MAMMALS. THE WILD YAK. 187 



the kuku-yaman [Ovis Nakoor), the antelopes 

 called orongo and ata (Aittilope Hodgsoni and 

 A. pic Исак da), the kulan or wild ass {Eqtius 

 Kiang), the grey wolf {Lupus Chancd). Besides 

 which are the bear (Ursus sp.) the manul [Felts 

 тапиП)} the fox {Canis viclpes), the steppe fox 

 (Canis Corsac), the hare [Lcpiis tolai), the marmot 

 [Arctomys sp.) and two kinds of lagomys [Lagomys 

 sp.). 



We had already seen some of these animals in 

 Kan-su and Koko-nor : I will, therefore, confine the 

 following remarks to those which are peculiar to 

 Tibet, amongst which the wild yak or long-haired 

 ox of course takes the first place. 



This handsome animal is of extraordinary size 

 and beauty, measuring when full grown eleven feet 

 in length, exclusive of its bushy tail, which is three 

 feet long ; its height at the hump is six feet ; girth 

 round the centre of the body eleven feet, and its 

 weight ten or eleven hundredweight. The head is 

 adorned with ponderous horns, two feet nine inches 

 long, and one foot four inches in circumference at 

 the root. The body is covered with thick black 

 hair, which in the old males assumes a chestnut 

 colour on the back and upper parts of the sides, and 

 a deep fringe of black hair hangs down from the 



1 We ourselves did not see either the manul or the bear, but we 

 were told about them by some hunters in Tsaidam ; and I once saw a 

 footprint in the snow, which the guide declared to be that of the manul. 

 (See Supplementary Note.) Bears were dormant for the winter, but it 

 is said they are very numerous in the Burkhan Buddha and Shuga 

 ranges. Judging from the description given us, they must be of the 

 same species as the bear of Kan-su. 



