340 



M A M M A L I A— D E E R. 



THE INDIAN STAG.i 



The axis, or ladian stag, is of the small number of ruminating animals 

 ■who -wear horns, like the stag. He has the shape and SAviftness of the fallow 

 deer ; but what distinguishes him from the stag and fallow deer is, that his 

 body is marked with white spots, elegantly disposed, and separated one 

 from another, and that he is a native of hot countries, Hindostan, and parti- 

 cularly Bengal ; while the stag and deer have their coat of a uniform color, 

 and are to be met with in greater numbers, in cold countries and temperate 

 regions, than in hot climates. 



The axis appears to be an intermediate mixture betAveen the deer and the 

 stag. He resembles the deer in the size of his body, the length of his tail, 

 and his coat, which is the same during his whole life. He only essentially 

 differs from that animal in his horns, which nearly resemble those of the 

 stag. The axis, therefore, may possibly be only a variety depending on the 

 climate, and not a different species from the deer ; for, although he is a 

 native of the hottest countries of Asia, he supports, and easily multiplies in 

 that of Europe. He is a very mild and timid animal. 



1 Cervus axi^, Lix. 



