CHAPTER XXV 
THE SAMBUR (C. A R 1 S TO TEL IS ) 
This is the largest of all deer, excepting the moose 
and the wapiti. The stag stands about 13^ hands 
at the shoulder, and weighs when alive from 560 to 
600 lbs. I have weighed them both in India and 
in Ceylon. The horns of this species vary to a 
great degree, according to the localities which the 
deer inhabit. They are not shed annually, but 
with great irregularity every third or fourth year. 
This has been established as a fact by those which 
have been for some years kept in confinement, 
and it is generally accepted by all natives who 
are experienced shikaris. During eight years’ 
hunting in Ceylon, I killed a vast number of 
sambur throughout all seasons, and there was no 
particular month when the antlers were shed ; the 
deer were found with horns in every stage of 
growth, irrespective of periods or localities. 
It is a curious fact that I never saw a stag 
sambur absolutely without horns, although during 
seven years I was continually hunting them with a 
pack of hounds. I have already mentioned under 
