196 THE MUSK-DEER. 



Musk is valuable, a good ' pod ' being worth at least Rs. 10 ; but as English sportsmen 

 do not usually shoot for profit, Musk-Deer are not very much sought after by them. 



Musk-Dser are solitary animals, very much resembling hares in their general habits : 

 I have never heard of more than two being found together. Like hares, they are seldom 

 to be seen moving about during the daytime, but make regular forms in the forest, and 

 wander about in the mornings and evenings. 



They may be found in all sorts of places at an elevation of over 8,000 feet ; but I have 

 met with them oftenest in the birch forests. 



Early in the year, when even the Ibex resorts to the lower parts of the hill, the Musk- 

 Deer may be found far above the snow line, making its bed in the snow, and feeding on the 

 buds and tender shoots of the bushes and trees which are just commencing to expand under 

 the influences of spring. 



No animal seems more indifferent to cold, from which it is well protected ; its thick 

 coat of hollow hair forming as it were a sort of cushion, which acts as an insulator and 

 enables the deer to lie even on snow without much loss of animal heat. 



It is amazingly active and sure-footed, bounding along without hesitation over the 

 steepest and most dangerous ground. Its usual food appears to be leaves and flowers, but 

 the natives say that it will kill and eat snakes ! A friend of mine, an Officer in the Artillery, 

 assured me that he had seen a snake which was taken out of the stomach of a Musk-Deer 

 which he had just shot. I cannot remember, however, whether he actually saw it cut out or 

 not, so it is possible that his Shikaris may have deceived him. 



Musk-Deer differ considerably in their habits according to whether they are much or 

 little hunted. Mr. Wilson describes how, when he first established himself in the Ganges 

 valley and made hunting his profession, the Musk-Deer were easily procured. On seeing 

 a hunter, they would stand watching him for a long time, occasionally uttering their hiss of 

 alarm, but usually allowing him to approach within easy shot. I have myself witnessed 

 similar conduct on the part of the deer in remote districts, and have even fired three shots 

 at one without its moving ; but, as a rule, they are now excessively wary, and bound away 

 as soon as they detect the approach of man. 



There are two ways of hunting Musk-Deer : either by driving the jungles which they 

 are known to frequent, or by quietly walking through the forest in the mornings and even- 

 ings. If the latter plan is adopted, the hunter should walk very slowly and carefully, and 

 reconnoitre each ravine and glade he comes to ; for a Musk-Deer is most difficult to see among 

 the grey stems of trees, unless he is in motion. 



Natives snare many Musk-Deer by means of nooses placed in gaps in low, rude 

 hedges, which are constructed in favorable localities, frequently running across the hills 

 for a mile or two. These hedges form no real obstruction to the deer, which could bound 

 over them with the greatest ease ; but the apparent aversion of animals to make an un- 

 necessary effort, induces both the deer and pheasants of all sorts to seek for a gap. The 

 result is that both deer and pheasants are soon almost exterminated where noosing is 

 permitted. 



