj 

 chestnut ; the head is particularly handsome, and well-bred-h' 

 looking, the high frontal which rises above the base of the 



^ There are no true bison in India, both gaur and buffalo having thirtee: 

 pairs of ribs, while the true bison has fourteen pairs. 



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