NATURALIST IN INDIA. 189 



foot. There a noble stag, in expectation of meeting a rival or 

 mate, in maddening excitement rushes forward, and before he 

 has time to make good a retreat, receives his death-wound. 



In this way many a stag has fallen in the mountains of 

 Cashmere. 



The tiger, panther, bears, and wild dogs {Canis primcevus), 

 are its natural enemies. The first has been killed at Poonch, 

 among the southern ranges, and although I have not been 

 enabled to prove its existence in the Northern Punjaub, there 

 is little doubt but it frequently visits the deer-forests. The 

 native appellative, " sher," is used indiscriminately for aU the 

 larger Felinse, and as the shickarees assert full-grown harts are 

 often killed by the " sher," I conceive tigers must be the de- 

 predators, inasmuch as the panther is not a match for an 

 adult, although beyond doubt young deer are frequently killed 

 by them. 



It is not uncommon to find shed antlers much gnawed, 

 and as the same has been observed with reference to the red- 

 deer of the Scotch forests, there is some appearance of truth 

 in the assertion that the animal is in the habit of gnawing the 

 cast horn during the formation of the new for the earthy salts 

 it may contain. The natives state, however, that bears are 

 the depredators on such occasions. 



There is a large species known as Cervus dvmaucellii. It 

 frequents the lower ranges of the Eastern Himalaya, and may 

 possibly be likewise found on certain parts of the western 

 chains. It is impossible, however, in the present state of our 

 knowledge of the haunts of Asiatic Cervidse, to be able to 

 define accurately their distinctions and localities. The sambar 

 {Busa equina) of the Mahrattas is said likewise to frequent the 

 lower region of the Western Himalaya ; also the sambar (Rusa 

 Jivppelaphus), a native of the forests of India. The jari {Busa 



