Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Part 82

NO. 444. OVIS BLANFORDII.

_Blanford's Wild Sheep_.

HABITAT.--Central hills of Khelat.

DESCRIPTION.--The horns of this species are longer and more slender than those of _Ovis Vignei_, _O. cycloceros_, or _O. Gmelini_. Mr.

Hume says ('J. A. S. B.' 1877, p. 327): "In all these three species, as far as I can make out, each horn lies in one plane, whereas in the present species the horn twists out in a capital-S fashion. There is, in fact, much the same difference between the horns of the present species and of _O. cycloceros_, that there is between those of _O.

Kareleni_ and _O. Hodgsoni_. The lower part of the forehead at the nasal suture, and the whole of the frontals, are more raised and convex than in either _O. cycloceros_ or _O. Vignei_.

"The frontal ridge between the bases of the horns is less developed in _O. Blanfordii_, and in this latter the posterior convex margin of the bony palate is differently shaped, being more pointed, and not nearly semi-circular as in _O. cycloceros_."

The dimensions of the skull are given in detail by Mr. Hume in the paper above quoted, out of which I extract those of the horns:--

Inches.

Length along curve 35.75 Circ.u.mference at base 9.0 Width from tip to tip 16.5 Greatest breadth of horn at base 2.25 Greatest depth of ditto 3.25

The horns of a specimen of _O. cycloceros_ of about the same age were 29.5 in length and 10 inches in circ.u.mference at base, so that the greater length and slenderness of the horns of _Ovis Blanfordii_ are apparent. Mr. Hume writes to me that there is a living specimen of this sheep at present in the London Zoological Gardens.

NO. 445. OVIS NAHURA _vel_ BURHEL.

_The Blue Wild Sheep_ (_Jerdon's No. 237_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Burhel_, _Buroot_, in the Himalayas; _Napu_, _Na_, or _Sna_, Thibet and Ladakh; _Nervati_, in Nepal. _Wa'_ or _War_ on the Sutlej.

HABITAT.--This animal has a wide range; it is found from Sikim, and, as Jerdon says, probably Bhotan, right away through Thibet, as Pere David found it in Moupin, and it extends up to the Kuenluen mountains north of Ladakh, and in Ladakh itself, and it has been obtained by Prejevalski on the Altyn-Tagh, therefore the limits a.s.signed by Jerdon must be considerably extended.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Ovis nahura_.]

DESCRIPTION.--General colour a dull slaty blue, slightly tinged with fawn; the belly, edge of b.u.t.tocks, and tail, white; throat, chest, front of fore-arm and cannon bone, a line along the flank dividing the darker tint from the belly; the edge of the hind limbs and the tip of the tail deep black; horns moderately smooth, with few wrinkles, rounded, nearly touching at the base, directed upwards, backwards and outwards, the points being turned forwards and inwards.

The female is smaller, the black marks smaller and of less extent; small, straight, slightly recurved horns; nose straighter. The young are darker and browner.

SIZE.--Length of head and body, 4-1/2 to 5 feet; height, 30 to 36 inches; tail, 7 inches; horns, 2 to 2-1/2 feet round the curve; circ.u.mference at base, 12 to 13 inches.

An excellent coloured plate is to be found in Blanford's 'Scientific Results of the Second Yarkand Mission' and a life-like photograph of the head in Kinloch's 'Large Game-shooting.' According to the latter author the burrel prefers bare rocky hills, and when inhabiting those which are clothed with forest, rarely or never descends to the limits of the trees. "The favourite resorts of burrel are those hills which have slopes well covered with gra.s.s in the immediate vicinity of steep precipices, to which they can at once betake themselves in case of alarm. Females and young ones frequently wander to more rounded and accessible hills, but I have never met with old males very far from some rocky stronghold. The males and females do not appear to separate entirely during the summer, as I have found mixed flocks at all seasons, though, as a rule, the old males form themselves into small herds and live apart. In my opinion the flesh of the burrel surpa.s.ses in flavour the best mutton, and has moreover the advantage of being generally tender soon after the animal is killed."

