ii2 THE INDIAN FAUNA 



The length is 47 inches, including the tail which measures about 5 inches. The 

 females are considerably smaller. The hind horns never exceed 4J inches in 

 length, and the front pair range from 1 to 2 or sometimes 2| inches. This 

 antelope is found from the Punjab to Nepal, along the foot of the Himalaya and 

 probably in most of the wooded and mountainous parts of India. 



The nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus), which inhabits India from 

 the foot of the Himalaya to Mysore, is one of the larger antelopes, 

 and in general appearance (apart from the horns) somewhat resembles a horse 

 with an unusually thin neck. It is absent from Ceylon, and apparently also from 

 the Malabar coast and the neighbourhood of Bombay, although it reappears near 

 Madras. In certain parts of the United Provinces it is very common, as it 

 is in Gujerat, but it becomes much more rare farther south. The bulls have 

 a shoulder-height of 52 inches, and a length of about 80 inches to the root of the 

 tail, 18 to 25 inches being the length of the latter. The horns are generally 

 from 8 to 9 inches loner, but are absent in the much smaller females. The hind 



©' 



legs are shorter than the front pair ; the muzzle is narrow and ox-like, and both 

 sexes have a mane, although the males alone have a tuft of hair on the throat. 

 The horns, which are not very far apart, rise close behind the eyes, and are short, 

 smooth, pointed, almost straight, and directed upwards and backwards. In shape 

 they are conical at the tips, triangular at the base, flat behind, and ridged in front. 

 The general colour of the males is dark grey, with a shade of blue or brown ; the 

 mane, the tuft on the throat, the upper half of the ears, two spots on the inside of 

 the ears, and the end of the tail being black. A patch on the throat, two small spots 

 on the cheeks, the lips, chin, lower half of the ears, the under side of the tail, the 

 under-parts, and two rings just above the hoofs are white. The females and young 

 are rufous. The haunts of the nilgai are in dense bushes with a few low trees, or 

 where tracts of bushes alternate with grassy plains. These antelopes are found on 

 flat, as well as on undulating around and among the hills, but seldom in thick 

 jungle; and they often do great harm to cultivated ground. The bulls often live a 

 solitary life, but sometimes collect in small herds up to a dozen, or they may 

 accompany the larger herds of females and calves. 



Nilgai graze a good deal all day long and also browse on leaves, especially 

 those of the jujube tree. There are different opinions as to how often they drink, 

 some observers saying that they do so daily, and others every two or three days, 

 particularly in the cold season. When startled, the nilgai starts off at a heavy 

 gallop, going so quickly that a good horse is required to overtake it. The bulls are 

 sometimes caught and killed, but the cows are much speedier. The nilgai becomes 

 very tame in captivity, even to the extent of drawing light vehicles, carrying loads, 

 or as a riding animal. Both the four-horned antelope and the nilgai are related to 

 the bushbucks and elands of Africa. 



Hi Besides antelopes and oxen, the Indian fauna includes two species 



of short-horned goats or tahr, which are nearly allied to the goats, 

 but differ in the form and size of their horns and skull. The Himalayan, or 

 typical tahr (Hemitragus jemlaicas), is a shaggy ruminant inhabiting the forests 

 of the Himalaya from the Pir Panjal range to Sikhim, and characterised by the 

 long head, with a narrow straight face. The black horns are slightly wrinkled, 



