THE BARKING DEER 165 



occasionally makes a clicking noise with its 

 tongue; but I have not been able to discover 

 whether this is the sole prerogative of the buck, 

 as the bark is. I once came on a barking deer 

 walking along close to cover clicking merrily. 

 It looked like a doe, but I meant to shoot it to 

 solve the question. However, not being par- 

 ticularly interested in natural history, it declined 

 to give me the opportunity, and vanished into 

 the jungle, clicking as it ran. Like the hog deer 

 it is not gregarious, being found singly or in 

 pairs. The young are spotted up to about six 

 months of age. 



The barking deer is very shy, and though 

 found close to villages, keeps to the jungle, 

 coming out in the early morning and evening. 

 It is never found far from cover, and at the 

 least alarm bolts instanter. Nothing is prettier 

 than to see this little deer in the early morning 

 picking its dainty way close to the jungle, with 

 the rising sun turning its chestnut coat to living 

 gold. Like the hog deer, it runs with head held 

 low and stern well cocked up, the white scut of 

 a tail showing distinctly as it vanishes from 

 sight. But unlike the hog deer it is very dainty 

 in all its movements, and gets through the jungle 

 in a wonderful way. It affords very pretty 

 stalking, especially in the hills. Its eyesight is 

 not particularly keen; but the least movement 

 will attract its attention, and off it goes with a 



