70 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



crashing down the hillside before you have time 

 to raise your rifle, possibly without affording 

 you even a glimpse of him. While you have 

 been moving he has been quietly watching you, 

 and as soon as he has made you out has lost 

 no time in decamping. Bison have poor sight, 

 but their hearing is very acute, and the sense 

 of smell well developed. Both bison and tsaing 

 can scent a man, if there is the faintest breeze, 

 at a distance of 300 yards, and possibly farther. 

 This doesn't come near an elephant's power, who 

 will wind a man half a mile away at least ; still, 

 300 yards is sufficiently far to afford Bos gaurus 

 very efficient protection. 



When feeding or moving about in cover, 

 a solitary bull, especially if he is an old fellow, 

 often keeps up a succession of loud grunts 

 which can be heard some hundreds of yards 

 away. This grunting is sometimes described 

 as breathing; but it is palpably not so, since 

 a bison whose suspicions are aroused will stand 

 motionless, sometimes for minutes together, 

 without making a sound. But a bull will 

 occasionally, especially in hot weather, breathe 

 loudly when walking. This, however, is quite 

 distinct from the grunting, which is very loud 

 and uttered at frequent intervals. Even when 

 not grunting, a solitary bull, while feeding, 

 makes such a noise tramping about in the 

 undergrowth that he is easily approached for 



