THE SEROW. 



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Although very shy and difficult to find, the Serow is a fierce and dangerous brute when 

 wounded and brought to bay. I have even heard of an unwounded male charging when his 

 mate had been shot. It is said that the Serow will sometimes beat off a pack of Wild Dogs, 

 and I believe that Serow and Dogs have been found lying dead together. It is, therefore 

 advisable to be cautious when approaching a wounded one. 



When disturbed, the Serow utters a most singular sound, something between a snort and 

 a screaming whistle, and I have heard them screaming loudly when they had apparently not 

 been alarmed. 



The first year I visited Kashmir I might have had two or three chances at Serow, but 

 in those days I thought more of getting a Bear ! and took no trouble about the rarer animal. 

 Since then I have only a few times met with Serow during all my wanderings, and never got 

 a chance at one till 1872, when I went to Kashmir for the express purpose of bagging one. 



I did not get away from Rawal Pindi till near the middle of June, and consequently I 

 reached Kashmir at about the worst season for shooting. The grass and weeds had grown 

 to a great height, the sun was very hot, and the Serow kept concealed in the thickest forests. 

 I first hunted some likely-looking ground between Naoshera and Baramula, but though fresh 

 tracks were to be found, I could not see a beast. 



I then went on to the Sindh valley, and encamped in a wide nullah a short distance 

 below the village of Wangat. 



During the first day or two's hunting I saw nothing, though I constantly found fresh 

 tracks. On the 1st of July I was out long before daylight, and went up the nullah behind 

 our camp : having gone some distance to where the sources of the stream met, we were 

 climbing up a steep ravine when we found quite fresh tracks of a Serow. I determined to 

 follow them as long as I could, and accordingly took up the trail. It led us towards camp, 

 along the steep hill-side ; through thick forests, long rank weeds and grass, and under over- 

 hanging shelves of rock. We went along slowly and carefully, sitting down to reconnoitre 

 wherever the ground was sufficiently clear to give any chance of seeing the object of our 

 pursuit. We knew that he must have passed not long before us, so we patiently continued 

 the chase for several hours. At last we heard a rush through a thicket a short distance ahead 

 of us, but I only got a momentary glimpse of something black, and was unable to fire. On 

 going forward about fifty yards, we found where the Serow had been lying under a thick yew 

 tree, whose branches hung down to the ground and had completely concealed him. The 

 tracks showed that, according to their usual custom when disturbed, the Serow had rushed 

 down the hill. We followed quietly, and in a short time we again heard him bound away, 

 this time uttering the peculiar screaming snort that showed that he had seen us, though I was 

 unable to catch sight of him. 



The next day I found another fresh track, but the Serow had been disturbed by my 

 shooting a Musk Deer, and I did not think it worth while to track him far. 



A badly fitting grass shoe had bruised a sinew in my foot ; an abscess formed ; and I 

 was unable to move for a fortnight. By the time I was able to go out again, the vegetation 

 had much increased, and my chances of sport were proportionately diminished. 



