NOTES ON MAMMALS FOUND IN TEE SIMLA DISTRICT. 747 



48. BosELAPHUS TRAGOCAMELUS, Pallas. — The Nilgai ov Blue Bull. 



(Blanford No. 355.) 

 , (Kangra=" Ban Gai," " Roj.") 

 Occasionally found in the jungles below Kalka, but it is very rare. 



49. Texraceros quadricornis, Blainv. — The Fouvhorned Antelope. 



(Blanford No. 356.) 



(Native name " Chousingha. ") 



Found in the Sirmur Boons ; also in the Marna jungles (Patiala State), 

 below Kalka. Rare in the latter locality. 



50. Anxilope cervicapra, L. — The Black Buck. 

 (Blanford No. 357.) 



(Kalka and Kangra=" Hiran. ") 



A few Black Buck are to be found below Kalka, near Chandigarh, but 

 are not worth shooting, as the horns rarely exceed 18 inches in length. 



51. MuNiiACTJS VAGINALIS, Bodd. — The Barking Deer. 



(Blanford No. 362.) 



(Simla, Simla Hill States, Kangra, and Kulu=" Kakar ".) 



Whether the W. Himalayan form is identical with, or separable from, 

 the Bengal " Kakar " has not been determined at present {vide Wroughton 

 in J. B. N. H. S., Vol. XXI., p. 825). For purposes of these notes, it has 

 been assumed that the two animals are identical. 



The Barking Deer abounds throughout most of the wooded ravines, glens 

 and coppices in the lower hills, including tha Siwaliks. It is seldom seen 

 above an elevation of 7,000 ft. Its loud barking cry is frequently to be 

 heard in the ravines in the station here. 



As is well known this species is solitary in its habits, but it is by no 

 means unusual to find several individuals, whose movements are independ- 

 ent of each other, inhabiting the same patch of jungle. My friend, Mr. G. 

 M. Coates, informs me that no less than 24 Kakur were bagged at various 

 intervals, during the shooting season of 1912-1913, in a small jungle about 

 six miles distant from Simla, by sportsmen here; and a most curio as feature 

 of this large aggregate bag was that all but 4 were males ! In the previous 

 year also a large number were shot in the same jungle, and on that occasion 

 the majority were females. 



This species is very constant to its haunts, and if not disturbed or fright- 

 . ened, seldom quits them. If one of them is shot in a particular ravine, its 

 place appears to be shortly afterwards taken by another one. 



It feeds in the mornings and in the evenings. It drinks daily 

 : at the latter time. It usually rests under a bush, or at the roots of a tree, 

 and the same lairs appear to be used for long periods. Another 

 peculiarity which deserves notice is its habit of depositing its dung in prac- 

 tically the same spots day after day. 



In the hills it breeds during June-July, generally producing one, some- 

 times two young, at each birth. 



The best pair of horns that I have yet seen belonged to an animal shot 

 by Mr. W. N. Leicester in 1896 in the Dhami State. They measure — 



From base to tip along curve S^ inches and from bur (pedicel not 

 included) 5^ inches. 



I can fully corroborate what Blanford says in regard to the buck using its 



.canine teeth in defence. Some years ago, a couple of my terriers cornered 



a Kakur in a ravine here, and one of the dogs was badly ripped open in 



three places. The wounds were about 4 inches in length, and as clean as 



-)razor cuts. 



