BEASTS, BIRDS, FISHES, AND INSECTS
~Fauna.~--With the spread of cultivation and drainage the Panjáb plains
have ceased to be to anything like the old extent the haunt of wild
beasts and wild fowl. The lion has long been extinct and the tiger has
practically disappeared. Leopards are to be found in low hills, and
sometimes stray into the plains. Wolves are seen occasionally, and
jackals are very common. The black buck (Antilope cerricapra) can still
be shot in many places. The graceful little _chinkára_ or ravine deer
(Gazella Bennetti) is found in sandy tracts, and the hogdeer or _párha_
(Cervus porcinus) near rivers. The _nílgai_ (Boselaphus tragocamelus) is
less common. Monkeys abound in the hills and in canal-irrigated tracts
in the Eastern districts, where their sacred character protects them
from destruction, though they do much damage to crops. Peafowl are to be
seen in certain tracts, especially in the eastern Panjáb. They should
not be shot where the people are Hindus or anywhere near a Hindu shrine.
The great and lesser bustards and several kinds of sand grouse are to be
found in sandy districts. The grey partridge is everywhere, and the
black can be got near the rivers. The _sísí_ and the _chikor_ are the
partridges of the hills, which are also the home of fine varieties of
pheasants including the _monál_. Quail frequent the ripening fields in
April and late in September. Duck of various kinds abound where there
are _jhíls_, and snipe are to be got in marshy ground. The green
parrots, crows, and vultures are familiar sights. Both the sharp-nosed
(Garialis Gangetica, vern. _ghariál_) and the blunt-nosed (Crocodilus
palustris, vern. magar) crocodiles haunt the rivers. The fish are
tasteless; the _rohu_ and _mahseer_ are the best. Poisonous snakes are
the _karait_, the _cobra_, and Russell's viper. The first is sometimes
an intruder into houses. Lizards and mongooses are less unwelcome
visitors. White ants attack timber and ruin books, and mosquitoes and
sandflies add to the unpleasant features of the hot weather. The best
known insect pest is the locust, but visitations on a large scale are
rare. Of late years much more damage has been done by an insect which
harbours in the cotton bolls.
[Illustration: Fig. 24. Big game in Ladákh.
KEY: 1, 3, 7, 9, Chiru or Tibetan Antelope. 2, Argalí or Ovis Ammon. 4,
6, 8, Bharal or Ovis nahura. 5, Yak or Bos grunniens. 10, 11, 12, Uriál
or Ovis Vignei. 13, Bear skin.]
~Game of the Mountains.~--If sport in the plains has ceased to be first
rate, it is otherwise in the hills. Some areas and the heights at which
the game is to be found are noted below:
(_a_) Goats and goat-antelopes:
1. Ibex (Capra Sibirica) 10,000-14,000 ft.
Kashmír, Lahul, Bashahr.
2. Márkhor (Capra Falconeri). Kashmír, Astor,
Gilgit, Sulimán hills.
3. Thár (Hemitragus jemlaicus), 9000-14,000
ft. Kashmír, Chamba.
4. Gural (Cemas goral), 3000-8000 ft. Kashmír,
Chamba, Simla hills, Bashahr.
5. Serow (Nemorhaedus bubalinus), 6000-12,000
ft. From Kashmír eastwards.
(_b_) Sheep:
1. Bharal (Ovis nahura), 10,000-12,000 ft. and
over. Ladákh, Bashahr.
2. Argalí (Ovis Ammon). Ladákh.
3. Uriál (Ovis Vignei) Salt Range, Sulimán
hills.
(_c_) Antelopes:
1. Chiru or Tibetan Antelope (Pantholops hodgsoni).
Ladákh.
(_d_) Oxen--Yák (Bos grunniens). Ladákh. The
domesticated _yák_ is invaluable as a beast of
burden in the Trans-Himalayan tract. The
royal fly whisk or _chaurí_ is made from pure
white yák tails.
[Illustration: Fig. 25. Yáks.]
(_e_) Stag:
1. Bárasingha (Cervus Duvanceli). Foot of
Himálaya in Kashmír.
(_f_) Bears:
1. Red or Brown (Ursus Arctos), 10,000-13,000
ft. Kashmír, Chamba, Bashahr, etc.
2. Black (Ursus torquatus), 6000-12,000 ft.
Same regions, but at lower elevations.
The small bear of the southern Sulimán
hills known as _mam_ is now considered a
variety of the black bear.
(_g_) Leopards:
1. Snow Leopard (Felis Uncia), 9000-15,000 ft.
Kashmír, Chamba, Bashahr.
2. Ordinary Leopard (Felis Pardus). Lower
hills.
SHOOTING IN HILLS
~Shooting in Hills.~--The finest shooting in the north-west Himálaya is
probably to be got in Ladákh and Baltistán, but the trip is somewhat
expensive and requires more time than may be available. In many areas
licenses have to be obtained, and the conditions limit the number of
certain animals, and the size of heads, that may be shot. For example,
the permit in Chamba may allow the shooting of two red bear and two
_thár_, and when these have been got the sportsman must turn his
attention to black bear and _gural_. Any one contemplating a shooting
expedition in the Himálaya should get from one who has the necessary
experience very complete instructions as to weapons, tents, clothing,
stores, etc.
SPORT IN THE PLAINS
(_a_) ~Black Buck Shooting.~--To get a good idea of what shooting in the
plains is like Major Glasford's _Rifle and Romance in the Indian Jungle_
may be consulted. As regards larger game the favourite sport is black
buck shooting. A high velocity cordite rifle is dangerous to the country
people, and some rifle firing black powder should be used. It is well to
reach the home of the herd soon after sunrise while it is still in the
open, and not among the crops. There will usually be one old buck in
each herd. He himself is not watchful, but his does are, and the herd
gallops off with great leaps at the first scent of danger, the does
leading and their lord and master bringing up the rear. If by dint of
careful and patient stalking you get to some point of vantage, say 100
yards from the big buck, it is worth while to shoot. Even if the bullet
finds its mark the quarry may gallop 50 yards before it drops. Good
heads vary from 20" to 24" or even more.
[Illustration: Fig. 26. Black buck.]
(_b_) ~Small game in Plains.~--The cold weather shooting begins with the
advent of the quail in the end of September and ends when they reappear
among the ripening wheat in April. The duck arrive from the Central
Asian lakes in November and duck and snipe shooting lasts till February
in districts where there are _jhíls_ and swampy land. For a decent shot
30 couple of snipe is a fair bag. To get duck the _jhíl_ should be
visited at dawn and again in the evening, and it is well to post several
guns in favourable positions in the probable line of flight. 40 or 50
birds would be a good morning's bag. In drier tracts the bag will
consist of partridges and a hare or two, or, if the country is sandy,
some sand-grouse and perhaps a bustard.