CHAPTER III 



THE BANTING (BOS SONDAICUS) 



{Burmese, ' Tsaing') 



This animal ranges throughout Burma and the 

 Malay Peninsula, and is found also in parts of Siam, 

 Sumatra, Borneo and Java. In appearance he 

 is not unlike a large Hereford bull, but is a very 

 much larger beast — massively built, standing 

 about sixteen hands at the shoulders, and 

 occasionally higher. Old bulls have been shot 

 measuring fully seventeen hands. He is the 

 wild ox of Burma, and has been described as a 

 miniature gaur. This description, which is accur- 

 ate enough so far as it goes, is, nevertheless, some- 

 what misleading. He may be a miniature gaur, 

 but is an uncommonly big miniature. There is 

 nothing diminutive or weedy about him. He may 

 stand a trifle higher in the leg than the bison, 

 but his legs are none the less short and sturdy ; 

 as they need to be to support the huge body. 

 The hoof is very neat and small for so large a 

 beast. In shape he is not unlike the bison, except 

 that the dorsal ridge, though well denned, is much 



