46 A NATURALIST IN BORNEO 



bur and Red Deer ; they have only six points. A very 

 curious abnormality of the antlers has twice been found 

 in Borneo. The tines are expanded into curious spatu- 

 late processes and the shafts are much thickened. A 

 specimen now in the British Museum of Natural His- 

 tory, was picked up in the jungle by a native. It 

 would be interesting to know if this remarkable vari- 

 ation is correlated with abnormality of the sexual 

 organs. 



The tear-pits of the Deer are called " night-eyes " by 

 the Malays, who believe that the animals see with them 

 in the dark. The young Deer are sometimes, but not 

 invariably, spotted, and a melanic variety is also known 

 to occur in the damp forests of Mt. Dulit, in the 

 Baram district of Sarawak. 



The Wild Ox, or Tembadau, elsewhere known as the 

 Banteng, Bibos sondaicus, is not abundant ; it is found 

 in the north and in the interior of the island. The 

 well-known Water-Buffalo, Bos bubalus, has been 

 domesticated by the inhabitants of the northern parts 

 of Borneo, and is quite a familiar object of the 

 country-side. Two or three herds have run wild at 

 the mouth of the Baram River, and have afforded 

 exciting sport to not a few of the Sarawak Govern- 

 ment officials. 



Dugongs, Porpoises, and even Whales have been 

 found in Sarawak waters. Of the three or four species 

 of Porpoise, the most remarkable is Sotalia bomcensis, 

 known only from three specimens, all taken close to 

 the mouth of the Sarawak River. In life this is a beau- 

 tiful creature about 7 feet long, with a pure white 

 glossy skin marbled with grey spots on the back. 

 When the skin is bruised it turns red, and when dried 



