Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Part 86

Of the above species the following come under the scope of this work: _Gazella Bennetti_; _G. fuscifrons_; _G. subgutterosa_; _G.

picticaudata_.

NO. 456. GAZELLA BENNETTI.

_The Indian Gazelle_ (_Jerdon's No. 229_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Chikara_, Hindi; _Kal-punch_, Hindi; _Kal-sipi_, Mahratti; _Hirni_, in the Punjab; _Tiska_, also _Budari_ and _Mudari_, Canarese; _Barudu-jinka_, Telegu; _Porsya_ (male) and _Chari_ (female), of Baoris.

HABITAT.--Mr. W. Blanford defines the limits of this species as follows ('P. Z. S.,' 1873, p. 315)--the italics are mine: "It is found throughout the Punjab, North-west Provinces, Rajputana, Sind (unless in part replaced by the next species), Kachh, Kathiawar, Guzerat, and the whole Bombay Presidency, _with the exception of the Western Ghats and the low land on Konkan, along the western coast, south of the neighbourhood of Daman_. It is also met with in the Narbada and Tapti valleys, Bandelkand, the Son valley, and Rewah, in the Nagpur and Chanda country, Berar, the Hyderabad territories, and other parts of Southern India, _with the complete exception of the Malabar coast and the adjacent hills_." He adds that from the evidence of Colonel McMaster and Colonel Douglas Hamilton, both good authorities, it is not known to occur much south of the Krishna river, nor is it found in the Ganges valley east of Benares, in Eastern Behar, the Santal Pergunnahs, Chotia Nagpur, Birbhum, &c., Chhatisgurh, the Mahanadi valley, Orissa, Bastar, and the east coast, generally north of the river Krishna. He says it is met with in the Narbada valley, but I have also found it common on the plateaux of the Satpura range.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Gazella Bennetti_ (male and female).]

DESCRIPTION.--"Fawn brown above, darker where it joins the white of the sides and b.u.t.tocks; chin, breast, lower parts and b.u.t.tocks behind white; tail, knee-tufts and fetlocks behind black; a dark brown spot on the nose, and a dark line from the eyes to the mouth, bordered by a light one above" (_Jerdon_).

SIZE.--Length, 3-1/2 feet; height, 26 inches at shoulder, 28 inches at croup.

The horns run from 10 to 14 inches in the male, but, in fact, few exceed a foot. The longest of six pairs in my collection measure 12 inches, and the head is looked upon as a fine one. I agree with Jerdon that there must be some mistake about 18-inch horns recorded from the Punjab.

This pretty little creature, miscalled "ravine-deer," is familiar to most s.h.i.+karis. How it got called a _deer_ it is difficult to say, except on the principle of "rats and mice, and such small deer." The Madras term of "goat-antelope" is more appropriate. I remember once, when out on field service with the late Dr. Jerdon during the Indian Mutiny, a few _chikara_ crossed our line of march. A young and somewhat b.u.mptious ensign, who knew not of the fame of the doctor as a naturalist, called out: "There are some deer, there are some deer." "Those are not deer," quietly remarked Jerdon. "Oh, I say,"

exclaimed the boy, thinking he had got a rise out of the doctor; "Jerdon says those are not deer!" "No more they are, young man--no more they are; much more of the goat--much more of the goat."

This gazelle frequents broken ground, with sandy nullahs bordered by scrub jungle, and is most common in dry climates. It is unknown, I believe, in Bengal and, according to Jerdon, on the Malabar coast, but is, I think, found almost everywhere else in India. It abounds in the Central provinces, and I have found it in parts of the Punjab, and it is common throughout the North-west. It is a wary, restless little beast, and requires good shooting, for it does not afford much of a mark. When disturbed they keep constantly s.h.i.+fting, not going far, but hovering about in a most tantalising way. Natives it cares little for, unless it be a s.h.i.+kari with a gun, of which it seems to have intuitive perception; but the ordinary cultivator, with his load of wood and gra.s.s, may approach within easy shot; therefore it is not a bad plan, when there is no available cover, to get one of these men to walk alongside of you, whilst, with a horse-cloth or blanket over you, you make yourself look as like your guide as you can. A horse or bullock is also a great help. I had a little bullock which formed part of some loot at Banda--a very handsome little bull, easy to ride and steady under fire--and I found him most useful in stalking black buck and gazelle.

When alarmed, the _chikara_ stamps its foot and gives a sharp little hiss. It is generally found in small herds of four or five, but often singly. Jerdon, however, says that in the extreme North-west he had seen twenty or more together, and this is corroborated by Kinloch.

