drier and more open districts than usual tend to a reddish tint, iipmf
great interest in connection with the theory that blackness-in animalsijas
mentioned in The Deer o f A ll Lands) is correlated with dampness and heat.
The following are some of the largest dimensions of gaur horns
recorded by Mr. Rowland Ward-:—
Length on
Outer Curve. ' Basal Circumferenee. f ") Tip to Tip. Widest Inside. Locality.
3 4 i 20 25 . 40J (outside) Vardi Mallay
3 3 | 24 ? ?
,.33t 1 4 38 ? Mysore
33 s 1 4 ■ 25 3 3 i Travancore
33i 18 . 234 3 4 i Kuch Behar
33 H i 3 3 4 1
3-52 ? * ' ? Western Ghats
3 i | 2I§ ■3.4 ?
l 7 i 3 4 ('S r8| £ j f # 43 (outside) ?
3 4 . t7 21 ’ 324 r
3 4 " ?
m T2f 2 4 V
3 4 4 19 i l 6 35 (outside) Travancore
3 ° i 1 4 — 2| 3 7 i
m M l 9 i 11 ~ 3’4 Kuch Behar
1 3° 16 38 41 (outside) Central Provinces
Distribution.—The larger hilly forest districts- of the Indian Penlg§ula,
Burma, the Malay Peninsula, and probably Cochin China and Siam, but
the eastern limits not yet accurately defined. Unknown in the Malay
Islands and Ceylon, although stated to have formerly occurred in the latter
island, where, however, it may have been introduced. Regarding the
distribution in India, Mr. Blanford writes as follows In India at
present its extreme north-western habitat is probably the Rajpipla Hills,
near Broach ; and west of longitude 8o° eaii’t the river Narbada forms
approximately, though not absolutely, the northern boundary of its range.
It does not inhabit the grass jungles of the Gangetic plain, except close to
the Himalayas ; but it is found in the forests at the foot of those mountains,
as far west as Nepal. South of the Ganges it exists in suitable tracts m
Chutia-Nagpur, Orissa, and the Northern Circars, the Central Provinces,
Hyderabad territories, Mysore, and throughout the Western Ghats, where-
_ever it has not been exterminated or driven away.
Habits.—All who have had the opportunity of seeing gaur in their native
wilds describe them as displaying marvellous activity in getting over the
hilly groundBn which they are generally found. Although they nearly
always keep to forest or high grass, they are sometimes found away from
hills. In the sputh • # India their favourite haunts are rocky hills, with
I p e n grassy tablelands at the summit; and here they are found at eleva-
tionsBf from 2500 to 5000, or even 6000 feet above sea-level, although
in .the Terai distric A f the Himalaya they never ascend nearly Jghigb.
Usually they go about in small parties or herd^f umbering from five or
six to about twenty head, but occasionally more may be seen together.
The B id bulls, w h ic h ,# C « i e l Pollok remarks, are « short-haired as
to look almost as t h J j h they had beefgshaved, keep much to themselves,
and in .some instances are solitary ; and even young bulls may be seen alone,
or in parties - of two or three. Although grass, especially that which
springs up after the periodical jungle-fires, forms their staple food in most
districts, at certain seasonsBi the year they browse largely on the young
and Bieculcnt shoots of the bamboo, which, after all, is only grass of a
K g ig e r kind. Feeding at morning and evening, they retire during the
heat of the day to the depths of the forests, or to thick grass-brakes, where
they escape the torments of gadflies. The early evening or afternoon
appears to be the general time for drinking. Although shy and timid,
and for the most part appiding the neighbourh||d of cultivated lands, in
undisturbed districts they are not excessively wary and difficult of approach.
Neither are they, as a rule, vicious:, although a solitary bull has been
known to ■ charge without provocation ; and in all cases when hotly
pursued they are apt to turn on their assailants. Colonel Pollok describes