THE CAUCASIAN STAG 
of the Carpathians. The antlers of some are particularly fine, and are the 
more attractive from the fact that one good pair always differs from 
another, and has beauties peculiar to itself; whereas the horns of both 
sheep and ibex have so strong a similarity to each other that a large 
collection of them waxes monotonous. 
One of the reasons why the Caucasian stag carries so large a head is 
probably due to the fact that there are so few deer on the ground, and 
the number of hinds to each stag seems less than in most places. Why 
there are so few hinds I have been unable to determine, but it may be 
that the poachers, who hunt mostly for meat and have a difficulty in 
selling horns, may find the female easier to shoot; it is also possible 
that the hinds fall an easier prey to leopards than the stag. The most 
hinds I have seen with a stag in the Caucasus was six, and usually the 
number is only one or two; sometimes I have wondered whether there 
were enough wives to go round, when I have heard several stags calling 
at the same time and have been unable to spy a female at all. 
The stags do not seem to come down much in the rutting season; in fact, 
the best stag I ever saw was just above timber line towards the end of 
September. This was one of the few occasions that I have had a really 
good view of the animal in the open, and then, in spite of desperate efforts, 
I failed to get between him and the covert in time. 
I got quite a good stag one year in a valley near Gagri, on the Black 
Sea, by staying till November and tracking in the snow. I had, however, 
to leave sooner than I wished, as it was a spot very difficult of access, and 
a heavy fall of snow would have obliged me to abandon everything and 
make a dash for it. 
I have never tried hunting them in the early spring, just before they 
drop their horns. This is accounted the most deadly time for the 
barasingh stag in Kashmir, and it is quite possible that it would pay to 
try it in the Caucasus. The fallen leaves would have rotted by that 
period, and walking on snow is noiseless unless it has a crust on it; but 
the sportsman would have to depend on tracking and still -hunting, as 
there would be no “ calling ” at that season to guide him. 
The best stag that ever fell to my rifle I got so late one evening that in 
another ten minutes I could not have seen the sights. We had crossed 
the valley hurriedly in response to a single deep roar, and were lying 
at the edge of a small clearing, where we found a young stag and two 
hinds quietly feeding. My hunter, Popoff, implored me to shoot, but I 
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