THE TIBETAN ANTELOPE 
(PANTHOLOPS HODGSONI) 
T HIS antelope, called chiru by the Ladakis, is found in Chang- 
chenmo and extends some way eastward over the Tibetan 
plateau. The bucks have black horns, somewhat similar in shape 
to those of Grant’s gazelle in East Africa, and the females 
are hornless. The puffiness of the face gives this antelope a 
curiously underbred appearance. The chiru is only found at 
high altitudes, between 13,000 and 17,000 feet; the coat is rather woolly 
and if the beast is shot in summer is very apt to slip. 
Owing to the absence of cover it is not easy to approach these animals, 
and long shots usually have to be taken. In summer they suffer a good 
deal from the grubs of a fly deposited in the skin; this causes considerable 
irritation and keeps them on the move, and one constantly comes across 
the hollows they have scraped in the ground as beds. Few big heads have 
been obtained in Kashmir territory of late years, and unfortunately the 
hunter is now prohibited from crossing the Tibetan frontier. As a beast 
of chase the chiru cannot be ranked very high ; but a head is an interesting 
trophy, and shows that the sportsman has marched far to get it. The 
meat yields quite good food. 
THE TIBETAN GAZELLE 
(GAZELLA PICTICAUDATA) 
T HIS pretty little gazelle, known locally as goa , is found in a 
few isolated localities in Ladak, generally not far from the 
ground inhabited by Ovis hodgsoni. Unfortunately these gazelles 
are nowhere very numerous. The horns are not unlike those of 
the Indian chinkara. The attempt to stalk them is an irritating 
business, as they generally have to be approached over a gravelly 
plain, where there is but a poor chance of concealing oneself, and they 
are constantly twitching their tails and moving on. At two hundred yards 
the animal looks absurdly small, and the rifle must be held very straight 
to hit so diminutive a mark. 
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