tro THE INDIAN FAUNA 



places broken up by ravines, it is rare on alluvial plains, but more common among 



sand-hills and scattered trees. Like other gazelles, it gets over the ground very 



quickly, and can seldom be overtaken by dogs. When startled, it does not jump 



in the air like the blackbuck, but stands hissing and stamping with its fore-feet 



on the ground. It is closely related to the edmi gazelle of northern Africa, as well 



as to two south Arabian species (G. arabica and G. muscatensis). 



The blackbuck (Antilope cervicajyra) inhabits the treeless plains 

 Blackbuck . . 



of India from the foot of the Himalaya to the neighbourhood of Cape 



Comorin, and from the Punjab to Lower Assam, but is not found either in Ceylon 



or east of the Bay of Bengal, or down the Malabar coast from Surat southwards. 



It is not met with in the marshy delta of the Ganges, but is abundant on the plains 



near the shore at Midnapur as well as in Orissa. 



The blackbuck, which is the only representative of its genus, is of moderate 

 size, standing 32 inches at the shoulder, and measuring 48 inches to the root of the 

 tail, the latter, which is compressed, measuring 7 inches. The hoofs are pointed, 

 and the knees furnished with tufts of long hair. As a rule only the males are 

 horned, the horns being close together at the base, and then diverging to 

 form a more or less closely wound spiral. They are circular in section, ringed 

 throughout, and at the tips from 7 to 20 inches apart. They do not generally 

 exceed 20 inches in length, but in Rajputana and Harriana are longer, and in some 

 cases measure over 28 inches. Full-grown bucks are blackish brown above, and 

 in old age almost black, though the nape remains reddish brown, and the face is 

 blackish brown. There is a white streak below the ears, and the eyes are sur- 

 rounded by white circles. Does and young bucks are fawn-colour above and at 

 the sides, and like the older bucks, white below, in sharp contrast. Old bucks show 

 a pale streak along the line of division between the dark and the light areas. This 

 antelope lives in herds, sometimes numbering thousands of every sex and age, but 

 oftener consisting of from about ten to thirty, or even fifty, females and fawns, 

 accompanied by one old buck. Sometimes two or three young bucks of the same 

 Bandy colour as the does associate with the herd, but these are generally driven 

 away by the old bucks, and form parties by themselves. 



Like most animals dwelling on open plains, blackbuck have apparently no 

 fixed times for grazing, although they are in the habit of resting at mid-day. 

 They seem to frequent the neighbourhood of water not so much for the sake of 

 (I r'm king, but for the fresh green grass growing in such situations. 



Like the African springbok, the blackbuck is in the habit of occasionally 

 Leaping into the air, and this habit is generally indulged in by all the members of 

 a herd one after the other when they scent danger, and are about to take to flight. 

 Many blackbuck are taken by the natives in nets and snares; and they are also 

 caught by means of a tame buck which, with a cord attached, is induced to mingle 

 with the. herd. In the fight which is sure to ensue between this buck and the 

 leader of the herd, the latter is captured. 

 Four Homed The four-horned antelope (Tetraceros quadricornis) is the only 



Antelope. hollow-horned ruminant furnished with two pairs of horns. These 

 appendages, which are confined to the bucks, are short, smooth, and conical in shape, 

 one pair being situated between the eyes, and the other behind them. The hind pair 



