menageries of Western Europe. In 1864 and 1865 young male specimens of
this Antelope were first received from Moscow by the Zoological Society
of London. In November 1866 a pair of Saigas was deposited in the
Zoological Society’s Gardens, and subsequently purchased, after living
for several months in the Regent’s Park Gardens. An excellent coloured
figure of these strange animals was made by Mr. J. Wolf in 1867, and
published in the Society’s ‘Proceedings,’ and after their death Dr.
Murie, then Prosector to the Society, based upon them an elaborate
account of their structure and anatomy, which will be found in the
volume of the same publication for the year 1870. By the kindness of
the Zoological Society we are enabled to reproduce here an excellent
figure of the head of the adult male Saiga in its winter coat, taken
from a drawing made by Mr. Berjeau under Dr. Murie’s supervision. We
cannot do better than refer those who are interested in the structure
and anatomy of the Saiga to Dr. Murie’s excellent article, from which,
however, we venture to borrow his account of the cutaneous glands of
this curious form, which appear to be not less than ten in number.
[Illustration: Fig. 51.
Head of male Saiga in its winter dress.
(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 495.)]
“In the Saiga there are two small suborbital glandular sacs, the
so-called crumen, lachrymal sinus, or tearpit of some authors,
which yield a thick whitish or pale yellow exudation. These are
situated in front of the orbit, and slightly below the median
transverse line of the eye. In the younger female the small
external openings of these were placed ¾ of an inch, and in the
male 1½ inch, in advance of the orbital ring; but the sinuses
or sacs themselves lay in the broadish and moderately excavated
infraorbital fossæ.
“Each foot, as in the sheep, possesses an interdigital sac about
1½ inch in depth, and opening by a narrow constricted aperture
at its front and upper part. The orifice is hidden by very short
closely placed yellowish hairs, whilst below these the sac is
superficially covered by a tuft of much stronger and longer
hairs. The secretion derived from these interdigital bags is
yellow and of a hardish ceruminous character.
“On the anterior aspect, but slightly to the inner side, of
each fore knee is a small dermal gland, or a thickening of the
cutaneous tissues, covered by a brownish patch of firm hairs.
“In the inguinal regions of both sexes bare oblong or
lozenge-shaped spaces exist; each of these is 5 inches or more
in extreme long diameter. Upon these inner edges in the female
the imperfectly developed udders and four teats are situated.”
(P. Z. S. 1870, p. 500.)
The Saiga is represented in the British Museum by a mounted pair from
Sarepta on the Volga, and by other skins and skeletons from the same
locality. There are also some horns obtained by Dr. O. Finsch on the
steppe near Saisan, on the Russo-Chinese frontier, in 1876 (see Finsch,
‘Reise nach West-Sibirien im Jahre 1876,’ p. 193).
Our figure of the Saiga (Plate XLIX.) has been put upon the stone by
Mr. Smit from a black-and-white sketch prepared by Mr. Wolf for the
late Sir Victor Brooke. The original sketch, which belongs to Sir
Douglas Brooke, has been kindly lent to us for examination. We regret
to say, however, that we have no particulars as to the individual from
which Mr. Wolf’s drawing was taken.
_August,_ 1897.
GENUS IV. PANTHOLOPS.
Type.
_Pantholops_, =Hodgs.= P. Z. S. 1834, p. 81 P. HODGSONI.
_Kemas_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 157 (1843) P. HODGSONI.
Size medium. Nose less bent downwards than in _Saiga_, but more
swollen laterally, at least in the male. No suborbital glands. Tail
short. Mammæ 2. Large glands in feet and groin.
Skull without distinct pits between the eyes, or lachrymal vacuities,
or anteorbital fossæ. Nasal opening ample, but not so large as that of
_Saiga_.
Horns long, erect, compressed, slightly diverging, nearly straight
below, evenly curving forwards above; ringed in front. Female hornless.
_Range of Genus._ Plateau of Tibet.
One species only.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. L.
_Wolf del, J. Smit lith._ _Hanhart imp._
The Chiru.
PANTHOLOPS HODGSONI.
_Published by R. H Porter_]
80. THE CHIRU.
PANTHOLOPS HODGSONI (ABEL).
[PLATE L.]
_Antilope hodgsoni_, =Abel=, Calc. Gov. Gazette, _cf._ Phil.
Mag. lxviii. p. 234 (1826); Edin. Journ. Sc. vii. p. 164 (1827);
‘=Editor=,’ Glean, in Sc. i. p. 144 (1829); =J. B. Fisch.= Syn.
