28 STEPPE ANTELOPE. 



summer with rain, or if there be no rainfall, with 

 dew, which, however, is rare ; but the question is 

 what does it find to drink in spring and autumn, 

 when for months together no rain or snow falls on 

 the plateau and the atmosphere is excessively dry ? 



This little animal is found as far south as the 

 northern bend of the Hoang-ho, beyond which it is 

 replaced by other kinds. 



The dzeren {Antilope giitturosa) is a species of 

 antelope, about the size of the common goat, cha- 

 racteristic of the Gobi desert, especially of its eastern 

 or less barren part. It is also met with in Western 

 Mongolia, ^ and in the environs of Lake Koko-nor, 

 which is the southern limit of its distribution. 



These antelopes are gregarious, their herds some- 

 times numbering several hundred or even thousand 

 head in those parts where food is plentiful, but they 

 are most frequently seen in smaller numbers of 

 fifteen to thirty or forty head ; although they avoid 

 the neighbourhood of man, they always select the 

 best pasturage of the desert, and, like the Mon- 

 gols, migrate from place to place in search of food, 

 sometimes travelling great distances, especially in 

 summer, when the drought drives them to the rich 

 pasture lands of Northern Mongolia, and as far as 

 the confines of Trans- Baikalia. The deep snows of 

 winter often compel them to travel several hundred 

 miles in search of places almost or entirely free from 

 snow. They belong exclusively to the plains, and 



' There arc no dzerens in Ala-shan on account of the utterly desert 

 and barren character of that country. 



