164 BIG-GAME SHOOTING IN UPPER BURMA 



from elephants or driven, and gives real good 

 sport, take him as you will. And to end with, 

 his flesh is delicious. He stands about 23 in. 

 at the shoulders, and is of a bright golden 

 bay, the back being of a darker shade ; the 

 throat, the inside of the limbs and the belly 

 are white. There is a curious contraction of 

 the skin of the face by which a ridge is formed, 

 giving the animal the appearance of having a 

 perpetual frown, hence the name ' rib-faced 

 deer.' The head is long and narrow. The buck 

 has a pair of tusks set loosely in the upper jaw ; 

 those in an old buck are about an inch in length, 

 and with them he can inflict a nasty wound. 

 The horns spring out of a hairy pedicle, which 

 is some 3 or 4 in. in height, the horns them- 

 selves of a good buck measuring about 6 in. 

 The tips turn backwards and inwards, and 

 the test of a good head is that it should be 

 able to be suspended from a stretched cord by 

 the tips. There is a small brow antler about 

 an inch in length. In Burma the horns are 

 often very thick for their size. A girth of 3 in. 

 is not uncommon. The tongue is exceptionally 

 long. 



The buck has an extraordinary call or bark, 

 rather resembling that of a hoarse watch-dog. 

 This can be heard for a great distance. The call 

 of the doe or young is a sort of squeaky grunt, 

 and is not often heard. The barking deer also 



