OXEN. 
181 
Like the gaur, the gayal is essentially an inhabitant of hill- 
Habits. & J ... J 
forests, and the facility with which it will traverse rocky country is 
little short of marvellous for an animal of such bulky proportions. 
Gayal have been exhibited in England alive, but none of them were 
fully-grown bulls, and consequently failed to give an adequate idea of the 
magnificent proportions attained by that sex. Adult bulls have, however, been 
shown from time to time in the Zoological Gardens at Calcutta, and were most 
splendid animals, with glossy coats of the deepest shade of brown. Gayal will 
breed with the humped cattle of India, and the product of such a union born 
in the London Zoological Gardens was again crossed with a bull American bison. 
A pure-bred gayal calf produced in the same menagerie was of a light brownish 
red colour, with the throat, chest, and the inner sides of the legs white. 
The Banting (Bos sondaicus). 
The banting, or Javan ox, differs very considerably from both the preceding 
species, and serves to connect them with the typical oxen. The most distinctive 
feature of this ox is the large white patch on the hind-quarters, which extends 
upwards to the root of the tail, although not surrounding it. Another peculiarity 
of the banting is that the cow has the head, body, and upper portions of the limbs 
of the same reddish brown, almost chestnut colour as the calves. The general 
build of the animal is slighter than that of the gaur, the ridge on the back is much 
less developed, and the legs are proportionately longer. The head is also more 
elongated and pointed; while the horns, which are cylindrical in the young, are 
relatively smaller. In the adult bull they are flattened at the base, and are much 
curved, the direction being at first outwards and upwards, while towards the tips 
they incline inwards and somewhat backwards. The tail descends below the hocks ; 
and the dewlap is of moderate size. The old bulls are black, with the exception of 
the white patch on the buttocks and the legs, from the knees and hocks downwards. 
The young calves, like those of the gayal, have the whole length of the outer 
surface of the limbs chestnut; and they are also distinguished by a dark streak 
down the back. A full-grown bull banting from Java measured 5 feet 9J inches 
at the withers; but Mr. Blanford states that the largest example recorded from 
Burma was only 5 feet 4 inches in height. 
The banting is exclusively confined to the regions lying to the 
eastwards of the Bay of Bengal, occurring throughout Burma, and 
probably extending as far north as the hills to the eastwards of Chittagong, while 
it also inhabits the Malay Peninsula, and the islands of Java, Bali, Borneo, and 
probably Sumatra. That it also occurs in Siam is almost certain, but its exact range 
in the Indo-Chinese countries has still to be determined. Large herds of domestic¬ 
ated banting are kept by the Malays in Java, and also in the small island of Bali, 
lying to the south-east. The herds in Bali are replenished by importation from 
Java. The Malays speak of a wild ox under the name of the sapio, which 
may prove to be a variety of the banting with ferruginous red instead of white 
on the legs. 
It has already been noticed that the original colour of the wild ox or aurochs 
Distribution. 
