248 
UNGULATES. 
Habits. 
Herat, on the Persian frontier, in the north-west, to Kumaon in the south-east. 
It is found not only on the crags but likewise on the open Pamir country. 
To the south of the Valley of Kashmir the ibex is unknown in the Pir Panjal 
range, and its continuation to the north-west of the Jhelam river, the Kajnag; 
but it is not known to occur in the Himalaya to the eastward of the sources of the 
Ganges, neither is it recorded from Eastern Tibet. Messrs. Blanford and Hodgson 
have, however, reason to believe that it occurs in Tibet to the northwards of 
Shikatse, on the Sanpo river, and also near Lhasa. 
Like its Alpine cousin, the Himalayan ibex inhabits the crags 
and upland meadows at or near the snow-level, rising or descending 
according to the season of the year. General Macintyre writes of the habits of 
this species, in the following 
words :—“ From what I have 
seen and heard of ibex, their 
sense of smell is not nearly so 
acute as their sight. But 
they seldom apprehend danger 
from above, so it is best to 
approach them, if possible, 
from that direction. During 
the spring and early summer 
they may be seen feeding at 
almost any time of the day 
on the green patches of herb¬ 
age among the higher crags 
and snow-fields, only taking 
a siesta for a few hours at a 
time. In the dead of winter 
they are found much lower 
on the mountain-sides. Pro¬ 
vided they do not see the 
hunter, they are not always 
scared away by firing, prob¬ 
ably owing to their being so 
head of Himalayan ibex. accustomed to hearing the 
noise of falling- rocks and 
avalanches. And sometimes they get so bewildered by the echoes of a shot, that 
they give time for several easy chances before making up their minds to be off. 
If one of them, however, catches only a glimpse of anything suspicious, a warning 
whistle at once sends off the whole herd, although they often depart very leisurely, 
even after being shot at. Ibex sometimes congregate in large numbers, but they 
are usually found in flocks of from six or seven to twenty or so, the older bucks 
often herding separately, except during the rutting-season. Despite the quantities 
that are shot, killed by avalanches, and by those terrible foes to all Himalayan 
game, the wild dogs, there appears to be little decrease in their numbers on the 
more sequestered hunting-grounds; for they are very prolific, each doe having as 