According to Jerdon the burrel is fattest in September and October.

In the 'Indian Sporting Review' a writer, "Mountaineer," states that in winter, when they get snowed in, they actually browse the hair off each other, and come out miserably thin.

The name _Ovis nahura_ is not a felicitous one, as it was given under a mistake by Hodgson, the nahoor being quite another animal. I think Blyth's name of _Ovis burhel_ should be adopted to the exclusion of the other, which, however, is in general use.

There is a very interesting paper on this animal by Mr. R. Lydekker in the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' vol. xlix., 1880, in which he points out its affinity to the goats from the absence of eye-pits and their larminal depression in the lachrymal bone--from the similarity of the basi-occipital and in the structure and colour of its horns. On the other hand it agrees with _Ovis_ in the form of its lower jaw, in the absence of beard and any odour, and in the possession of interdigital pores in all feet.

_GENUS CAPRA--THE GOATS_.

Horns in both s.e.xes curving backwards, angular and flattened, or in some cases twisted spirally. The nose is arched, and the chin of both s.e.xes is more or less bearded; there are no eye-pits or inguinal pits, and feet-pits only in the fore-feet in most, and none in some. Mr.

Blyth some years ago pointed out that a hind-quarter of goat with the foot attached can always be told from the same piece of mutton by the absence of the feet-pits in the goat. The males especially emit a strong odour. In other respects there is little difference between goats and sheep, and by interbreeding they produce a fertile offspring. Our domestic goat is supposed to have descended from the ibex, but certainly some of our Indian varieties may claim descent from the markhor. I noticed in 1880 at Simla herds of goats with horns quite of the markhor type, and one old fellow in a herd of about one hundred, which was being driven through the station to some rajah's place in the vicinity, had a remarkably fine head, with the broad flat twist of the markhor horn. I tried in vain to get a similar one; several heads were brought to me from the bazaar, but they were poor in comparison. Goats are more prolific than sheep. The power of gestation commences at the early age of seven months; the period is five months, and the female produces sometimes twice a year, and from two to occasionally four at a birth. The goat is a hardy animal, subsisting on the coa.r.s.est herbage, but its flesh and milk can be immensely improved by a selected diet. Some of the small domestic goats of Bengal are wonderful milkers. I have kept them for years in Calcutta for the use of my children, and once took two of them with me to Ma.r.s.eilles by the 'Messageries' Steamers. I prefer them to the larger goats of the North-west. My children have been singularly free from ailments during their infancy, and I attribute the immunity chiefly to the use of goats' milk drawn fresh as required.

Of the wild goats, to which I must now confine my attention, there are two groups, viz. the true goats and the antelope goats. Of the former there is a sub-genus--_Hemitragus_--which have no feet-pits, but have a m.u.f.fle and occasionally four mammae, which form a connecting link with the _Cervidae_. In all other respects _Hemitragus_ is distinctly caprine.

NO. 446. CAPRA MEGACEROS.

_The Markhor_ (_Jerdon's No. 234_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Mar-khor_ (i.e. snake-eater), in Afghanistan, Kashmir, &c.; _Ra-che_, or _Ra-pho-che_, Ladakhi.

HABITAT.--The mountain districts of Afghanistan, and the highest parts of the Thibetan Himalayas. On the Pir Panjal, in Kashmir, the Hazarah hills, the hills north of the Jhelum, the Wurdwan hills west of the Beas river, on the Suleiman range, and in Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--General colour a dirty light-blue gray, with a darker beard; in summer with a reddish tinge; the neck and breast clad with long dark hair, reaching to the knees; hair long and s.h.a.ggy; fore-legs brown. The females are redder, with shorter hair, short black beard, but no mane, and with small horns slightly twisted.

