ASIATIC BUFFALO — HUMPED CATTLE — INDIAN GAZELLE 109 



courage of the animal, is, however, unquestionable even in captivity, and a single 

 individual will not hesitate to charge an elephant, while a herd will attack a tiger 

 or any other dangerous beast-of-prey as soon as it appears on the scene. 



Tame as well as wild buffaloes are fond of bathing, and love to lie in shallow 

 water during the heat of the day, with only part of their heads above the surface. 

 The pairing-season for both the tame and the wild forms is the autumn. After ten 

 months, or perhaps a few days more, the cow brings forth one or two calves. It 

 is somewhat remarkable that the tame buffalo, which is kept for its milk and as a 

 beast of burden or draught, never associates with the humped Indian domesticated 

 cattle, although tame buffalo cows often pair with wild bulls of their own kind. 



The domesticated Indian humped cattle (B. indicus) differ from 

 ' European cattle, not only by the presence of the large hump on the 

 withers, but in colour, voice, and habits, the difference being so great that they 

 undoubtedly represent a distinct species, probably derived from the wild bantin 

 (Bos sondaicus) of the Malay countries ; the hump being a feature due to domesti- 

 cation. Humped cattle have a somewhat vaulted forehead, with uniformly curved 

 horns, long ears, and a large dew-lap occupying the whole length of the throat. 

 The colour varies in individuals and breeds, but, generally speaking, the legs have 

 a white ring round the fetlock. Most are of a pale fawn, some cream-colour, others 

 milk-white, while a few are red and brown, black, or even mottled. The differ- 

 ence in size is greater than that of colour, the largest of the so-called Bramini 

 bulls standing as high as a buffalo, while the smallest are scarcely larger than a 

 European calf about four weeks old. They are used by the natives of India 

 mainly for draught purposes ; but some of the bulls are specially protected by the 

 Hindus and allowed to wander at will in the bazars and about the towns. In 

 certain districts of India these cattle have reverted to a half -wild state, and on the 

 sea-coast near Nellore there is a large-sized half -wild breed with long horns. In 

 northern India the zebu, as this species is commonly called in Europe, seems to 

 have formed a variety of mixed breeds by crossing with ordinary European cattle 

 which have been introduced. 



The Indian gazelle (Gazella bennetti) inhabits the plains from 

 the river Kistna and Palamau, northwards throughout the United 

 Provinces, but is replaced in Baluchistan and eastern Persia by the allied 

 G. fuscifrons. Both sexes are horned, the horns of the bucks being ringed and 

 showing a very slight double curve, with the tips pointing upwards and not far 

 apart; those of the females are much smaller, smooth, and conical in shape. 

 The bucks have a shoulder-height of 26 inches, and a length of 41 h inches to the 

 root of the tail, the tail itself measuring 8 inches. Their horns measure from 10 

 to 12 inches. The colour is chestnut-brown above, becoming darker on the sides 

 and thighs, where the brown blends into the white of the lower-parts, the tail being 

 blackish. A white stripe runs down each side of the face, which is of a darker 

 reddish tint between the bases of the horns and the nostrils, and there is sometimes 

 a dark spot over the nose, and always a dark stripe on the outer edge of the light 

 stripes on the face. 



The Indian gazelle is generally seen in parties of from two to six, although 

 there are sometimes as many as twenty. Frequenting waste ground, especially in 



Indian Gazelle. 



