240 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



XVIII. GAUR (Gavaus Gaurus} 



Native names: ' Gaor,' ' Gaori-gai ' ; generally, 'Gail,' 1 Chota Nagpur ; 

 ' KhulgaJ Western Ghauts ; ' KartiJ Mysore ; ' Mi than,'' Bhootan. 



Gaur, or bison, 1 as they are usually called, are found in 

 suitable localities, from the Terai, through Bhootan, Assam 

 and Burmah, to the Malayan Peninsula and throughout Central 

 and Southern India, but do not extend to Ceylon. The 28th 

 degree of North latitude seems their extreme northern limit, 

 otherwise it would be difficult to account for their absence in 

 what appears to be such thoroughly suitable ground as the 

 Sewalik range and the lower slopes of the Himalayas north of 

 this limit, although elephants, whose food and requirements 

 are almost identical with those of the gaur, are plentiful there. 

 Hilly country, covered with extensive tracts of forest and 

 bamboo jungle, is the likeliest ground for bison, though they 

 occasionally visit the low ground at the foot of the hills, parti- 

 cularly when driven from the higher ridges by flies and the 

 want of suitable pasture. Bison vary much in their habits 

 according to locality ; their migrations from high to low ground 

 being mainly influenced by the rainfall (which regulates the 

 growth of grass) and the prevalence of flies in their district. 

 During the latter part of the rainy season, when the grass has 

 grown high and coarse and flies are most numerous, Sanderson 

 remarks that bison move into the thinner jungle at the foot 

 of the hills. Forsyth says that in Central India bison retire to 

 the tops of the hills at that season. 



The general colour of an old bull bison is a dark brown, almost 

 black, with a light slaty patch on the forehead, a grey muzzle, 

 and the legs, from above the knees and hocks downwards, a 

 yellowish white, the inside of the forearms and thighs being 

 chestnut ; the head is particularly handsome, and well-bred- 

 looking, the high frontal which rises above the base of the 



1 There are no true bison in India, both gaur and buffalo having thirteen 

 pairs of ribs, while the true bison has fourteen pairs. 



