252 
UNGULATES. 
Distribution. 
Varieties. 
variation of the horns in the different races, it is somewhat difficult to give a 
description which will hold good for them all. They are, however, much com¬ 
pressed, placed close together at the base, and spirally twisted, with a keel both in 
front and behind. The front keel, which tends to become rounded in old animals, 
at first turns outwards in each horn; and the sharp back keel twists forwards to 
form the prominent front ridge of the first turn of the spiral. The length varies 
greatly in the different races. The females have small horns with a slight twist. 
The markhor is first met with in the Pir Panjal range, forming 
the outer boundary of the valley of Kashmir, but does not extend to 
the eastwards of the valley of the Chinab river. To the north and north-west of 
the valley of Kashmir it extends into the districts of Baltistan, Astor, and Gilgit; 
and it is also found in many of the ranges of Hazara and Afghanistan, and likewise 
in the neighbourhood of Quetta. 
Four distinct varieties of the markhor are recognised by Mr. 
Blanford, and are characterised as follows:—First of all, we have the 
typical Astor and Baltistan markhor, in which the horns form a very open spiral, 
never forming more than one and a half turns. The horns are extremely massive, 
and attain a great length. Mr. Otho Shaw has specimens measuring 49 and 55 
inches in length along the posterior keel; and it is probable that an example with 
a length of 63 inches belonged to this variety. Next we have the Pir Panjal 
markhor, of which the horns are represented in the woodcut on the next page. Here 
the spiral is less open, and may form from one to two complete turns. This race 
extends across the Jhelam river into the Kajnag range, and from thence probably 
into Hazara and Gilgit, where it passes into the third variety. Mr. Shaw has a 
pair of horns measuring 45 inches along the curve, and others have been recorded 
of 50 inches and rather over. In the third or Cabul variety, which is the one 
represented in our first illustration, the horns are almost straight, but still have 
a slight spiral, with two complete twists. Specimens have been measured with 
a length of 44 inches, but it is said that as much as 60 inches have been recorded, 
measured along the curve. Lastly, we have the markhor of the Suliman range, 
on the eastern frontier of Afghanistan, in which the horns are generally perfectly 
straight, with the front and back keels wound round in a sharp spiral, which may 
form from two to three and a half complete turns. In the largest recorded head 
the length along the hind keel was 49 inches. This variety is considerably inferior 
in size to the other, and has a smaller beard. 
The different varieties of the markhor exhibit some diversity in 
their habits, owing to the varying nature of their native districts; 
General Kinloch remarking that while the open-horned varieties inhabit lofty 
pine-clad ranges, whose summits are generally wreathed in snow, the straight¬ 
horned Suliman race has its home among barren and rocky hills of trifling 
elevation, where the heat during the summer months is frequently intense. 
Like other goats, markhor go in small flocks, the males generally keeping 
apart from the females. General Kinloch remarks of the male that “ his flowing 
black beard, and long shaggy mane, falling from his neck and shoulders to his 
knees, give him a most imposing appearance; and as he stands to gaze on some 
jutting rock on the face of a rugged precipice, overhung by dark pine trees, no 
Habits. 
