THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
animal deviates from the Assamese one is the extension of the pale 
coloration over the greater part of the head and its intensification every- 
where.” I quote the following notes from the lengthy description I gave of 
the animal in ‘‘The Big Game of Central and Western China 
“ There is no dark spinal stripe, though its remains are found in 
a longer ridge of hairs, of a slightly darker tone than those of the body, 
approximating to those found on the necks of the males. It is interest- 
ing to note, however, that this dark dorsal stripe is very prominent 
in the young, varying in colour from dark grey to chocolate brown 
on the neck and tail. The young have also dark hairs round the fringe 
of the curiously shaped ears and a dark muzzle. The legs and hind- 
quarters are also considerably darker than in the adult. Even in the 
Szechuan variety the young are very materially darker than in adult 
specimens. The cows stand about forty-two inches at the shoulder, a 
full-grown bull about fifty -one inches. The legs are short, enormously 
thick and seem small in proportion to the body. The hoofs are large 
and very splayed. The hair is coarse. In sunlight they are a conspicuous 
golden yellow, though the females are considerably lighter and more 
silvery in tone, like the yellow in the coat of a polar bear. The bulls 
are much larger and have a decidedly reddish tinge about the neck, 
not unlike the colour of a lion. The back view of both sexes, owing to 
the length of hair, the formation of the hindquarters and comparative 
concealment of the short, broad tail, is absurdly like that of a Teddy 
bear. Much larger in size, they reminded me very strongly of the 
Rocky Mountain goat ( Oreamnus montanus)> both in their heavy build 
and apparently clumsy, lumbering gait. On occasions they can 
cover the rough ground on which they dwell with the agility of a 
rhinoceros. The head, normally, is carried low, the point of the muzzle 
being considerably below the line of the vertebrae. The eye sockets are 
prominent, close up to the horn, the curve of the nose decidedly semi- 
tic, and the nostrils large and well formed. The colour of the young is 
yellowish grey, shading to a darker tone, mingled with brown on the 
flanks. The belly is brown, the hair soft and fluffy; the hind legs dark 
grey, a lighter brown on the inside of the thigh. The upper part of the 
foreleg is dark grey; the lower part of the leg brownish yellow. 
“ According to the natives, those found to the south of Tai-pei-shan 
are much darker in colour and not so yellow, but there seems no reason 
why this should be so. They also say that the calves in their second year 
164 
