2б THE ALPINE HARE. 



ponied) ; the latter, however, is mostly seen in the 

 country of the Chakhars, i.e. on the south-eastern 

 border of the Gobi. 



Of mammalia peculiar to this desert only two 

 characteristic kinds can be mentioned : the Alpine 

 hare and antelope. 



The Alpine hare (Lagomys Ogotono), or, as the 

 Mongols call it, the Ogolono, belongs to the order of 

 rodents, and is from the form of its teeth regarded 

 as closely allied to the hare. It is about the size of 

 the common rat and burrows in the earth, invariably 

 choosing for its habitat the grass steppes, particularly 

 where the ground is uneven, and the valleys in the 

 mountains of Trans-Baikalia and the north of Mon- 

 golia. It is never found in the barren desert, and, 

 therefore, does not inhabit the central and southern 

 Gobi.i 



The ogotono is a curious little animal of a sociable 

 disposition, and where one of its burrows is found 

 some tens, hundreds, or even thousands more will 

 invariably be near it. In winter, when the cold is 

 intense, they never leave their holes,^ but as soon 

 as the temperature becomes warmer they come out 

 and sit at the entrance sunning themselves, or 

 scamper from one burrow to another. The poor 

 ogotono has so many enemies that it must be con- 

 stantly on the look-out for danger. It will some- 

 times only venture half-way out of its hole, raising 



'^ The ogotono is very numerous in the grass plains of South- 

 eastern Mongolia. 



^ These little animals arc never dormant in winter. 