They are sometimes hunted by hawks and dogs combined, the _churrug_ (_Falco sacer_) being the hawk usually employed, as mentioned both by Kinloch and Hodgson, writing of opposite ends of the great Himalayan chain. The hawk stoops at the head of its quarry and confuses it, whilst the dogs, who would otherwise have no chance, run up and seize it.

The poor little gazelle has also many other enemies--jackals and wolves being amongst the number. Captain Baldwin, in his interesting book, writes: "Like other antelopes, the little ravine-deer has many enemies besides man. One day, when out with my rifle, I noticed an old female gazelle stamping her feet, and every now and then making that hiss which is the alarm note of the animal. It was not I that was the cause of her terror, for I had pa.s.sed close to her only a few minutes before, and she seemed to understand by my manner that I meant no harm; no, there was something else. I turned back, and, on looking down a ravine close by, saw a crafty wolf attempting a stalk on the mother and young one. Another day, at Agra, a pair of jackals joined in the chase of a wounded buck." Brigadier-General McMaster also relates how he and two friends, whilst coursing, watched for a long time four jackals trying to force one of a small herd of young bucks to separate from the rest. "The gazelles stood in a circle, and maintained their ground well by keeping their heads very gallantly outwards to their foes, until at length, seeing us, both sides made off. We laid the greyhounds into and killed one of the jackals."

NO. 457. GAZELLA FUSCIFRONS.

_The Baluchistan Gazelle_.

HABITAT.--The deserts of Jalk between Seistan and Baluchistan.

DESCRIPTION.--"Central facial band strongly marked, grizzled black; light facial streak grey, fairly definite, as is also the blackish dark facial streak; cheeks and anterior of neck grey; back of the neck, back, sides, haunches and legs sandy; lateral streaks wanting; belly and rump whitish; knee-brushes long, black; ears very long; horns (of female only known) strongly annulated, bending forwards and very slightly inwards at the tips" (_Sir V. Brooke_, 'P. Z. S.,'

1873, p. 545).

SIZE.--Total length, from tip of nose to end of tail, 4 feet; height at shoulder, 1 foot 11 inches.

This curious species was first brought to notice by Mr. Blanford.

It is distinguished, he says, from the Indian _G. Bennetti_--first by colour, and secondly by the greater length and more strongly marked annulation of the horns of the female. "The face in the Indian gazelle," he says, "is nearly uniform rufescent fawn colour; the parts that are black and blackish in _G. fuscifrons_ being only a little darker than the rest in _G. Bennetti_; the back also in the latter is more rufescent and less yellow, and the hairs are less dense."

The following two species belong to section _B_, of which the females are hornless.

NO. 458. GAZELLA SUBGUTTEROSA.

_The Persian Gazelle_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Kik_, _Sai-kik_, and _Jairan_, Turki of Yarkand and Kashgar (_Blanford_).

HABITAT.--The high lands of Persia; to the north-west it is found as far as Tabriz; it is probably, according to Blanford, the gazelle of Meshed and Herat; on the east it extends to the frontier of India, and is found in Afghanistan and northern Baluchistan; a variety also exists in Yarkand.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Gazella subgutterosa_.]

DESCRIPTION.--"Hair in winter rough and coa.r.s.e, in summer much softer and smoother. During both seasons the dirty white of the face and cheeks is only relieved by the dark facial streak, which is short and narrow, but defined by a sprinkling of rufous hairs; the lateral and pygal bands are very faintly indicated, the dark bands being more rufous, the light band rather paler than the grey fawn colour of the upper parts of the body; breast and belly white; tail and ears moderate in length, the former blackish-rufous. Horns absent in the female; in the male long, annulated and lyrate, the points projecting inwards" (_Sir V. Brooke_). According to Blanford, who seemed doubtful whether it should not be raised to the rank of a species, the Yarkand variety differs from the typical _G. subgutterosa_ in the very much darker markings on the face, and in the much smaller degree to which the horns diverge; he adds, however, that as there is some variation in face-markings amongst Persian specimens, it is perhaps better to consider the Yarkand race as only a variety. He gives a very good coloured plate of the animal. ('Sc. Results, Second Yarkand Mission--Mammalia.')

NO. 459. GAZELLA PICTICAUDATA.

_Thibetan Gazelle_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Goa_, Thibetan.

