ANTELOPES. 
297 
genus to which it belongs. In many respects the chiru is allied to the saiga, 
mentioned next, but the nose is less convex, and the nostrils open anteriorly instead 
of downwards. The horns (which, as in 
all the following members of this group 
are present only in the bucks) are black, 
long, erect, laterally compressed, and sub- 
lyrate, with rings in front for the lower 
two-thirds of their length. There is no 
gland below the eye ; and the skull lacks 
the pits between the eyes found in the 
other members of the group. In height 
the male chiru stands 32 inches at the 
shoulder; and it is covered with very 
thick, close fur, becoming woolly near the 
skin. The colour is pale fawn above and 
white below; the whole face and a stripe 
down the front of each leg being black 
or dark brown in the bucks. The horns 
frequently reach 24 and 26 inches in 
length, and one pair has been recorded of 
27| inches. The chiru probably inhabits 
the whole of the Tibetan plateau, at the 
same elevations as the Tibetan gazelle. 
In summer the sexes 
Habits. 
live apart; and these ante¬ 
lopes are often found in parties of from 
three to four individuals, but sometimes 
in large herds. They frequent the open 
rolling plains, or broad river-valleys, and 
generally feed at morning and evening. 
Although usually difficult to approach, a 
solitary buck will sometimes start up 
from a ravine close to the traveller’s feet, 
as once happened to the present writer. General Kinloch states that the chiru is in 
the habit of excavating hollows in the sand, in which it will lie concealed during 
the day. The young are born in summer; one only being produced at a birth. 
HEAD OF CHIRU. 
The Saiga. 
Genus Saiga. 
From the peculiarly bloated appearance of the nose of the male, the saiga 
(Saiga tartarica ) of the steppes of Eastern Europe and Western Asia is one of the 
most ungainly of the antelopes, and thereby presents a marked contrast to the 
gazelles. In size this animal may be compared to a sheep, and its whole build is 
clumsy. The nose is very large, convex, and inflated, with the nostrils opening 
