CEBVUs. 537 



Dimensions. Height at shoulder 48 to 52 inches, length 7 to 7| 

 feet, tail 5 inches. Extreme length of a male skull 15*1 inches, 

 breadth 7'5. Horns ia adults average about 40 inches in length, 

 and 5| to 6 in girth at mid-beam ; the longest known measure 52, 

 53"5, and 55 along the inside from the burr to the tip ; basal girth 

 2-5, clear of the burr ; girth at mid-beam 7. 



Distribution. The Kashmir valley, throughout the pine-forests 

 between about 9000 aud 12,000 feet in summer, lower in winter. 

 Not found east or north of Kashmir ; a few occur in AVardwau, 

 Kishtwar, Badrawar, &c. ; none in Ladak. The range westward is 

 not known ; a horn referred to this species \\as obtained from the 

 banks of the Oxus near Balkh by Captain Yate, but the identi- 

 fication is open to doubt, as there are several Asiatic stags allied to 

 the Kashmir animal. 



Habits. The Kashmir deer are found singly or in small parties 

 in summer, the males generally alone. In the winter they collect 

 into larger herds. The males generally shed their hoi-ns in March, 

 and the new horns are not perfect till October, when, as Adams 

 states, " the rutting-season commences and the loud bellowings of 

 the stags are heard all over the mountains." The voice of the 

 Kashmir stag, according to Sir V. Brooke, resembles that of the 

 vs^apiti, and diif ers from that of the European I'ed deer. " In the 

 foi'mer it is a loud squeal ending in a more guttural tone ; in the 

 latter it is a distinct roar, resembling that of a panther." 



According to Adams, these deer " are .seldom confined to one 

 locality, but roam from forest to forest, preferring grassy glades 

 alternating with dense forest, where there is a copious supply of 

 water." The young are born in April, so the period of gestation 

 must be about six months. 



A much larger species than C. cashmirianus inhabits one or 

 more wooded upland tracts north of Bhutan, but belonging to 

 Tibet. This stag, C. affinis (Hodgson, J. A. S. B. x, p. 721, pi. ; 

 xix, pp. 466, 518, pi.; xx, p. 388, pi. vii), called, but erroneously, 

 the Sikhim Stag by Jerdon, must be excluded from the fauna of 

 British India. It is not found in Sikhim nor in the Chiimbi vaUey, 

 immediately east of Sikhim, but apparently in the next valley to 

 the eastward. Mr. Hume was assured, he tells me, that the area 

 inhabited by C. affinis is drained by streams running northward to 

 the Sangpo. The coloration of C. affinis resembles that of 

 C. cashmirianas. The caudal disk is well marked. The horns 

 are large, 54 inches having been measured, and bear almost 

 always five points each, but the principal distinction from C. casJi- 

 mirianus is in the beam being much bent forward just above the 

 origin of the tres tine. The bez is sometimes larger than the brow 

 antler, but less constantly than in C. cashmirianus. A skull 

 measures 18*25 inches in extreme length, another 17*5. The 

 basal length of the latter is 16*25, breadth at orbits 7*35. All 

 the skulls I have seen are conspicuously lai'ger than those of 

 C. cashmirianus. 



