Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 2 (1898).djvu/28

2 and of a greyish black colour, the general surface smooth, but in patches very warty, like the skin of a Rhinoceros." Could this have been caused by the animal rubbing his forehead to get rid of parasites? as all Sambur have in May a bare spot about the size of a shilling on the neck, caused, the Burmese said, by their rubbing it on fallen trunks to rid themselves of parasitic pests. There is a dorsal ridge, of course, like in the other wild cattle, but not nearly so pronounced as in the Gaur or Gayal, and not more than in the Wild Buffalo. Mr. Carter, a well-known naturalist and sportsman (" Smoothbore," of 'The Field'), wrote as follows:—

"Colonel Pollok, when referring to the Tsine, says that it has a slight dewlap, which is not always apparent," whilst Jerdon, writing of the same animal, says it resembles the Gaur more than the Gayal, and it wants the dewlap."

I do not think Jerdon had ever seen a Tsine. I can see no resemblance between a Tsine and a Gaur, but a very great one, especially at a distance, between the Gaur and the Gayal. I am glad to see that the doctor says the bull he shot had a slight dewlap, about three inches in its greatest breadth. But whilst his bulls were wanting in the white patches on the buttocks, mine had them very distinctly. The bulls are certainly savage, and attack most pluckily after being wounded,—at least mine did. The first and only one I shot for years was in company with Capt. Hill (now Governor of H.M.'s Jail, Manchester), and he came at us with a will, but had no chance, as Hill used a breech-loading rifle of mine, and I had two heavy two-grooved No. 10-bore rifles by Joseph Lang.

This Wild Bull is found, not only in Southern India and the Trans-Gangetic provinces, but it has been shot at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains, usually called the Terai. I have seen splendid heads brought down from the Mishmee Hills. There are thirteen pairs of ribs. The chest is broad, the shoulder deep and muscular and the fore legs short, with the joints very short and strong, the arm exceedingly large and muscular. The skin on the neck, shoulders, and thighs is very thick—about two inches—and is very valuable for the soles of shooting-boots.

Many old bulls have so little hair that they appear as if they had been shaved. When the bull arrives at maturity, which is at