478 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



The Domicile The range of the Gaur is greatly ex- 

 ofthe tended. Wherever the country is of 



Gaur. wooded, mountainous or hilly char- 



acter, however rugged the district may be, it is 

 found over all the territory extending from the 

 southern extremity of India to the Himalayas, and 

 eastward through Assam and Chittagong to Burmah, 

 and on the Malayan peninsula. A thickly grown 

 wilderness consisting of impenetrable thickets of 

 wild vines and ferns and brakes of bamboo, as well 

 as grassy, dense primeval forests, are hiding places 

 adapted to the taste of the Gaur, especially when 

 incorporating among other features deep ravines 

 abounding in water, steep walls covered with frag- 

 ments of rock, and rugged, barely accessible peaks. 



Methods of 



Hunting the 



Gaur. 



can hardly be driven away. Towards morning it re- 

 turns from pasture and hides in the fields of tall 

 grass or the brakes of bamboo, to rest, sleep and 

 ruminate. 



In hunting the Gaur, rifles of very 

 heavy caliber are used, as is generally 

 the case with large quarry. It is 

 hunted by following its tracks, stalking and shooting 

 it or occasionally by having one driven by beaters 

 or hounds within shot. Good sportsmen in general 

 do not hunt herds, but only old bulls which live soli- 

 tarily and, next to the Elephant, are considered to be 

 the largest game one can slay. That the perils of the 

 chase have been greatly exaggerated, all recent au- 

 thors agree, though they also admit that a wounded 



THE BANTENG. The most handsome of the wild Oxen is the Banteng, found on the Malay Peninsula, Java. Sumatra and Borneo. The picture 



shows the distinctive features of the animal, its graceful shape, the white spot on the back of its thighs, and its not very long but pointed and powerful 

 bonis. It likes to forage in swampy or marshy ground. {Bos banteng.) 



Yet it descends occasionally into the low-lying val- 

 leys, attracted by newly sprouting, tender, verdant 

 grasses. Its capacity for locomotion over the most 

 difficult paths is said to be little short of marvelous. 

 The heavy animals tear along, on the broken surface 

 of an almost perpendicular acclivity, with a speed 

 and facility that almost equal those of the Deer, or 

 descend into the valley with a rush, in a good round 

 trot or a swift gallop. 



The Gaur Noc- Generally the Gaur grazes only by 

 tumal in its night, delighting in spots where 

 Habits. young, juicy grass is sprouting, as it 



prefers this and tender bamboo shoots to any other 

 food. If, however, it lives in the neighborhood of 

 cultivated fields, it makes incursions into them and 

 occasionally becomes so bold and persistent that it 



bull brought to bay may prove himself to be a far 

 from despicable antagonist. 



The Banteng, I must award to the Bantcng of the 

 Handsomest of Malayan peninsula (Bos banting) the 



the Ox Tribe. meed of praise as the most beautiful 

 of all known wild Oxen. In gracefulness of form it 

 can vie with the Antelope, and its coloring is re- 

 markably attractive. The horns are expanded at the 

 bases and irregularly ridged for about the first third 

 of their length; from this point they are smooth, 

 with very sharp tips. They first curve outward and 

 backward, then upward and forward, and their ends 

 point upward and inward; they are from sixteen to 

 twenty inches long. The hair is uniform throughout 

 and lies close to the body; its color is dark grayish- 

 brown, tinted with red in the hinder parts. A wide 



