508 



THE CLOVEN-HOOFED ANIMALS. 



time. Young animals are reddish brown and lighter 

 around the eyes. Light varieties or white individ- 

 uals are seldom seen. 



Range and The Alps may be termed the true 



Habits of the home of the Chamois. Its range 

 Chamois. really extends much farther, as the 

 Chamois is also found in the Abruzzi, the Pyrenees, 

 the mountains of the Cantabrian coast, of Dalmatia 

 and Greece, on the Carpathian mountains, especially 

 on the peaks of the high Tatra, the Transylvanian 

 Alps, and lastly on the Caucasus, in Taurida and 

 Georgia. In the Swiss Alps it is at present of com- 

 paratively rare occurrence, being much less numer- 

 ous there than in the eastern Alps, where it exists in 

 considerable numbers especially in upper Bavaria, 

 Salzburg and the Salzkammergut, Styria and Car- 

 inthia, cared for and protected by wealthy and judi- 

 cious land-owners or people who rent the hunting 

 privileges. The steep, inaccessible heights of the 

 middle Carpathian mountains also harbor it in num- 

 bers satisfactory to sportsmen, though it is not pro- 

 tected there. 



The current belief that the Chamois is an Alpine 

 animal in the narrowest sense of the term, that is, 

 that it roams invariably above the forest belt, in the 

 immediate neighborhood of the glaciers, is an erro- 

 neous one; for it unreservedly belongs to the family 

 of the forest Antelopes. Wherever it is protected, 

 it shows a decided preference for the upper forest 

 belt. In summer it does ascend in greater or smaller 

 numbers to the higher belts of the mountain, and 

 remains for weeks and months in proximity to the 

 snow and glaciers, selecting the highest meadows 

 and treeless crags as its temporary abode; but the 

 majority of the Chamois of a district are found in 

 summer, as well as winter, in the upper forest belt. 



The Chamois is wont to rest at night. At dawn it 

 rises and begins to feed, as a rule descending the 

 mountain slowly. The latter part of the forenoon 

 it spends in ruminating in the shade of a projecting 

 rock or under the branches of an old fir tree, usually 

 lying, comfortably stretched out, on its folded legs. 

 At about noon it begins to slowly ascend the moun- 

 tain, feeding as it goes, and in the afternoon again 

 rests for a few hours under trees, on projecting, 

 smooth ledges of rock, or snow, or some similar 

 spot selected at random. It feeds again towards 

 evening and retires at the approach of dusk. It is 

 said to occasionally vary this history of its day 

 by feeding during moonlit summer nights. 



Being in high degree gregarious, the Chamois 

 associate in flocks, which often consist of great num- 

 bers. These societies are formed by the does, their 

 kids and the young bucks, up to their second or at 

 most their third year. The old bucks, except at 

 certain seasons, live solitary, or they join one, two 

 or three others of their own sex. It seems, how- 

 ever, that these animals never associate closely for 

 any long time. Of the larger flocks an old, expe- 

 rienced doe assumes the leadership and usually, but 

 not invariably, guides the actions of the flock, which, 

 however, does not rely entirely on her vigilance. 



The Chamois' In regard to its movements the 

 l^ovements on the Chamois vies with the other mount- 

 Mountains. ain-climbing members of its family 

 already known to us. It is a skillful climber, a sure- 

 footed jumper and a bold and indefatigable ascender 

 of mountains, moving rapidly and nimbly about on 

 the most dangerous places to which no Goat dares 

 attempt to climb. When it proceeds slowly its gait 

 is lumbering and clumsy and its bearing ungainly; 



but as soon as its fear is aroused and it takes ta 

 flight, the animal changes completely. It then 

 impresses one as far livelier, bolder, nobler and 

 stronger, as it bounds away, every one of its move- 

 ments characterized by vigor and grace. Some 

 definite observations have been made about its ex- 

 traordinary leaping powers: Von Wolten measured 

 the leap of one Chamois and found it to have cov- 

 ered a distance rather exceeding twenty-three feet. 

 The same observer saw a tame Chamois jump up a 

 wall thirteen feet high, and leap down on the other 

 side, alighting on the back of a servant girl' who was 

 cutting grass. The Chamois can gain a foothold on 

 the smallest projection, and in scaling an eminence, 

 it looks more like a bird in flight than an animal 

 climbing. It takes a run and generally ascends 

 obliquely. It goes uphill more easily than down- 

 hill, and sets its mobile and sensitive forefeet on the 

 ground with extreme caution, lest it should loosen 

 some of the stones over which it passes. Even 

 when severely wounded it rushes up the most dan- 

 gerous paths; nay, even when deprived of a leg, it 

 exhibits scarcely less agility than when it is sound. 

 The Chamois proceeds with the utmost caution 

 when crossing snow-covered glaciers, and carefully 

 avoids all snow filled crevices even though it can 

 not distinguish them by its sight. It also skirts the 

 edges of an abyss very carefully and slowly. Some 

 members of the flock concentrate their attention on 

 the path, while the others incessantly look out for 

 any other danger. "We have seen," says Tschudi, 

 " how a flock of Chamois crossed a dangerous and 

 very steep ledge of rock, which was covered with 

 loose, rolling stones, and it was a pleasure to observe 

 their patience and sagacity. One of them took the 

 lead and walked gently upwards, while the others 

 waited their turn, until it had reached the height, 

 and only when all the loosened stones had ceased 

 rolling, the second followed, then the third and so 

 on. Those which had arrived at their, destination 

 showed not the slightest inclination to disperse on 

 the pasturage, but stood watching on the edge of 

 the chasm until the last companion had joined 

 them in safety." An unusual sense of locality stands 

 the Chamois in good stead on its bold wanderings. 

 It never forgets a road it has once traveled and one 

 might say it knows every stone in its domain; this is 

 just why it is so thoroughly at home on the high 

 mountain and seems awkward when it leaves it. 

 The Perceptive The • senses of the Chamois are un- 

 Sensesofthe equal in acuteness, but not weaker 

 Chamois. tha.n those of its relatives. Those of 

 smell and hearing seem to be developed best, while 

 that of sight is less keen. The delicacy of the first 

 is manifested not only by their commonly demon- 

 strated keen scent, but also by their surprisingly 

 good powers of trailing which enable, them to take 

 up, the track of each other and unerringly follow it. 

 He who wishes to observe Chamois or to approach 

 them, must pay careful attention to the direction of 

 the wind and approach them from the leeward, as 

 the shy animals will certainly otherwise escape. At 

 what distance their sense of scent is efficient, cannot 

 be determined definitely, but it may be confidently 

 asserted that it considerably exceeds the range of a 

 rifle-shot. At any rate the sense of smell is the one 

 which apprises a Chamois first and most unmistak- 

 ably of an approaching danger and consequently in- 

 cites it to flight. Their sense of hearing deceives 

 them much of tener, though it is very delicate. They 

 usually pay very little attention to the noise of falling 



