THE MALAYAN SAMBUR 145 



hind or calf. 1 It begins as a spot from which 

 the hair has been rubbed about the size of a 

 four-anna piece. This increases in size until, in 

 full-grown animals, it has a diameter of about 

 four inches. The original spot now becomes 

 a bleeding sore in the centre of a large circle 

 the size of a saucer ; this large circular patch 

 has a bare rather than a raw appearance, the 

 hair being completely rubbed away, though the 

 skin, except at the central spot, is not actually 

 broken. In full-grown animals the central 

 spot may be as large as a penny. Indian and 

 Burmese shikaris have an explanation for this; 

 but a somewhat inadequate one. They say 

 the sambur is attacked by a parasite, and the 

 sore is caused by the animal rubbing itself to 

 get relief from the irritation. This no doubt is 

 true so far as it goes ; but they are quite unable 

 to explain why sambur should invariably be 

 attacked in exactly the same place, why the 

 sore should be as circular as if it were made with 

 a pair of compasses, and why sambur alone of 

 all deer should be so afflicted. I do not myself 

 believe in the rubbing theory. If the beast 



1 Since writing the above I paid a visit to the Zoologica 

 Gardens in Calcutta, which contain a good number of sambur. 

 But I was unable to detect the blood-spot in any of the sambur 

 there. It would appear, therefore, that the parasite is found 

 in the long grass growing in the sambur's habitat, and that it 

 adheres to the animal's skin as he forces his way through the 

 undergrowth. 



