i 14 THE INDIAN FAUNA 



The Nilgiri tahr (H. hylocrius), the " ibex " of Indian sportsmen, 

 inhabits the Nilgiri and Anaimalai Hills of southern India, and the 

 Western Ghats down to Cape Comorin. The bucks stand from 39 to 42 inches 

 high, and measure about 50 inches in length, with a tail of about 3 inches long ; 

 the does are about 35 inches at the shoulder. The horns of the bucks measure 

 alono- the curve from 12 to 16 inches, and those of the females about 10 inches. 

 In both sexes the horns almost touch each other at the base, rise parallel for a 

 short distance, then bend backwards and diverge ; they are wrinkled, flat inside, 

 and convex outside, rounded at the back, and bluntly keeled on the front inner 

 edge. The hair is close, short, and coarse, that of the males forming a mane on the 

 neck and spine. The principal colour is dark yellowish brown, the coat of the 

 females and young being greyish. A dark stripe runs along the back, and the 

 lower-parts are lighter coloured than the rest. The faces and legs of the old 

 bucks are dark sepia-brown, almost black, with a wide, pale, whitish stripe on the 

 sides of the face. A spot behind the eye, the inner side of the legs (which are dark 

 brown in front), and a saddle-like patch on the back are similarly coloured, the 

 " saddle " becoming nearly white in old animals. 



With the exception of the Abyssinian ibex, the Nilgiri tahr is the only wild 

 goat living south of the northern temperate zone. Its haunts are somewhat 

 like those of the Himalayan tahr and wild goat, but of a more tropical character. 

 These tahr are generally found in herds of from five to fifty or more in ravines and 

 forest country. Sometimes they collect on the tops of grassy hills, but their 

 favourite haunts are grassy slopes and steep ridges well up the mountains. Every 

 morning and evening they graze on the mountain-meadows, and spend the rest of 

 the day among the rocks. The Nilgiri tahr is as active and wary as its Himalayan 

 cousin, but, in spite of its watchfulness, often falls a victim to the leopard, although 

 rarely to the tiger. 



Himalayan The gorals, which approach the goats on the one hand and the 



Gorais. antelopes on the other, may be recognised by their short cylindrical 

 horns, which are of almost equal size in both sexes, taper backwards in a gentle 

 curve, and, with the exception of the tips, are finely but irregularly ringed and 

 furrowed throughout. The two Himalayan species (Urotragus goral and U. 

 bedfordi) inhabit the outer ranges of the Himalaya, from Kashmir to Bhutan. 

 The former is a goat-like, thick-legged ruminant, with almost parallel horns set 

 close together, and somewhat coarse hair (with a woolly under-fur), which on the 

 head and neck forms a short mane. In colour the coat is more or less reddish or 

 greyish brown, becoming a little paler on the lower-parts. The face is rather 

 darker near the horns ; a black stripe runs down the back to the black tail, and 

 there is a dark stripe down the front of each leg. The horns are black, and the 

 throat white. 



The goral has a shoulder-height of about 27 inches, a total length of 54 inches, 

 and a tail-length of 4 inches, the horns of the bucks being from 6 to 8 inches long. 

 The species is generally found in small parties of from four to eight, and lives in 

 rugged, rocky country at heights of from 3000 to 8000 feet. It seldom leaves its 

 feeding grounds, and never save in company, although the old bucks generally live 

 alone. In cloudy weather goral graze at any hour of the day, at other times only 



