HIM ALA YAN SER O W— INDIAN CHE VR TAIN x 1 5 



in the mornings and evenings. They appear somewhat indifferent to the neigh- 

 bourhood of man, and are often found near hill-stations. The kids, of which 

 there is only one at a birth, are dropped in May or June, six months after the 

 pairing-season. 



Himalayan The serows, which are near relatives of the gorals, are character- 



Serow. j se( j D y tj ie hairy tail, naked muzzle, and short, conical horns curving 

 gently backwards and finely but irregularly ringed and striped. There is but 

 little difference in the size of these latter appendages in the two sexes. Serows 

 are indigenous to south-eastern and eastern Asia, one species inhabiting Japan, 

 another Formosa, and a third the Himalaya, Burma, and the Malay countries. 

 The Himalayan serow (Capricornis sumatrensis bubalinus), and other local 

 varieties of the Sumatran species, inhabit the Himalaya from Kashmir to the 

 Mishmi Hills. The species, inclusive of its local races, is distinguished by its 

 clumsy build, large head and ears, coarse sparse hair of medium length without 

 under-fur, and the short mane on the neck. The colour is black or dark grey 

 above, and w T hitish below, the head and neck being blackish, and the flank, thighs, 

 and the lower part of the legs either rufous or dirty white. The inside of the 

 ears, and the front and sides of the chin are white, and a stripe along the back 

 black. 



The shoulder-height is 37 inches, the total length over 5 feet, and the tail is 

 about 3 inches long. The horns of the bucks are 9 or 10 inches long, those of the 

 females slightly smaller. Although its gait is awkward, the serow moves very 

 quickly over difficult ground. It lives a solitary life, mostly at heights of from 

 6000 to 12,000 feet, is nowhere abundant, generally keeps to dense forest and rocky 

 ridges, shelters in caves under projecting rocks or among shady trees, and, although 

 difficult of approach, is bold and dangerous when wounded or driven to bay. 



Indian The small but zoologically important group of chevrotains or 



cnevrotain. mouse-deer is represented in India by Tragulus meminna, which 

 inhabits the forests of the southern part of the peninsula and Ceylon, its dis- 

 tributional area extending to Orissa on the east coast, and to the western Ghats 

 near Bombay. 



In this interesting Indian species (which stands about 12 inches in height 

 and measures from 18 to 22 inches in length) the chin and throat are completely 

 clothed with hair, and the brown back is ornamented with whitish spots, while 

 the sides are marked with similarly coloured oblong spots which often run into 

 lines. This chevrotain never ventures out on the open plains, but lives among 

 rocks, the clefts of which afford it shelter from the heat of the day, and a place of 

 retreat at the approach of an enemy. It issues forth at dusk ; and, like all its 

 kindred, has a peculiar mincing walk, treading on the tips of its hoofs, and thus 

 making its limbs look so stiff as to give the impression that the fore-legs are 

 without the knee-joint. The male lives alone during most of the year, but 

 accompanies the female during the pairing-time in June and July. The young, 

 two in number, are born at the close of the rainy season, or the beginning of the 

 cold weather. 



Chevrotains form a group quite distinct from the true ruminants, and serve 

 in some degree to connect the deer with the pigs. 



