THE NEAR EAST 
cultivation is almost wholly precluded until the more level plain is reached.” 
Crossing the ridge, he spent a whole day zigzagging “ down an uncom- 
monly rough and broken face, twisting and turning now down a narrow 
torrent -bed, now along a smooth and level ledge bristling with euphorbias, 
calotropis and fragrant oleander, now among crags and boulders, making 
slow progress, but without any serious mishap.” It will be seen that the 
habitat of the Arabian tahr is very much like that of the Himalayan and 
Nilgiri races, in that it has plenty of steep country to resort to; but it 
seems doubtful that the Arabian tahr can have the forest -loving character 
of the Himalayan species. Jungle is unlikely to exist apart from native 
settlements, and they are mostly low down. I think it more probable that 
in the Akhdar ranges the tahr is a purely rock-loving animal and lives 
high up. Dr Jayakar, who first procured specimens of this animal, said 
that he thought it lived at from 1,500 feet to 2,000 feet. It remains to be 
seen what peculiar conditions existent on the 10,000 feet ranges cause the 
tahr to live so low down. The same authority says it occurs everywhere 
in the hills, which suggests that it certainly is not confined to the main 
Jebel Akhdar ridge. 
When affairs have quieted down on the coast, and there is not so much 
suspicion of the European, it would be a most interesting experience to try 
to find out the exact haunts and habits of this rare animal. Summer must 
be avoided, winter probably being the ideal season for a journey in these 
latitudes. The tahr cannot live very far from the coast. A hundred miles 
from Muscat would take one to the furthest ranges. It is a small animal, 
only 24f inches at the shoulder, as compared with the Indian races, which 
run to 36 and 40 inches. It is not only short-haired, as one would expect 
in such a hot country, but its coat is coarse and brittle, quite unlike the 
Indian tahr, and having the same peculiar texture as that of the Arabian 
oryx. 
There is no record of ibex existing in Oman, but in other parts of 
Southern Arabia, such as the Hadramaut and Yemen, they are plentiful, 
and attain a large size. This southern race is distinguished as a variety 
of the Sinaitic. It certainly has a much longer horn measurement, the 
difference between the record length of either being about 10 inches. 
Nearly every hill throughout Arabia on its western side supports ibex. 
Through Midian to Nejd, Asir, Yemen and the Hadramaut, on the inland 
side, there must be ibex ground at intervals all the way. There should 
be some good country on the coasts of Arabia facing the Indian Ocean. 
33 
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