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THE NILGAI OR BLUE BULL. 
Bcs Elephas Tragocamelus or Portax Pictus. Native names : Nilgau, 
male ; Nilgai , female ; Rojh , Rojra , Hind. ; Rui y Deccan and Guzerat ; Neelal 
and Garay a ., Gond. ; Murirrt , Kole ; M onu-potu, Tamil ; Mann potu , Telugu ; 
Mairu , or Maravi, Canarese. Roz y Kathiawar. 
Habitat. —The Indian Peninsula from base of the Himalayas to Southern 
Mysore ; it is not found in Eastern Bengal or Assam. 
Period of gestation. — Between eight and nine months ; one or two at 
a birth. 
Description. — Equine in form ; deep and compressed neck, tail reaching 
hocks. Adult males are dark grey with mane, throat tuft and tail tip black. 
The lips, chin, lower surface of tail, belly and fetlocks are white, horns black ; 
the females and young are brown. Thin bush, scrub and grassy plains are 
their usual haunts. They infest cultivated plains and do much damage to 
crops. The males are often solitary, though old bulls occasionally herd 
together. They feed throughout the day grazing and browsing ; they drink 
very rarely. Their gait is a heavy gallop, but they go much faster than 
they appear to. They have miserable heads, and few sportsmen shoot 
them except for meat. They can bo tamed and used as beasts of burden ; 
the flesh is fairly good. 
