however, certain that bison were abundant in the Black Forest at the time
o f Jul ius Caesar ; and they doubtless survived in .many parts of Germany
and other districts of the Continent to a much later period. Owing, however,
to the confusion which has arisen in regard to the application of the
names aurochs and bison, it i j frequently impossible to determine which
animal is the one referred to by many of the older writers. At the present
day bison appear to be restricted to the Caucasus and the forest of Bielo-
witza, in the government of Grodno, the old Lithuania. Whereas, however,
in the latter locality they are Strictly preserved and almost in the
condition of park-animals, in the Caucasus, according to Mr. St. George
Littledale and Prince Demidoff, they are truly wild, although also under
Government protection.
In the Caucasus, Dr. G. Radde states that the bison is at present
confined to the districts around the sources of the Laba and Bjellaja, on the
north side of the range, extending eastwards to the springsTof the Zellent-
chuk. “ It is scarce everywhere, and generally seen in twos and threes ;
only once have the tracks of seven together been noticed, although
occasionally as many as five have been observed. Evidently the bison has
discontinued its settled habits, and has taken to wander about in this, its
last refuge. Through the ever-increasing encroachmentAf the settlers,
and the consequent dispersal of the wild animals, and also, in many places,
owing to the new supervision of the forests, the bison is. driven more and
more towards the higher ridgesigf the mountains, and wanders about
in the thick forests which border , the lower portion o f the Alpine
pasturages.
The most likely places to find this animal are at present near the
sources of the Little Laba, and especially on its western' confluent, the
Urushten. This river is joined by a small stream, the Alaus, in the valley
of which the bison is often met with. It is from 7000 to 8000 feet above
the sea-level. Formerly, 30 or 40 years ago, it was met with much lower
down, about 5000 feet, and it was also more common. That the bison
has now passed over the mountain range, and is wandering southwards is
pretty certain. There was an instance of this in 1874, in which year an
example was killed not far from Romanonskoje, about a day’s journey from
Sotschi on the coast.”
Till/Recently even the natives of the Caucasus seem to have been
Scarcely aware l§ff the existence of the bison, or zubr, as it is called in
Russian, in their midst. Prince Demidoff, in Hunting Trips to the Caucasus,
writes as follows of its range and habits in that district t'1— “ Not so long ago
the bison used to haunt most S t the valleys of the Kouban territories, .such
as the Zellentchuk, where there are said to be some at the present time,
both the Great and Little Laba, Urushten, and elsewhere. But so shy an
animal could not long continue to live within easy reach of men, and had
constantly t||retire before advancing civilisation. It is now concentrated
in the dense forests overlooking the valleys of the Kiska, and fifty years
hence it is to be feared will have entirely disappeared. There is no doubt
jjjf the existence of the bison on the southern par|j|f the Caucasian range,
between the hills and the Black Sea ; but I have never visited that side,
and was told it was much harder work to approach them there, for the
slopes are far steeper, and covered with virgin and almost impenetrable
ijtarests. When frightened, they wander great distances without taking
-rest, and are not stopped even by the highest ridges, oyer which they
climb, notwithstanding their weight, which attains 1700 lbs. or more.
There is no proof that they do not travel to and fro over the main range in
the Kouban district, and I do not see why they should not. I have myself
seen their tracks on the snow in September at an altitude of 8000 feet. . . .
Some thirty years ago, as I was told by native hunters, the bison, used to be
seen ■ herds of fifty or sixty head, but at the present time one rarely sees
more than five|fr six together. Two years ago the Grand Duke’s head
In the extract I have ventured to substitute the word bison'for aurochs.