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hollows deep enough to conceal their bodies, from which, themselves unperceived, they 
can detect any threatening danger at a great distance. In addition to the concealment 
afforded by their ‘ shelter pits,’ they have an additional safeguard against surprise in the 
constant mirage which prevails on these stony wastes during the bright hours of the day. 
This mirage not only distorts all visible objects in an extraordinary manner, but, like 
rippling water, refracts the rays of light to such a degree as to render objects altogether 
invisible at very short distances. It is, of course, worst near the surface of the ground, 
but on very hot days it attains a level of several feet; and I well remember, on one 
occasion, observing the slender horns of an Antelope gliding past me within three 
hundred yards, apparently borne on the surface of a glassy stream, in which the wearer 
of the horns was submerged and completely hidden from view! When Antelope are 
feeding on the grassy flats by the streams is the time when they may be easily 
approached ; and then a knowledge of the ground, and of the habits of the animal, 
renders success in stalking them tolerably certain.” 
How far the Chiru extends into the high plateau of Northern Asia beyond 
the Himalayas it is yet a little uncertain. Dr. Blanford, in his account of 
the mammals collected by Stoliczka during the Second Yarkand Mission 
(where excellent coloured figures of both sexes of this Antelope are given), 
tells us that it has been found in the Kuen-lun range, but has not been met 
with furtier north-west or west. It is also, as we are told by the great 
Russian traveller and naturalist Przewalski, a characteristic animal of the 
highlands of Northern Tibet. The ‘‘Orongo,” as it is here called by the 
Monguls and Tanguts, was first met with by the great traveller after crossing 
the Burkhan Buddha range, beyond which it was found distributed to the 
south as far as the Tang-la mountains. In Mr. Delmar Morgan’s translation 
of Przewalski’s travels will be found the following passages relating to the 
habits of this animal, of which, in the original Russian edition of the work, 
both sexes are figured :— 
“The Orongo is found in small herds from five to twenty or forty head, rarely 
collecting in large troops of several hundred, and this only where the pasturage is good 
and plentiful. Though a few of the old bucks, usually accompanying every herd, are 
more cautious and experienced, the Orongos generally are not so wary in their habits. 
In their flight the males follow the herd as though to prevent straggling; whilst with 
the Dzerens and Kara-sultas this order is reversed. When in motion, either leisurely or 
at full speed, the Orongo holds its horns erect, which adds greatly to its appearance. 
When trotting—its usual pace—the legs move so quickly that at a distance they are 
invisible, and dogs or wolves are soon left behind. We arrived in Tibet during the 
breeding-season of these animals, which begins late in November and lasts a month. 
“ At this time the full-grown males are in a most exited state, taking little food and 
soon losing the fat which they had gained during summer. The buck soon forms his 
