THE DOMESTICATION OF WILD ANIMALS 45 
In spite, too, of the warm climate of its native home, 
the Indian spotted deer, or chital, takes kindly to a semi- 
wild life in Europe, where it may be seen in some of the 
parks of England, France, and Germany, the acclimatisation 
on the Continent dating from more than fifty years ago. 
At the time of its first introduction on the Continent 
nearly all the fawns perished owing to having been born 
in winter; but the females subsequently took to calving in 
spring, after which change of habit breeding has gone on 
successfully. Still it must be acknowledged that such an 
essentially exotic animal as the chital is much less likely 
to become permanently acclimatised in northern and central 
Europe than is a species like the Peking deer, whose home 
is in the steppes of Manchuria. 
Hog-deer, which have the advantage that they do no 
damage to foliage, seeing that they are grazing animals, 
have been introduced into two French parks, and also run 
wild in the woods at Woburn. And the same is the case 
with the Indian and Chinese species of muntjac. During 
the cold winters of 1879-80 muntjacs were seen in a French 
park during the winter lying out on the snow and apparently 
enjoying themselves. For small parks these little deer are 
specially to be commended, as their diminutive size removes 
nearly all danger of a serious attack with their antlers. 
The hornless Chinese water-deer is, however, absolutely 
innocuous in this respect; and it also has the further re- 
commendation that it is much more prolific than any other 
member of the Cervidae, producing as many as half a dozen 
fawns at a birth. Of antelopes, several kinds have been 
more or less acclimatised in Europe. Most notable is the 
case of the nilgai in Italy, where in 1862 Signor Comba 
introduced a dozen head into his park at Mandria. Ten 
years later no less than 172 individuals were running at 
