193 



THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE. 



Tetracerus quadricornis. 



By J. D. Inverarity. 

 ( With a Plate.) 

 (Read before Bombay Natural History Society, on 26th October, 1894.) 

 This small antelope is only found in India and is a forest antelope, 

 living entirely in the jungle. They are not gregarious, but are 

 met with either alone or in pairs. The female brings forth one 

 or two young, and, occasionally, the two old and two young ones 

 will be seen together. Though not forming a special object of 

 pursuit, a shot at the ' baikrie,' as it is generally called, on the 

 Bombay side of India, is often got when out stalking other game. 

 If you see one, before it sees you, it is fairly easy to stalk ; but 

 it more often happens that they see you first, when they will not 

 admit of approach. On three or four occasions they have stood stupidly 

 looking at me as I walked in full view slowly towards them and allowed 

 me to get within 20 yards before bolting. This only occurs when you 

 do not want to shoot them. Forsyth says that the females are much 

 more numerous than the bucks, and bear the same proportion to each 

 other as the does and bucks of the black buck. At one time I thought 

 the same myself, but further experience has made me sure that this is 

 not the fact, and that bucks are nearly, if not quite, as numerous as does. 

 The female is hornless. The male has four horns, the posterior and 

 longer pair in a good specimen will be 4 inches long or a little more. 

 One and-a-half inches is a good length for the anterior horns and not 

 often exceeded ; to get a head as good as this is rare. In some heads, 

 the anterior horns are absent, though the bony knobs on which they 

 would grow can be felt under the skin. In others these bony knobs are 

 covered with a callous black skin. In some the anterior horns will be 

 only £ or \ an inch long, and you may shoot a great many before you 

 get a really good head. The three best heads I have measured — 



No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 



Posterior Horn... 4£ 3f 3 inches. 



Anterior Horn... 1\ If 1 inch. 



A head in the possession of this Society measures — posterior horn 3|", 

 anterior horn 2-^". The suborbital gland of this antelope is large. 



