THE BURMESE SEROW 139 



goat — the Burmese species standing about 

 36 in. at the shoulder, while the Himalayan 

 serow measures a few inches higher. He is 

 heavily built on sturdy, goat-like legs. But for 

 all his ungainly appearance, few animals can 

 make better time down a steep, thickly wooded 

 hillside than the serow. The head and neck 

 are rufous in the Burmese species, with a few 

 grey hairs in an old animal. The muzzle and 

 chin are grey. A heavy crest of hair extends 

 from the back of the neck to the withers. The 

 back is greyish black, the sides and inner portions 

 of the limbs being chestnut. The horns are 

 black, curved backwards, and are generally 

 ringed from the base upwards to about half 

 their length. They may, however, be almost 

 smooth throughout their length. An old male 

 shot by the writer in the Himalayas had horns 

 10^ in. in length with hardly a ring on them. 

 In good specimens the girth of the horns at 

 the base measures from 5 in. to 6 in. The 

 horns of the female are generally shorter than 

 those of the male, with a lesser girth. The 

 eye is black and piggy-looking, and is in 

 keeping with the general uncouth appearance 

 of the beast. 



The serow is said to charge when wounded, 

 and a case is on record of an unwounded male, 

 whose mate had been killed, suddenly charging 

 out of the bushes and rolling the sportsman's 



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