members of which were lying on the grass of an open valley, and on being
disturbed immediately took to the precipitous hills on each side. Although
it was late in summer, the herd consisted both of rams, and ewes; male
bharal at this season sometimes herding by themselves, but in other instances
remaining with the flock. Before taking to flight, some of the
adult rams turned round to look, as is so generally the custom with both
sheep and goats ; and the skulls of two are now in the British Museum.
The number of individuals in a flock usually varies from ten or less to about
fifty, although sometimes as many .as a hundred may be seen together. In
much of the bharal-ground in Ladak there is no covert of any description,
but some of the valleys are clothed along the . bottom with thick Eleagnus
jungle, the resort of numerous hares. The bharal, however, always avoid
covert of any description, keeping entirely to the open. The slaty-blue of
their hair harmonises so exactly with the general tint o f the slaty and
gneiss rocks so common in Ladak, that a flock: of- bharal lying down in a
grassy valley where masses of rock protrude through the turf are very
difficult to distinguish ; and on the occasion referred to above, it is doubtful
i f I should have recognised the presence" of the bharal in time to shoot had
it not been for my Tatar guide. In Ladak, at least, these sheep do not
appear to have any particular feeding-times, but graze and repose alternately
during the day as the inclination takes them. In some districts on the
Upper Indus not only do the rams separate themselves from the rest of the
flock, but actually betake themselves to different valleys during the summer.
Bharal and ibex have been seen on the same ground but not actually feeding
together, although bharal and tahr have been observed grazing in company
to the south of the Niti Pass.
The pairing season and the length of the period of gestation do not
seem to have been accurately determined. Bharal thrive well in confinement,
and have bred freely in the London Zoological Gardens. They show
no tendency to crosis with domesticated sheep.
Where bharal occur at all, they are usually met with in abundance, and
in undisturbed districts are perhaps the easiest of all Tibetan big game to
stalk. General Kinloch states, however, that in places where they have
been much hunted they soon become extremely shy and wary, and require
great care in stalking, as they are frequently in the habit of stationing
sentries in commanding positions while the other members of the flock are
grazing. The fleshp-if all the wild sheep of Central Asia is; *of excellent
quality, and in this respect that of the bharal stands second to none.
I am informed by a correspondent that, unlike domesticated rams, the
male bharal in the London Zoological Gardens, when charging each other,
rise on their hind-legs after the manner of goats previous to the impact.
IV . T he G oamB - G knus C apra
Capra, Linn. Syst. Nat. ed. ia , vol. i. p. 94 (1766) ; H. Smith, in
QnfRtXiiMAnimal Kingdom, vol. iv. p. 300, v. p. 356 (1827).
Hircus, Boddaert, Elenchus Animal, p.i§47 (1785) ; Gray, Cat. XJngulata
Brit. Mus. p. 153 (1852).
/F.goceros, Pallas, Zoogr. RosalAsiat. vol. i. p. 224 ( 18 11) .
Ibex, Hodgson, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, vol. xvi. p. 700 (1847) ; Gray,
List Osteol. Brit. Mus. p. 59 (i 8 4 7^H
Mgoceros, Gray, Cat. XJngulata Brit. Mus. p. 148 (1852), Cat. Ruminants
Brit. Mus. p. 52 (1872), nec Pallas, 18 1 1 .
Characters.—Closely allied to Ovis, with which this* genus agrees in
almost all essential characterful Size medium and build rather stout. Tail
short. No glands either on the fa ce®? in the groin, and foot-glands either
wanting or confined to the fore-feet. Muzzle hairy ; a more or less distinct
beard on the chin of the males. Female with two teats. Hard callosities
present on the knees and sometimes also on the chest. Males with a strong
unpleasant odour. Horns present in both sexes ; in the adult males arising