Part 85 (1/2)

DESCRIPTION.--Dull brownish-grey above, with a dark mesial line, paler below; a large white spot under the throat; chest and front of fore-legs dark brown; female paler. The general appearance is that of a high, or arched-backed goat. The females and young are lighter coloured; the horns spring from the crest of the frontals and incline backward, and are slightly curved and very sharp pointed, ringed at the base, and smooth for the apical half or third; some have more rings than others. Jerdon says from twenty to twenty-five rings, but a specimen from Bhutan, which I have before me as I write (a female, I think) has but ten annuli, or little more than one-third ringed.

The following description is from Kinloch's 'Large Game of Thibet':--

”Gooral are not gregarious, like the true goats, all of which frequently a.s.semble in large flocks, but are usually scattered about the hills, three or four being occasionally found close together, but more commonly they feed alone or in pairs. They are to be found in all sorts of ground, from bare crags to thick undulating forests, but their favourite resorts are steep rocky hills, thinly sprinkled with forest, especially where it consists of the Kolin pine. In bright weather they conceal themselves in shady places during the day-time, and only come out to feed on the open slopes in the morning and evening; but when the weather is cloudy they sometimes feed nearly all day.

”From living so near human habitations, and constantly seeing shepherds and wood-cutters, gooral are not alarmed by seeing men at a distance, and where the ground is much broken they are not difficult to stalk. Where they are at all plentiful they afford very good sport, and their pursuit is a capital school for the young sportsman.

Gooral-shooting is in fact like miniature ibex-shooting. The ground they inhabit is frequently difficult walking; the animals are quite sufficiently wary to test the generals.h.i.+p of the stalker; and as they do not present a very large mark, good shooting is required.

”The best way to hunt them is (having discovered a good hill) to be on the ground by daylight and work along the face of the hill, keeping as high up as possible. Every slope should be carefully examined, and on reaching the edge of each ravine it should be thoroughly reconnoitred. Being good climbers, the gooral may be found in all sorts of places--on narrow ledges, on the face of steep precipices, on gentle slopes of young gra.s.s, and among scattered bushes or forest trees. As little noise as possible should be made; talking should never be allowed, for nothing frightens game so much. Frequently after firing a shot or two on a hill-side, other animals may be found quietly feeding a little further on, whereas if there has been any shouting or talking the beasts will have been driven away. Shooting over a hill does not appear to have the effect of frightening gooral away; when disturbed they seldom go far, and may be found again on their old ground in the course of a day or two. On detecting the presence of danger, the gooral generally stands still, and utters several sharp hisses before moving away.”

SIZE.--Height, 28 to 30 inches; length, about 4 feet; horns, from 6 to 9 inches.

I must here include one of the most curious animals in India, a creature resembling at first sight the African gnu. About a couple of years ago, a friend of mine, who hails from the ”land o' cakes,”

called to ask me about a strange animal he had noticed in the Museum.

”They call it a 'takin,'” said he; ”and if I did not think they were above jokes in such a dry-bone establishment, I should say in the language of my native country, that it is a 'tak' in,' for it does not look natural at all.” I turned up Hodgson's account of the creature for him, to prove that it was not a hoax. It was first brought to notice by the above naturalist about thirty years ago, and he gave it the name _Budorcas_, from the two Greek words signifying ox and gazelle.

His account of it appears in the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society,'

vol. xix., 1850. It is again mentioned in the 'P. Z. S.' for 1853, with a plate (No. x.x.xvi.), and a further account of it, with several plates, will be found in Professor Milne-Edwards's 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes' (pp. 367 to 377).

As my time has been very much occupied lately, I have not been able to go through all that has been written on this singular antelope, but I have been fortunate enough to find a willing helper in Mr. J.

c.o.c.kburn, who, always ready to a.s.sist in the study to which he has devoted himself, has given me the following notes, which I have given in the following notice, as they stand under the heading DESCRIPTION.

_GENUS BUDORCAS_.

A heavily-built, somewhat cow-shaped animal, with curiously bent horns, which spring upwards, but soon bend laterally outward and then upwards and backwards with angular curves; a front view resembles a trident with the centre p.r.o.ng removed. The chevron is highly arched, and the false hoofs are very large.

NO. 455. BUDORCAS TAXICOLOR.

_The Takin_.

NATIVE NAMES.--_Takin_ or _Takhon_, p.r.o.nounced nasally.

HABITAT.--The Mishmi hills, a.s.sam, Thibet.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Budorcas taxicolor_.]

DESCRIPTION.--”The takin is a large, heavily-built ruminant, about 3 feet 6 inches high at the shoulder and 6 feet in total length. The external peculiarities of the animal are: first, peculiar angularly curved horns in both s.e.xes; second, the enormously arched chevron; third, the very great development of the spurious hoofs, which are obtusely conical, and about 1-1/2 inches in length in a small specimen.

”The colour of the adult in one stage is fulvous throughout, some of the hairs being dark tipped. Legs, tail, muzzle and dorsal stripe black.

”Old bulls appear to become of an uniform brownish-black at times, but the colour doubtless depends on the season, as each hair has the basal two-thirds yellow, and its apical third black, and the young its hair brown with a dark tint. The takin, p.r.o.nounced takhon (nasally), is found just outside British limits in the Mishmi and Akha hills, north of a.s.sam. It extends into the mountainous parts of Chinese Thibet, whence it has lately been procured by the adventurous Abbe David, and has been described by the great French naturalist A. Milne-Edwards, in his work 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes,' with some osteological details which were hitherto wanting, but no more than the limb bones appear to have been obtained.

”The horns of the takin have been considered to bear some likeness to those of the gnu (_Catoblepas_), but I fail to trace a resemblance.

Hodgson's description of the horns is as follows:--

”'The horns of the takin are inserted on the highest part of the forehead. The horns are nearly in contact at their bases. Their direction is first vertically upwards, then horizontally outwards, or to the sides, and then almost as horizontally backwards. The length of each horn is about 20 inches along the curves, but their thickness is great. The tail is about three inches long.'

”This remarkable animal was originally described by Brian Hodgson in 1850, from specimens procured by Major Jenkins from the Mishmis, north-east of Sadya. Skulls and skins are fairly common among the residents of Debroogurh, and two perfect skins of adults were lately presented by Colonel Graham to the Indian Museum.