OXEN. 



207 



The Anoa. 



The anoa of Celebes (B. depressicornis) is the smallest and most 

 slenderly built of the oxen, and, although allied to the buffaloes, 

 comes nearest in structure to the antelopes. In size it is inferior to a Highland 

 cow, its height being about 3 feet 3 inches, with the hind-quarters rather higher than 

 the withers. The horns are ringed and triangular at the base, of considerable 

 length, sharply pointed, and rising upwards in the plane of the face, with but a 

 small divergence and curvature. They are situated far below the plane of the 

 occiput, and consequently rise near the eyes ; in old males they may be as much as 



THE ANOA (^ nat. size). 



24 inches in length, but in cows they are always small. The hinder part of the 

 skull is more like that of an antelope than a buffalo, having no distinct crest on 

 the occiput. The ears are small, haired at the base, but naked at the tips, with a 

 bunch of white hairs internally ; and the skull narrows towards the muzzle. The 

 tail about reaches to the hocks. The general colour of the hair is dark brown, 

 lighter below, but there are two small spots of white on the sides of the head below 

 the eyes, while the lower part of the legs, and often the back, have also white 

 markings. In the young animal the hair is of considerable length and thickness, 

 but it tends to become thin with age, and in very old individuals the skin is nearly 

 bare. In young animals the hair is reddish yellow. The largest known horns 

 have a length of nearly 12J inches. The anoa has a considerable resemblance to a 



