THE IBEX 
(CAPRA SIBIRICA) 
O F all the forms of mountain hunting there is probably 
none more attractive than the pursuit of the ibex, and the 
I heart of the old hunter thrills at the recollection of the 
! glorious days he has spent amid the peaks and glaciers 
while enjoying this splendid sport. 
Although there are not many ibex on the mountains 
that encircle the Yale of Kashmir, still they are fairly numerous in the 
Ward wan, Baltistan, Astor and Ladak. In the old days men used to shoot 
fifteen or twenty of these animals on a single trip, and probably not half 
of these would be worth keeping; fortunately, the game laws have put a 
stop to this, and the general feeling among sportsmen now is that size of 
head and not quantity is what should be aimed at. In Kashmir and the 
neighbouring states any head of over 40 inches may be regarded as 
good, and out of the number allowed him by the game laws the hunter 
should be able to get at least one of these dimensions; anything under 
35 inches should not be fired at. The length of ibex horns is easier to judge 
than that of most animals, and with a little practice and a good telescope 
one soon learns to estimate them within a couple of inches or so, especially 
if viewed in profile. It should always be remembered that those which curve 
well round in the segment of a circle tape much more than those which 
stand up rather straight from the head. 
The best Himalayan ibex recorded in Rowland Ward’s book of horn 
measurements is one of 55 inches, which was secured a few years 
ago by Lieut-Colonel Gurdon, near Gilgit; but this must be regarded as a 
very exceptional head, and any man who gets one of 45 inches or over on 
the ground open to the ordinary sportsman may count himself extremely 
lucky. 
Towards the north the heads gradually get bigger, and from the neigh- 
bourhood of the Tugdumbash Pamir some very long horns have been 
reported; while in the Tian Shan Mountains the average may be considered 
quite ten inches larger than in the Himalayas. Going further north again 
they get smaller when the Altai is reached. 
Provided he has not been recently disturbed by a previous sports- 
man, or rendered nervous by the pursuit of snow leopards, the ibex 
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