34 8 UNGULATES. 



variety of this species, distinguished by its straighter antlers and the paler colour 

 of the fur. In Kashmir the hangul, which is essentially a forest animal, is found 

 in summer at elevations of from 9000 to 12,000 feet. In winter, however, it 

 descends to the valleys during heavy falls of snow ; and at such times it is ruthlessly 

 attacked by the villagers, as many as five hundred head, it is reported, having 

 been thus slaughtered upon a single occasion. These indiscriminate slaughters, 

 together with the more orthodox pursuit by English sportsmen, have so thinned 

 the ranks of this fine deer, that it is now becoming comparatively rare, and unless 

 proper means are taken for its preservation, it stands a good chance of being 

 exterminated at no distant date. 



In summer, hangul are generally found singly or in small parties, the old 

 stags being usually solitary ; but in winter they collect in herds. The antlers of 

 the stags are usually shed about March, and the new ones do not attain their full 

 development till October. In that month and through November the males are 

 continually calling, and it is this time that is the proper shooting -season. The 

 fawns are born in April, so that the period of gestation appears to be only 

 about six months, or considerably less than in the red deer. Leith Adams 

 states, that hangul "are seldom confined to one region, but roam from 

 forest to forest, preferring grassy glades alternating with dense forest, where 

 there is a copious supply of water." I have on one occasion seen a small party 

 of these deer on the Ladak side of the mountains bounding Kashmir where there 

 is no forest. 



Far to the south-east of Kashmir, probably in the districts lying between 

 Darjiling and Lhasa, there occurs a much larger deer, known as the shou 

 (C. affinis). In addition to its superior dimensions, this deer is distinguished from 

 the hangul by the beam of the antlers being strongly bent forwards just above the 

 trez-tine ; while the bez-tine is less constantly longer than the brow-tine. Each 

 antler seems to have constantly but five points. Antlers have been measured of 

 54, 55, and 55| inches in length ; anything like such dimensions being only very 

 exceptionally attained by those of the Kashmir stag. The height of the animal 

 is from 4J to 5 feet at the shoulder. 



In the Caspian provinces of Persia, and probably also in Circassia, the red 

 deer group is represented by the maral (C. maral). This is a large species allied 

 to the last, but distinguished by the much greater length of the face, and by the 

 crown of the antler having apparently always more than two tines. Specimens of 

 this species in confinement kept entirely apart from some red deer inhabiting the 

 same enclosure. These deer are said to be abundant in the thick forests of the 

 Caspian provinces of Persia ; but we know very little about their habits. 



Another Old World deer of the present group, is the great Thian Shan 

 stag (C. eustephanus), from the forest-regions of the mountain-barrier on the 

 north-west frontier of Eastern Turkestan ; the so-called Leudorf's stag (C. leudorfi), 

 of Amurland, being in all probability not specifically distinct. The great 

 peculiarity of this deer is, that it is so closely allied to the American wapiti, that 

 it is very doubtful if it can be regarded as anything more than a variety of that 

 species. The antlers have the peculiar characteristics (to be noticed immediately) 

 of the latter ; one pair having a length of 51 inches along the curve, with a basal 



