354 



UNGULATES. 



mane; the tail is relatively long, pointed, and thin; and the cheek-teeth are 



characterised by the great height of their crowns. The ground-colour of the fur 



is a rufous fawn ; the whole of the body being marked by a number of large white 



spots, which are present at all ages of the animal throughout the year, and tend to 



arrange themselves in longitudinal lines. The head and neck are of a uniform 



brownish colour, and there is a black line running from the nape of the neck to 



the end of the tail. White prevails on the inside of the ears, the chin, the upper 



part of the throat, the under-parts of the body, and the insides of the limbs, as well 



as on the under surface of the tail. As in the case of the fallow deer, a blackish 



variety is occasionally met with, in which the spots are only very faintly indicated. 



An individual standing close upon 3 feet in height weighed 145 lbs. 



Although the antlers of the spotted deer are typically but three-tined, there 



are not unfrequently a number of small points or " sports " at the junction of the 



brow-tine with the beam ; but such sports are rare higher up. The average length 



of the antlers of the larger race of this species may be given as about 30 inches ; 



but examples reaching 38 and 38f inches in length, with a girth of 5f inches above 



the burr, have been recorded. Great difference exists in regard to the degree of 



divergence or span of the antlers ; thus, in two examples of which the respective 



lengths were 34 and 34 \ inches, the span in the former case was only 24 inches, 



against 30i inches in the other. 



This deer is found nearly throughout India and Cevlon, but in 

 Distribution. _ . . . 



the Himalaya it only occurs on the outermost spurs, and it is unknown 



on the plains of the Punjab, Sind, a large part of Rajputana, Assam, and the whole 

 of the countries to the eastward of the Bay of Bengal. On the hills of Southern 

 India it is found at elevations of from three to four thousand feet above the sea. 

 It has been introduced by Sir E. G. Loder into his park near Horsham. 



The native name chital refers to the dappled hide of this deer, 

 which is, perhaps, the handsomest member of its tribe as regards 

 colour and form, and is certainly one of the most characteristic of the mammals of 

 India. Mr. Blanford states that it is most generally found among bushes or trees 

 in the neighbourhood of water, and in bamboo-jungles, while it frequents both hilly 

 tracts and plains, and never wanders far from its drinking places. " So long," 

 writes the author named, " as it has a wild tract of bush or ravines for shelter, it 

 appears to care little for the neighbourhood of man. Many of its favourite haunts 

 are in some of the most beautiful wild scenery of the Indian plains, and lower hills, 

 on the margins of rippling streams with their banks overgrown by lofty trees, or in 

 the grassy glades that open out amidst the exquisite foliage of bamboo clumps. 

 Spotted deer are thoroughly gregarious and associate at all times of the year in 

 herds, sometimes of several hundreds. They are less nocturnal than sambar, and 

 may be found feeding for three or four hours after sunrise, and again in the after- 

 noon for an hour or two before sunset. They generally drink between eight and 

 ten o'clock in the morning, the time varying with the season of year, and repose 

 during the day in deep shade. They swim well, and take readily to water. They 

 both graze and browse.'' 



It appears that there is a great range of individual variation as regards the 

 date of the pairing -season and the shedding of the antlers; bucks with fully- 