The horns of an old male are a magnificent trophy. Kinloch records having seen a pair, of which the unbroken horn measured sixty-three inches, and its fellow, which had got damaged, had fifty-seven inches left. Forty to fifty inches is, however, a fair average. According to Kinloch the very long horns are not so thick and ma.s.sive as those of average length. Jerdon says the longest horns have three complete spiral twists.

The horns of certain varieties differ so much that I may say species have been settled with less to go upon. Kinloch notes four varieties.

I have hitherto reckoned only two, but he gives--

No. 1.--Pir Panjal markhor; heavy, flat horns, twisted like a corkscrew.

No. 2.--Trans-Indus markhor; perfectly straight horns, with a spiral f.l.a.n.g.e or ridge running up them.

No. 3.--Hazarah markhor; a slight corkscrew, as well as a twist.

No. 4.--Astor and Baltistan markhor; large, flat horns, branching out very widely, and then going up nearly straight with only a half turn.

Of the two kinds I have seen, the one has the broad flat horn twisted like a corkscrew; the other a perfectly straight core, with the worm of a screw turned round it. Nothing could be more dissimilar than these horns, yet, in other respects the animal being the same, it has not been considered necessary to separate the two as distinct species.[37]

[Footnote 37: Colonel Kinloch writes on my remarks as above, and gives the following interesting information: "I cannot consider the spiral-horned and the straight-horned markhor to be one species, any more than the Himalayan and Sindh ibex. The animals differ much in size, habits, and coat, as well as in the shape of their horns. Mr.

Sterndale considers that the markhor is probably the origin of some of our breeds of domestic goats, and states that he has seen tame goats with horns quite of the markhor type. Has he ever observed that (as far as my experience goes) the horns of domestic goats invariably twist the _reverse way_ to those of markhor? I have observed that the horns of not only markhor, but also antelope, always twist one way; those of domestic goats the other."]

SIZE.--Height, about 46 inches.

There is a life-like photograph of No. 1 variety in Kinloch's 'Large Game of Thibet,' and of No. 3 a very fine coloured plate in Wolf's folio of 'Zoological Sketches.'

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Capra megaceros_. No. 1 variety.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Capra megaceros_. No. 2 variety.]

The markhor frequents steep and rocky ground above the forests in summer, but descending in the winter. I cannot do better than quote Kinloch, who gives the following graphic little description: "The markhor inhabits the most precipitous and difficult ground, where nearly perpendicular faces of rock alternate with steep gra.s.sy slopes and patches of forest. It is very shy and secluded in its habits, remaining concealed in the densest thickets during the day-time, and only coming out to feed in the mornings and evenings.

No animal's pursuit leads the sportsman over such dangerous ground as that of the markhor. Living so much in the forest, it must be followed over steep inclines of short gra.s.s, which the melting snow has left with all the blades flattened downwards; and amid pine-trees, whose needle-like spines strew the ground and render it more slippery and treacherous than ice. If one falls on such ground, one instantly begins to slide down the incline with rapidly increasing velocity, and, unless some friendly bush or stone arrests one's progress, the chances are that one is carried over some precipice, and either killed or severely injured. Many hair-breadth escapes occur, and the only wonder is that fatal accidents so seldom happen.

"Early in the season the males and females may be found together on the open gra.s.sy patches and clear slopes among the forest, but during the summer the females generally betake themselves to the highest rocky ridges above the forest, while the males conceal themselves still more constantly in the jungle, very rarely showing themselves.

They are always very wary, and require great care in stalking them."

NO. 447. CAPRA SIBIRICA.

_The Himalayan Ibex_ (_Jerdon's No. 235_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Sakin_, _Iskin_, or _Skeen_ of the Himalayas; _Buz_, in the upper part of the Sutlej; _Kale_, Kashmiri; _Tangrol_, in Kulu; _Skin_, the male, _L'Damuo_ the female, in Ladakh.

HABITAT.--Throughout the Himalayas from Kashmir to Nepal. The localities given by Kinloch are Kunawar, Kulu, Lahoul, Spiti, Kashmir, Baltistan, and various parts of Thibet; also Ladakh according to Horsfield.