ANTELOPES. 
3 °i 
Habits. 
of hair on the knees, and small but distinct lateral hoofs. The horns of the bucks 
rise close together, and are cylindrical, divergent, and spiral, with complete blunt 
rings throughout their length. The number of turns in the spiral of the horns 
varies from less than three to as many as live; and there is great individual 
variation in regard to the degree of divergence of the horns. The usual length of 
horns varies from 16 to 20 inches in a straight line, and in Peninsular India the 
length seldom exceeds 22 inches; but in Rajputana and Harriana the horns are 
longer, and have been known to attain a length of 28f inches. Does and young 
bucks are yellowish fawn-colour above and 
on the outer sides of the limbs, and white on 
the under-parts; the two colours are sharply 
defined, and just above the line of division 
there is a distinct pale streak. Save for a 
rufous patch on the nape of the neck, the old 
bucks are blackish brown above, and also on 
the sides of the neck and the whole of the 
face, with the exception of a white ring round 
each eye. In very old individuals the black¬ 
ish brown becomes almost completely black. 
Occasionally does are met with having small 
recurved horns. 
The black-buck is an in¬ 
habitant of open plains from the 
foot of the Himalaya nearly to Cape Comorin, 
and from the Punjab to Lower Assam ; and is 
most abundant in the North-West Provinces, 
Rajputana, and portions of the Deccan. It 
frequents either grassy districts or cultivated 
lands, and is generally found in herds, which 
may comprise hundreds or even thousands of 
individuals, but more usually number from 
ten to thirty, or even fifty does, accompanied 
by a single old buck. Mr. Blanford states 
that frequently “ two or three younger bucks, 
coloured like the does, remain with the latter, 
but these young males are sometimes driven away by older bucks, and form 
separate herds. This antelope never enters forest nor high grass, and is but 
rarely seen amongst bushes. When not much pursued or fired at, it will often 
allow men to come in the open within about one hundred and fifty yards, some¬ 
times nearer.” Carts and natives can approach still closer. The black-buck feeds 
at all hours, although it generally rests during the middle of the day. In certain 
districts, where there is no fresh water except in deep wells, it is certain that these 
animals never drink; but several observers have proved that in other places they, 
at least occasionally, drink freely. Like the springbok, the black-buck frequently 
leaps high in the air when running. The speed and endurance of these animals 
are well known; and it is but very seldom that they are pulled down on good 
SKULL OF BLACK-BUCK. 
