shaggy mane enveloping his neck and throat, he 

 looks truly a noble animal as with long, widely spread- 

 ing horns, he stalks proudly in the midst of his 

 seraglio ; or at times when, a bachelor's life possess- 

 ing greater charms for him, he emerges alone at 

 eventide into a forest glade, or on to some grassy 

 slope, from the dense cover in which he loves to 

 dream through the hot hours of an Indian day. 



In colour he is dark brown, with yellow on the 

 chin, on the inner surface of the limbs, under the 

 tail, and on the buttocks, the hinds and young 

 stags being of a lighter hue. 



The sambur is found in all large forest tracts and 

 upon all considerable hill ranges, from well within 

 the Himalayas, to the extreme South of India. He 

 affects impartially both hill and plain, and is equally 

 at home in both. 



The normal horns of this species have each but 

 two points on the top and one brow-antler, but 

 occasionally additional points occur. The stag 

 does not grow his full number of points until he 

 is four years old, and his horns require to increase 

 for at least three or four years after that age before 

 they will be worth bagging. Once the latter have 

 attained their full development, they are, with but 

 rare exceptions, shed annually in the spring with 

 remarkable simultaneity. By about October or 

 November in most localities, the new horns have 

 been rubbed free of velvet, and then the rutting 

 season begins. 



Upon one occasion in Mysore I killed, by a 

 running shot, a large sambur stag who was so near 



245 



