506 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



between the sharpest of thorns. The Beni Israel 

 decidedly prefers the valley to the heights. It de- 

 lights most in the green woods bordering the course 

 of those streams flowing only during the rainy sea- 

 son. There it revels in a profusion of hiding-places, 

 for in these localities, mimosas, thorns, cypress, 

 spurge bushes and other larger plants are interwoven 

 and intertwined by a genuine network of creepers; 

 and there it finds grateful retreats in bushes entirely 

 closed from the outside, while the inside is habita- 

 ble and completely hidden from view, or else there 

 are narrow thickets which are connected on long 

 stretches. Farther away from the vivifying water- 

 course, the shrubs become fewer in number and 

 green, succulent grass can grow unhindered. There 

 one is sure to meet the little Antelope. Like the 

 majority of its relations, about which we have ac- 

 quired any information, it lives invariably in pairs, 

 never in larger companies unless there has been an 

 addition to the family, and the offspring still re- 

 quires motherly care. In such instances the young 

 one trots along behind the parents. 

 Method of Hunting At first the hunter experiences some 

 the Greyhound difficulty in discovering the little 

 Antelope. creature; but when he has become 



familiar with its habits and haunts he knows how to 

 find it, for he needs but to proceed logically. The 

 tints of the animal's fur, which correspond almost 

 exactly with those of the surroundings and really 

 appear to merge into them, contribute materially to 

 hide these dwarfs. 



Reproduction and Very meagre accounts have so far 

 Capture of Grey- reached us as to the reproduction of 

 hound Antelopes, the Dwarf Antelopes. Ehrenberg 

 mentions the month of May as the usual time when 

 the little ones are born; but I have seen kids follow- 

 ing couples in March and more frequently in April. 

 The Caffres put into the way of the dwarf bucks 

 nooses which, when the animal steps into them, are 

 drawn tight and hold fast one of the legs of the 

 Antelope; or, if the natives only wish to obtain the 

 venison of the animals they put out snares, which 

 catch them by the throat and strangle them. The 

 venison of this animal is rather hard and tough, but 

 still is a somewhat palatable dish. It may be more 

 suitable to make soup than to serve as a roast. 

 Keeping Drayson's advice in mind, I have mainly 

 confined my gastronomic experiments to the liver 

 of the Dwarf Antelope and agree with that observer 

 that it is truly a delicacy. 

 Dwarf Antelopes Outside of its native country, the 

 Easily Tamed— Dwarf Antelope soon succumbs to 

 Their Foes. the influences of a foreign climate 

 and it is therefore very difficult to bring it to Eu- 

 rope. At the Cape and in other parts of Africa, 

 however, it has been kept for a long time in houses 

 or in yards. It is said that specimens which are 

 taken young soon become warmly attached to their 

 keeper, follow his call, suffer themselves to be 

 fondled, petted and to be carried about and gener- 

 ally resign themselves to human domination without 

 offering any resistance; therefore their exceeding 

 good- nature, gentleness and amiable temper are 

 greatly prajsed. 



Next to Man the most deadly enemy of the Dwarf 

 Antelopes is probably the Leopard. Smaller Felidae 

 may also prey on the unresisting dwarf and most 

 probably the Eagle occasionally snatches away a 

 kid. Jackals, Foxes and other members of the band 

 of marauders also figure among the enemies of the 

 Beni Israel and its relations. 



THE MOUNTAIN ANTELOPES. 



All the Mountain Antelopes are to be distin- 

 guished from the others of their family by their 

 stout, bulky, short bodies. They are comparatively 

 thick and pudgy in body and short of leg, and they 

 are digitigrade animals, that is, their hoofs are so 

 formed that the entire weight of the animals rests 

 on the tips. A more or less dense and wiry fur is 

 no less a characteristic feature of the inhabitants of 

 the cooler heights. Such a bodily structure is com- 

 mon to all; but there are differences in regard to the 

 horns, sometimes both sexes being endowed with 

 them, sometimes only the males. 

 Physical Formation The Goral of India, an animal be- 



and Habits of longing to the genus Nemorhcedus, 

 the Goral. j s possessed of a remarkable fac- 

 ulty for climbing. Both sexes bear horns, resem- 

 bling those of Goats. So far few species of that 

 genus are known, and that but imperfectly. 



The Goral {Nemorhcedus goral) has about the same 

 proportions as a Goat. Its range is restricted to the 

 Himalayas, and that to a belt between three thou- 

 sand and seven thousand eight hundred feet of alti- 

 tude. Kinloch says that it is gregarious, sometimes 

 living in great herds, but generally widely dispersed 

 in small troops or even singly and in pairs. It dwells 

 in forests as well as among barren crags and stony 

 walls, apparently preferring steep cliffs thinly over- 

 grown with bushes and small trees. The inhabitants 

 of Nepal believe it to be the speediest of all crea- 

 tures. No living Goral has as yet been taken to 

 Europe or America and even the skins of these ani- 

 mals are classified among the rarities in a museum. 



These Oriental Antelopes are followed in the cate- 

 gory by the European Chamois, the graceful, much 

 pursued child of German mountains. It is held to 

 be the representatives of a distinct genus {Capella), 

 the main distinctive features of which are erect 

 horns, with tips curved backward like hooks. 



Physical Pecul- The Chamois ( Capella rupicapra) , the 



iarities of the only species of the genus, averages 

 Chamois. a length of forty-four inches, about 

 three inches of which are included in the tail; the 

 height at the withers is thirty inches, at the croup 

 thirty-two, and the weight ranges between eighty 

 and ninety pounds. The horns are about ten inches 

 long, measured along the curvature, and are not 

 only farther apart in the buck than they are in the 

 doe, but also stouter and more decidedly hooked. 

 In all other respects Chamois of the two sexes re- 

 semble each other, though the bucks are as a rule 

 larger than the does. The fur undergoes modifica- 

 tions according to the season. In summer the pre- 

 vailing color, a dingy reddish brown, or rusty red, 

 fades into a light reddish yellow hue on the lower 

 surface; a black brown stripe runs along the course 

 of the spine; the throat is of a yellowish, fallow tint 

 and the nape of the neck yellowish white. This 

 hue deepens on the shoulders, thighs, breast and 

 flanks; a stripe on the buttocks shows a tint of yel- 

 low which fades almost into white. A narrow black- 

 ish longitudinal band runs from the ears across the 

 eyes, standing out in bold relief on the fallow 

 ground color. In winter the Chamois is of a dark 

 brown or lustrous brown-black hue above and white 

 below; the legs are lighter in the lower than in the 

 upper portions and their color warms into a faint 

 red; the feet are yellowish white, like the head, 

 which somewhat darkens on top and on the muzzle. 

 Both summer and winter coat change so gradually 

 that they are in their entirety worn but a very short 



