The Nyl Ghau. 153 
wild state these animals are very ferocious, but they 
may be domesticated, and in that condition give fre- 
quent tokens of familiarity, and even of gratitude, to 
those under whose care they are placed. The female, 
or doe, is much smaller than the male, and of a yellowish 
colour, by which she is easily distinguished from the 
buck, who is of a grey tint. 
Its manner of fighting is very peculiar, and is thus 
described : — Two of the males, at Lord Olive's, being 
put into an enclosure, were observed, while they were 
at some distance from each other, to prepare for the 
attack, by falling down upon their knees; they then 
shuffled towards each other, still keeping upon their 
knees ; and, at the distance of a few yards, they made a 
spring, and darted against each other with great force. 
The following anecdote will serve to show that these 
animals are sometimes fierce and vicious, and not to be 
depended upon : — A labouring man, without knowing 
that the animal was near him, went up to the outside of 
the enclosure ; 'the Nyl Ghau, with the quickness of 
lightning, darted against the woodwork with such vio- 
lence that he dashed it to pieces, and broke one of his 
horns close to the root. The death of the animal soon 
after was supposed to be owing to the injury he sustained 
by the blow. 
The Nyl Ghau usually keeps closely concealed in the 
jungle, but in the night or early morning it sometimes 
passes into the open ground, to feed in the cornfields 
belonging to the neighbouring villages. This is the 
moment chosen by the natives to attack it. A platform 
is erected near the spot the Nyl Ghau is known to 
frequent, from which the hunters can take aim with 
precision and safety. 
