VARIETIES OF IBEX. 141 



prolific, each doe having as a rule a pair of kids every summer. 

 The villagers sometimes train their dogs to hunt them down, 

 when the ibex become so stupefied with terror that they are 

 then easily approached and shot. 



I asked old Ramzan if the popular legend about ibex leap- 

 ing down from great heights and alighting on their horns was 

 current in those mountains, and was much struck with the 

 intelligence of his reply. He said that ibex, when hard 

 pressed, would sometimes jump down almost incredible dis- 

 tances, and on their fore-feet touching the ground, their horns, 

 from their great weight, were thrown forward, causing them 

 to appear as if the animals had intentionally alighted on them. 

 This, he thought, might perhaps have given rise to the idea. 



Although ibex are so numerous, finding old bucks is often 

 very chance work. Sometimes the sportsman may have to 

 toil away for many days, or even weeks, without getting a 

 shot at them. But if he is in luck, he may knock over four 

 or five fine old fellows in as many days. The Himalayan ibex 

 is tolerably plentiful in certain localities as far east as the 

 province of Spiti, but is not found eastward of the river 

 Sutlej. 



Another variety of ibex (Capra caucasica), which I have 

 never seen, inhabits some of the mountains of Western India, 

 in Scind, but I am told it is very similar to the ibex of 

 Western Asia, the horns of which are slighter and less closely 

 knotted than those of the Himalayan kind ; and the so-called 

 ibex of the Neilgherry hills in Madras (Hemitragus hylocrius) 

 appears to be totally different from both the above, with short 

 horns more resembling those of the tahr. 



But to return to the pursuit of the animal. The day 

 after our disappointment with the big buck was devoted to 

 hunting over another spur of the range, but nothing was seen 

 l>t a couple of does. We had tasted no venison since 

 entering Wurdwan, -so I rr-lvr.l t> try for one of them t 

 supply meat for camp use. As the stalk was rather long and 



