THE MALAYAN SAMBUR 143 



This is, in fact, the case. A peculiarity about 

 the Malayan sambur is, that an animal shot in 

 the hills generally has a better head all round 

 than one living in the plains at the foot of the 

 hills. Why this should be I do not know, since 

 the jungle on the hills is frequently as dense as 

 that at the foot, and often more so, and the 

 feeding is equally good in either. Though there 

 is no question that the head of the Indian 

 sambur is the handsomer of the two, still a 

 really good head of C. equinus is not to be 

 despised. The rugged horns, with their big 

 girth and long brow antlers, look all the more 

 massive for being close together. I have seen 

 some with a girth of quite 12 in. Unfortu- 

 nately, however, good heads of the Malayan 

 sambur are rare. Not one in twenty has a 

 length exceeding 30 in. A good average head 

 is one of about 27 in. in length, with a girth 

 of from 7 in. to 9 in. 



If anything, the Malayan sambur is even 

 more nocturnal than his Indian cousin. At 

 all events, he is seldom seen in the daytime. 

 He is a shy beast, and avoids the vicinity of man, 

 being generally found on bison ground, which 

 appears to suit his requirements to a nicety. 

 He is occasionally met with in the very early 

 morning, and when seen a little way off can be 

 stalked with comparative ease. His sight is 

 poor compared to that of most deer; nor does 



