248 BIG GAME SHOOTING 



should who desires success in the pursuit of bison, and was par- 

 ticularly struck by the tolerance these herds, at all events, 

 showed to the vicinity of natives. 



In Assam, Chittagong and Burmah the natives own large 

 numbers of domesticated animals called ' mithun ' or ' gayal,' 

 which are very similar to bison in appearance, but are without 

 the characteristic frontal ridge, and are said to have a small 

 dewlap. Sterndale distinguishes these under the name of 

 Gavaus frontalis, and quotes Dr. F. Buchanan Hamilton 

 and Professor Garrod's account from Mr. Macrae to the effect 

 that the natives recruit their tame herds by catching and 

 taming wild animals. But both Sanderson and Kinloch, who 

 have hunted in the districts where the tame gayal are numerous 

 for the express purpose of bagging a wild one, declare that such 

 an animal does not exist, that the wild animals in those parts 

 are the same as bison anywhere else, and that the peculiarities 

 of the tame ones are due to domestication and inter-breeding 

 with domestic cattle. 



As regards measurements of heads, the same disappointing 

 practice prevails with bison as with buffalo, viz. : measuring from 

 tip to tip of the horns across the forehead, in addition to which 

 (with bison) heads are frequently estimated only as regards the 

 width of splay between the horns, without any reference to their 

 length and girth. This latter measurement is the more mis- 

 leading, as a deformed head with unnatural lateral sweep is 

 more valued than one with long massive horns which grow 

 closer together. The fairest measurement is length and girth 

 at base of horn only. 



XIX. BURMESE WILD OX ( Gavaus sondaicus] 



Native names: ' Tsoing, 'Burmah ; ' BantengJ Java ; (Sterndale}. Habitat : 

 Burmah, the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo and Java. Blyth 

 says it is domesticated in the Island of Bali. 



This animal resembles the gaur in many respects, having 

 the distinctive white stockings, but has no frontal or dorsal ridge. 



