348 UNKNOWN MONGOLIA 



way thence over the Bain-Khairkhan, this being our 

 last chance of seeing sheep. 



Right on the top, at an altitude of about 9,000 ft., 

 we saw an enormous herd of gazelle ; there must have 

 been nearly two hundred of them. They were principally 

 females and young, with a few small bucks. These 

 gazelle {G. gutturosa) are found all over North-western 

 Mongolia, north of the Great Altai, and south of the 

 Tannu-ola ranges ; the most north-westerly limit of their 

 ranges is the steppe round the Russian frontier post of 

 Kosh-Agatch ; from there they extend right across 

 Northern Mongolia as far as the eastern extremity of 

 the plateau. In winter they are to be found in the 

 sheltered valleys among the foot-hills or out on the 

 open plains round the lakes ; but in summer they 

 ascend right up into the mountains. In this respect 

 they differ from G. suhgutturosa, of which we saw a 

 great deal later, in Dzungaria. This latter species, 

 though occasionally found in the summer, when the 

 grass of the plains is burnt up, in low hills at an altitude 

 of 6,000 ft., never, like the former, reaches the elevated 

 boggy plateaux that one associates with wild-sheep. 



The general colour of G. gutturosa is light fawn ; the 

 limbs, cheeks, under-parts, sides, and rump are white ; 

 there are no dark face-markings, as in most gazelle, 

 though the top of the muzzle is slightly darker than 

 the fawn of the back. The tail is short, with a brown 

 tip ; it is in the shortness and colour of the tail that it 

 differs most markedly from G. suhgutturosa ; for in the 

 latter it is considerably longer and black. Its horns 

 also differ from those of the G. suhgutturosa in being 

 rather thinner and shorter, and more closely and boldly 

 ringed ; instead of diverging directly from the skull 



