Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 1 (1897).djvu/517



Bos sondaicus is found in some parts of Burmah, and also in Sumatra and Java. It occurs in great numbers in the huge forests and grass-lands which lie between the Manipur and Burmese territories, that is, in the Kubbo-Kalé valley; and my observations have all been taken from specimens which I have obtained there. In my various hunting trips I have only managed to bag three of these animals, one being a magnificent Bull, whose description and measurements I give in detail. Although plentiful, these animals are so shy and their senses of sight, smell, and hearing so acute, that they are very difficult to approach. The Burmese name for Bos sondaicus is "Tsoing" or "Tsine"; Manipuri, "Lumsun Angangha"; in Java it is known as the "Banting." It would be interesting to know whether the animals found in Java and Burmah are identical in all details of colouring, &c. This animal is a handsome beast, and is much dreaded by the Burmese, who seldom hunt it. The hill tribes, however, trap the animal in pit-falls, and sometimes shoot it with arrows poisoned with aconite. A wounded Tsine will charge viciously; and the only way to escape from it when unarmed is to lie flat on the ground. It strikes with its feet as well as with its horns, and can inflict Rh