HOG-DEER — SWAMP-DEER 105 



a rule exceed a foot in length, but in a few very rare cases are known to attain 

 19 inches. In colour the hog-deer is more or less of a reddish or yellowish brown, 

 with a whitish speckling or grizzling, owing to the white tip of each hair ; below 

 the colour is darker brown. In summer the insides of the ears and the under surface 

 of the tail are white, and the general colour is paler and more or less distinctly sp< >tte< 1 

 with pale brown or whitish. It has been doubted whether full-grown hoc-deer 

 were ever spotted, but specimens in captivity have been observed to assume these 

 spots every summer. Young hog-deer up to the age of six months are spotted all 

 over. 



The para inhabits alluvial plains, to which it is almost entirely confined. In 

 many grassy districts it exists in great numbers, keeping principally among the 

 long grass mingled with tamarisk and other bushes, which form the favourite 

 haunt of the Indian rhinoceros and buffalo. Although a small jungle often shelters 

 a considerable number, more than two or three of these unsociable animals are 

 seldom seen together, and they are generally found alone. By no means graceful 

 in their movements, hog-deer run in a clumsy manner, holding the head very low ; 

 yet they require a good horse to overtake them. The pairing-season is said to be in 

 September and October, and the period of gestation eight months. 



The barasingha or swamp-deer (C. clwvauceli) inhabits the foot of 

 Swamp-Deer. ° x x 



the Himalaya from upper Assam to the Kyarda Dun west of the 

 Jumna ; and is found all over Assam, as well as in some parts of the Bengal 

 Sandarbans, and at Bahawalpur and Rohri in upper Sind; it also occurs in the 

 district between the Ganges and Godaviri River. These deer likewise inhabit 

 certain parts of the valley of the Narbada as far as Bastar and its neighbourhood 

 to the south, and are also spread over the central provinces in the same tracts as 

 the dammar tree and the red jungle-fowl. The barasingha (which must not be 

 confounded with the species thus miscalled in Kashmir) attains a shoulder-height 

 of about 45 inches, and has a leno;th of almost 5 feet, the tail measuring some 

 5 inches. The ordinary length of the antlers is 30 inches, but a specimen of MS inches 

 is known. The antlers are smooth, with the brow-tine forming almost a right 

 angle with the beam, and often carrying small snags on the upper side ; the bez-tine 

 and trez-tine are absent, but the two branches of the main fork of the beam again 

 subdivide, so that there are at least four points on each side, and frequently more. 

 The somewhat woolly hair is rather thin, and forms a mane on the neck. In winter 

 the colour is yellowish brown above, and paler below, but 111 summer it is a rich 

 reddish brown, more or less distinctly marked along the back with one or two rows 

 of whitish spots. The under-parts are white or whitish. The hinds and fawns are 

 paler coloured, the latter being fully spotted. 



The barasingha does not live in the forest, but on its outskirts, in plains or 

 undulating country covered with grass and a few trees, and hardly deserves the 

 name of swamp-deer commonly applied to it in certain parts of north-eastern 

 Bengal. In winter these deer wander about in herds of from thirty to fifty or 

 more, but in spring solitary bucks are often met with. They feed principally on 

 grass, and are apparently much less nocturnal than the sambar, being often seeD 

 grazing late in the forenoon and again early in the afternoon. They rest in the 

 shade at noon, and, if we may judge from their habits in captivity, are fond of the 