HABITAT.--Ladakh. Abundant, according to Kinloch, on the plateau to the south-east of the Tsomoriri lake, on the hills east of Hanle, and in the Indus valley from Demchok, the frontier village of Ladakh, as far down as Nyima. He had also seen it on the NakpoG.o.ding pa.s.s to the north of the Tsomoriri, and picked up a horn on the banks of the Sutlej beyond the Niti pa.s.s.

DESCRIPTION.--Hair in winter long and softish; facial and lateral markings wanting; breast, belly and a.n.a.l disk which surrounds the tail dirty white; the rest of the body grizzled fawn-colour, becoming more rusty towards the a.n.a.l disk, a rusty line sometimes running through the disk to the short tail, the tip of which is rusty brown; the hairs about the corners of the mouth elongated. In the summer the coat is short and of a slaty-grey colour. Ears very short; horns long, annulated--diverge as they rise, bending forwards and backwards, again forwards, and a little inwards at the tips. Skull: anteorbital fossa _very_ shallow, nasals converging to a point, and rather elongated (_Sir Victor Brooke_, 'P. Z. S.,' 1873, p. 547).

SIZE.--Height, about 18 inches.

There is a lovely little photograph of this gazelle in Kinloch's 'Large Game of Thibet,' wonderfully life-like; the head seems to stand out from the page. He describes it under Hodgson's generic name, _Procapra_, but there is no reason for separating it from _Gazella_.

He says: "The goa avoid rocky and steep ground, preferring the undulating plains and gently sloping valleys. Early in the season they are to be found in small herds, frequently close to the snow; as this melts they appear to disperse themselves over the higher ground, being often found singly or in twos and threes."

_GENUS PANTHOLOPS_.

Between the gazelles and antelopes proper comes the _chiru_ (_Pantholops Hodgsonii_), though strictly speaking it is, with the saiga antelope (_Saiga Tartarica_), though in a somewhat less degree, connected by cranial affinities with the sheep. The saiga is notable for its highly-arched nose and inflated nostrils, which are so much lengthened as to necessitate the animal's walking backwards when it feeds. The _chiru_ is not quite so developed in this respect. The skull of the saiga is unique among ruminants, and those who wish to become acquainted with its most minute osteological details should refer to an article on this animal by Dr. James Murie in the 'P. Z.

S.,' 1870, p. 457. I can only here give a very brief summary of the chief characteristics. Looked at in profile, the nasal bones we find to be remarkably short, the face being hollowed out, as it were, between the upper nasal cartilage and the very long and narrow maxillary and pre-maxillary bones; great vertical depth from the top of the nasal to the bottom of the maxillary bones; a very prominent bovine orbit, above and a little behind which the short tapering horns of a gazelle type are placed. The lower nasal cartilage is prolonged on to the fibrous cord of the nares, and the profile view of the animal in life is that of a grotesquely Roman-nosed antelope with swollen nostrils. Its nearest relative in India is the _chiru_, which has certain points of resemblance. The nose is but slightly arched, but the nostrils are more swollen than in antelopes as a rule.

This is not sufficiently rendered in an otherwise admirable coloured plate in Blanford's 'Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission,' but it is more apparent in the photograph of the head in Kinloch's 'Large Game of Thibet.' Another approach to the saiga is in the position of the horns, which, though of the same cla.s.s, are much longer and more attenuated, but the position over the eye and the osseous development of the orbit are the same. The nasal bones are also shorter in proportion to other antelopes. The super-orbital foramina just under the horns, which are marked in most antelope and deer, are very minute in _Pantholops_. Dr. Murie notices the inflation of the post-maxilla in the saiga, and states that a similar extension is to be found in the _chiru_.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Saiga Antelope.]

NO. 460. PANTHOLOPS HODGSONII.

_The Chiru_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Chiru_ in Nepal; _Isos_ in Thibet (_Strachey_); also _Isors_ or _Choos_ (_Kinloch_).

HABITAT.--The open plains of Thibet from Lha.s.sa to Ladakh.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Pantholops Hodgsonii_.]

DESCRIPTION.--The following description was written in 1830, apparently by Mr. Brian Hodgson himself, and was published in 'Gleanings in Science' (vol. ii., p. 348), probably the first scientific magazine in India. As I have seen no better account of this curious antelope I give it as it stands. Mr. Hodgson had the advantage of drawing from life, he having had a living specimen as a pet:--

"Antelope with very long, compressed, tapering, sub-erect (?

sub-lyrated) horns, having a slight concave arctuation forwards, and blunt annulations (prominently ridged on the frontal surface), except near the tips; a double coat throughout, greyish blue internally, but superficially fawn-coloured above, and white below, a black forehead, and stripes down the legs; and a tumour or tuft above either nostril.