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harem of ten to twenty wives, and these he jealously guards lest any of them should 
fall into the power of a rival. No sooner does he see an adversary approaching than he, 
the lawful lord of the herd, rushes to the encounter with head lowered, uttering short 
deep bleats. The combat is fierce, and the long sharp horns inflict terrible wounds, 
often causing the death of both antagonists. Should one feel his strength ebbing, he 
takes to flight pursued by his enemy, then suddenly wheeling round receives the latter 
on his horns. As a proof of the fury with which they fight, I remember shooting one 
of the combatants, who, to my surprise, continued the fight for several minutes after he 
had received his death-wound, and then suddenly expired. If a doe chance to stray 
from the herd, the buck immediately gives chase, and, bleating as he goes, tries to drive 
her back again. While his attention is thus engaged the others give him the slip, and 
pursuing first one, then another, he often loses his whole harem. At last, deserted by 
all, he gives vent to his fury and disgust by striking the ground with his hoofs, curving 
his tail, lowering his horns, and bleating defiance at his compeers. From morning until 
evening these scenes are constantly occurring, and there appears to be no bond of union 
between the male antelope and his does; to-day they consort with one buck, to-morrow 
with another. 
“ The rutting-season over, the Orongos again live peaceably with one another, the 
males and females often collecting in separate herds. We saw a troop of about 300 
does in February in the valley of the Shuga; the young are dropped in July. The 
Orongo is fearless and will let the hunter openly approach within 300 yards, or even 
nearer. The report of firearms or the whistle of a bullet does not alarm it; it only 
shows surprise by walking quietly away, frequently stopping to look at the hunter. 
Like other antelopes it is extremely tenacious of life and will run a long way although 
wounded. They are not difficult to shoot, for besides showing no fear, they haunt rocky 
defiles in the mountains, where they may be easily stalked. I have fired as many as from 
one to two hundred shots at them in the course of the day, my bag, of course, varying 
a good deal with my luck in the long shots. The Orongo is held sacred by the Mongols 
and Tangutans, and lamas will not touch the meat, which, by the way, is excellent, 
particularly in autumn when the animal is fat. The blood is said to possess medicinal 
virtues, and the horns are used in charlatanism: Mongols tell fortunes and predict 
future events by the rings on these, and they also serve to mark out the burial-places, 
or more commonly the circles within which the bodies of deceased lamas are exposed ; 
these horns are carried away in large numbers by pilgrims returning from Tibet, and 
are sold at high prices. Mongols tell you that a whip-handle made from one will in the 
hands of the rider prevent his steed from tiring.’’ 
It is almost unnecessary to say that living specimens of the Chiru have 
never, as yet, been brought to Europe. 
The British Museum contains a mounted specimen of an adult male of the 
Chiru, obtained by Mr. Mandelli in Sikim and presented by Dr. W. T. Blan- 
ford; also some specimens presented by Hodgson, and a number of very fine 
skulls and horns from Ladakh and Kumaon from the Hume Collection. 
H 2 
