NATURALIST IN INDIA. ' 235 



At the above season the ihex has a piebald appearance, 

 from the light colour of the under-wool and hair of the outer 

 coat, which, however, soon disappears as summer advances, and 

 they begin to shed the woolly pile, when the colour changes 

 to a uniform brown, with a dark line down the middle of the 

 back. At that season they are rarely seen, and only met with 

 on the summits of the craggy mountains. My own experience, 

 and that of native sportsmen, show that the ibex has little 

 sense of smeU, and depends most on its sight and hearing. 

 The iris is hazel, eye moderate and prominent, and so keen- 

 sighted that I believe there is no quadruped excels it in 

 that respect. The hunter soon becomes fully aware of this, 

 and has to reconnoitre with the greatest tact before he manages 

 to get yvithin rifle-shot, but unless he is enabled to approach 

 the herd from above, it is next to impossible to succeed by 

 stalking from below upwards, as they always anticipate 

 danger in that direction, and never expect any intruders from 

 the region above them. 



The leopards, panthers, wild-dog, and bearded vulture, 

 are the common enemies of the ibex ; the latter preys on the 

 kids only. 



On the 1st of June I ascended a gorge running through 

 the southern' chain — one of the wUdest-looking glens to be 

 seen anjrwhere : its sides were formed by steep mountains, the 

 tops covered with snow, and enormous drifts stretched down 

 the hoUows to the bottom, where they lay from 50 to 100 

 feet thick in many places. The northern exposure was dotted 

 here and there with belts of pine-forest, where the snow still 

 lay thick and hard, whilst on the opposite side the bare 

 patches were beginning to look green, and the wild rhubarb 

 was springing up. I had not proceeded far before two bears 

 were seen nibbling a scanty fare on a hUlside clearing. I 



