484 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. IX. 



ively. The skin of the does is not so bright-looking as that of the stag. 

 Some years ago there was in the Victoria Gardens, Bombay, a doe, a 

 cross between a Hog-deer and a Cheetul. I have a photograph of it 

 I took. The body was coarser and stouter built than the Cheetul, and 

 the white spots on it were comparatively few and indistinct, but in 

 colour and general appearance it was more like its Cheetul parent than 

 the Hog-deer. The Cheetul and Hog-deer both belong to the genus 

 Axis (see Jerdon), the one being Axis maeulatus, the other Axis por- 

 cinus. Mr. Blanford places them under the genus Cervus. 1 have in 

 my possession rather a curious Cheetul head, the brow antlers of which 

 grow straight out sideways, the distance between the points of the brow 

 antlers being 30 inches ; the right one throws out no less than six extra 

 points, the left one four points. It is figured at page 125 of Vol. I of 

 this Society's Journal, but the plate does not show all the points. The 

 main beams of these antlers are normal and measure 28 inches. It 

 was shot in the Madras Presidency, not by me. I have seen a head 

 in the possession of Colonel Nevill, Hyderabad ; the horns, very thick 

 ones, though normal in every other respect, grow almost straight up 

 parallel to each other. They are 34 inches long, and the distance 

 between the horns half-way up is only 5| inches. (See Plate C.) 



I believe that the Cheetul has no regular rutting time, and that the 

 young are born at all times of the year. As far as my observation goes, 

 the Cheetul gives birth to one young one at a time, at any rate when I 

 have come across one, two, or three mothers, each has had one young 

 one with her. In a herd it is not easy to allot the young to their respect- 

 ive parents, and it may be they sometimes have twins. When stalking 

 for Cheetul, the place to look for them is in the neighbourhood of rivers 

 and streams. In the early morning they will be near the water, and later 

 on in the day they will be found in the dry nullahs. They are very fond 

 of the berries of the Ber [Zizypfius jujuba), and they have sense enough 

 to strike the stem of the tree with their horns so as to shake the berries 

 down. I have not seen them actually doing this, but I have often 

 seen the bark of the trees wounded with the points of their horns, and 

 was informed by the jungle men that by this means they knock down 

 the fruit. Though the Cheetul is well worthy of a shot, it generally 

 happens, at least to me, that they are shot when out after Samber or 

 some bigger game. When beating for tiger they are often seen, but 

 on these occasions one leaves them alone, and many a good head has 



