<)54 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL lUHT. SOCIETY, Vol. XXL 



No. III.— A DEFOEMED THAMIN STAG (CERVUS ELDII). 

 I enclose a photograph of a deformed Thamin head shot by me last 

 March in Manipur. To bag a Thamin in Manipur necessitates hard 

 work and early rising. Having chosen his ground the sportsman proceeds 

 to build his basha on the edge of the swamp. The Thamin in Manipur 

 keeps absolutely to the swamps, except perhaps during the rutting season, 

 when he may be met in the long grass at the foot of the hills. The 

 shikari wakes you up at aboiit 3-30, and you should have left your 

 <jamp by 4-0, aia hour before dawn. As soon as light appears the stag- 

 moves off into deep water, where he is very difHcult to follow, so it is 

 very necessary to get a view of him early. After a stag has been seen he 

 should not be followed unless he is actually moving away from you or until 

 he commences grazing. His senses of hearing and seeing are acute. As 

 a rule one can approach him from behind high patches of grass, taking care 

 to move only when he is unlikely to see you. I was fortunate in bag- 

 ging two fairly good heads last season (though neither reached 50 inches) 

 and the deformed one. 



The deformed head shown in the photograph seems quite unique. One 

 horn, brow-antler and beam, is complete whereas the other has only the 

 brosv-antler and this, instead of growing forwards and upwards, takes a 

 vertical direction. It is a much thicker and lonser brow-antler than the 



