BOVIDE 365 
from Chinese Tibet. The height of the Yak is somewhat lower 
than that of the larger domestic cattle. The colour of the wild race 
is black, tending to brown on the flanks; but many of the tame 
breeds which have been crossed with ordinary cattle have more or 
less white (Fig. 149), and it is the white tails of these half-breeds 
that are so esteemed in India as “chowries.” Yaks are exceedingly 
intolerant of heat, and the wild ones always live at very great 
elevations. Tame Yaks are extensively used as beasts of burden 
in Tibet, where they are extremely valuable in crossing the high 
and desolate wastes of that region; they have, however, the great 
drawback that they refuse to eat corn, so that in districts where 
there is no grass it is frequently necessary to make forced marches 
with wearied beasts in order to prevent them (and thus the whole 
party) perishing from starvation. 
The skull of an extinct species from the Pliocene of Northern 
India, described as Bos sivalensis, appears to indicate a species allied 
to the Yak. 
With the Bibovine group we come to the consideration of three 
Oriental species which connect the preceding forms with the 
typical Oxen. The three species are the Gaur (B. gaurus) the 
Gayal (B. frontalis, Fig. 150) of India, and the Banteng (B. sondaicus) 
of Burma, Java, Bali, and Lambok. In this group, as in the true 
Oxen, there are thirteen pairs of ribs, against fourteen in the 
Bisons. All the three species are characterised by the great height 
of the spines of the anterior dorsal vertebra, causing a promi- 
nent ridge down the back. The horns, which are of a greenish 
colour in the Gaur, are somewhat flattened, and after running out- 
wards are directed upwards instead of backwards; they occupy the 
vertex of the skull. The frontals are more or less concave, the 
premaxille do not join the nasals, and the occipital aspect of the 
skull is characterised by the deep incisions made by the temporal 
fosse. The lower part of the legs is white (Fig. 150), and the hoofs 
are comparatively small and pointed. The Gaur (b. gaurus) is the 
largest of the three species, and inhabits all the large forests of India 
from near Cape Comorin to the foot of the Himalaya; it is commonly 
known to sportsmen as the Indian Bison. It stands fully 6 feet in 
height at the withers, which are much elevated ; and since the whole 
back is arched the line from the nose to the root of the tail forms 
an almost continuous curve. The most characteristic feature of the 
animal is, however, the large and convex intercornual frontal crest, 
which curves forward, and thus gives a concave profile to this part 
of the skull. Asa rule the Gaur prefers hilly regions, although it 
is sometimes met with on the flat. It is very shy and readily 
frightened ; and it has never been domesticated. The Gayal, or 
Mithan, of which a figure is given in woodcut 150, is at once dis- 
tinguished from the Gaur by the straight line between the horns 
