178 UNGULATES. 



found in the low-country jungles, are very partial to high and well-wooded tracts, 

 and their activity in hilly ground is astonishing. A herd scrambles up a steep 

 hillside almost with the facility of a troop of deer, or thunders down a slope into 

 the thicker cover of a valley, when alarmed, at a rapid trot or free gallop." 



The food of the gaur, according to the same writer, consists mainly of grass, 

 but also comprises the leaves and young shoots of bamboo, as well as the bark of 

 certain trees. Gaur "feed till about nine in the morning, or later in cloudy and 

 rainy weather ; they then rest, lying down in bamboo-cover or light forest till the 

 afternoon, when they rise to graze and drink ; they also invariably lie down for 

 some hours during the night. Although certainly quick in detecting an intruder, 

 gaur can scarcely be considered naturally wary animals, as they seldom encounter 

 alarms in their native haunts. Unsophisticated herds will frequently allow several 

 shots to be fired at them before making off, and even then probably will not go 

 far. But if subjected to frequent disturbance they quickly become as shy as deer, 

 and if alarmed by the approach of man they retreat without loss of time." Except 

 when wounded, and in such a position as to be unable to escape, Sanderson states 

 that he has never known gaur belonging to a herd attack human beings. Gaur 

 are very similar in their general habits to elephants, and herds of both may at 

 times be found feeding in proximity. " Both seek the deep and ever-verdant 

 valleys, watered by perennial streams, during the hot months, or from January 

 to May, where they are safe from the jungle-fires which sweep the drier localities. 

 With the early rains of April and May a plentiful crop of succulent young grass 

 springs from beneath the black ashes, and the gaur and elephants then roam forth 

 to feed and enjoy their emancipation from the thraldom of the season of scarcity. 

 About September the grass in the hill-ranges has become so coarse, and the annoy- 

 ance from insects during continued rain so great, that the herds move into more 

 open country, and especially into forest tracts at the foot of hill-ranges where 

 suitable cover exists." In such localities the grass is not more than a yard high 

 at the most, and insects are comparatively few. In contradistinction to elephants, 

 gaur never forsake the forest districts for the open plains; but when in the 

 lowland districts are in the habit of visiting the numerous salt-licks. 



It must be remembered that the foregoing description applies solely to the 

 gaur of Southern India, and that in the more northern portions of their range, 

 where the seasons are different, there is a corresponding alteration in their habits. 

 When in the lowlands, gaur are apt to catch various diseases prevalent among 

 domestic cattle, and sometimes the herds are decimated from this cause. In 

 Peninsular India the calves are generally born during August and September, 

 although a few are produced from April to June. 



The cries of the gaur are three in number. The first is a loud reverberating 

 bellow, used as a call ; the second a low mooing cry, littered when in alarm, or when 

 the curiosity of the animals is excited ; while the third is a kind of whistling snort, 

 heard when the frightened creatures dash off into thicker cover. In India proper 

 the gaur has never been domesticated ; and it is but recently that a living example 

 — a young one — has been exhibited alive in England. The hill-tribes of the 

 north-eastern portion of India have, however, succeeded in taming these animals. 



Solitary gaur are always very old bulls, which have been driven from the 