Mamm. p. 462 (1829); =Hodgs.= Gleanings in Sci. ii. p. 348, pls.
iii., v. (1830); =id.= P. Z. S. 1831, p. 52, 1832, p. 14, 1833,
p. 110; =Laurill.= Dict. Univ. d’H. N. i. p. 617 (1839); =Gerv.=
Dict. Sci. Nat. i. p. 264 (1840); =Wagn.= Schr. Säug. Supp. iv.
p. 420 (1844), v. p. 402 (1855); =Schinz=, Syn. Mamm. ii. p. 415
(1845); =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1845, p. 270 (1847);
=id.= Hornschuch’s Transl., Arch. Skand. Beitr. ii. p. 266;
Reprint, p. 86 (1848); =Gieb.= Säug. p. 314 (1853); =Hooker=,
Himalayan Journal, ii. pp. 132 & 158 (1854); =Przewalski=,
Mongolia (Russian ed.), ii. pl. iii. ♂, pl. iv. fig. 2 ♀;
Morgan’s Transl. ii. pp. 204 & 223 (1876).
_Pantholops hodgsoni_, =Hodgs.= P. Z. S. 1834, p. 80; =id.=
J. A. S. B. xi. p. 282 (1842); =id.= Calc. Journ. iv. p. 291
(1844); =Gray=, Cat. Ung. B. M. p. 53, pl. vi. figs. 3, 4
(skull) (1852); =Adams=, P. Z. S. 1858, p. 521; =Gerr.= Cat.
Bones Mamm. B. M. p. 232 (1862); =Fitz.= SB. Wien, lix. 1, p.
162 (1869); =Gray=, Cat. Rum. B. M. p. 33 (1872); =id.= Hand-l.
Rum. B. M. p. 102 (1873); =Blanf.= Yark. Miss., Mamm. p. 89, pl.
xvi. (1879); =Sterndale=, Mamm. Ind. p. 469 (1884); =Kinloch=,
Large Game Shooting, p. 106, plate of head (1885); =Jent.= Cat.
Ost. Leyd. Mus. (Mus. Pays-Bas, ix.) p. 134 (1889); =id.= Cat.
Mamm. Leyd. Mus. (op. cit. xi.) p. 166 (1892); =W. Scl.= Cat.
Mamm. Calc. Mus. ii. p. 163 (1891); =Blanf.= Mamm. Brit. Ind.
p. 524 (1891); =Flow. & Lyd.= Mamm. p. 341 (1891); =Ward=, Horn
Meas. (1) p. 102 (1892), (2) p. 146 (1896); =Lyd.= Horns and
Hoofs, p. 157 (1892); =Percy=, Badm. Big Game Shooting, ii. p.
335 (1894).
_Kemas hodgsoni_, =Gray=, List Mamm. B. M. p. 157 (1843); =id.=
Ann. Mag. N. H. (1) xviii. p. 231 (1846); =id.= Cat. Mamm. Nepal
(Hodgson Coll.) (1) p. 26 (1846), (2) p. 13 (1863); =id.= List
Ost. B. M. p. 55 (1874); =id.= Knowsl. Men. p. 3 (1850); =id.=
P. Z. S. 1850, p. 112; =Horsf.= Cat. Mamm. Mus. E.I. Co. p. 166
(1851); =Temm.= Esq. Zool. Guin. p. 189 (1853); =Blanf.= J. A.
S. B. xli. pt. 2, p. 39 (1872).
_Antilope kemas_, =H. Sm.= Griff. An. K. iv. p. 196, v. p. 328
(1827); =Less.= Compl. Buff. x. p. 285 (1836).
“_The Chíru_,” Quart. Orient. Mag. ii. p. 160 (1824), _undè_
_Antilope chiru_, =Less.= Man. Mamm. p. 371 (1827) (_ex_ Quart.
Orient. Mag. 1824, p. 260); =Oken=, Allg. Naturg. vii. p. 1369
(1838); =Less.= N. Tabl. R. A., Mamm. p. 179 (1842).
VERNACULAR NAMES:--_Chíru_ of Southern Tibetans and of sportsmen
generally; _Tsus_ ♂, _Chus_ ♀, Chiru and Chuhu (_Blanford_);
_Orongo_ of Northern Tibetans (_Przewalski_).
Height at withers about 31 or 32 inches. Hair very close, thick, and
crisp. Colour pale fawn, with a peculiar fulvous or pinkish suffusion,
especially on the flanks. Belly whitish, not sharply separated from the
colour of the sides. Face of male black, crown and neck whitish. Sides
of muzzle in male markedly swollen. Ears short, but pointed, whitish.
Limbs pale greyish white, a black line running down their anterior
faces in the male; female without blacker markings. Tail short,
coloured like the rump.
Skull dimensions of a male:--Basal length 10·2 inches, greatest breadth
5, muzzle to orbit 6·4.
Horns long, very graceful, nearly straight, only slightly curved
backwards below and forwards above, remarkably uniform in length and
curvature, generally from 23 to 26 inches in length, the largest
recorded being just under 28 inches.
_Female_ similar to male, but without horns.
_Hab._ Plateau of Tibet.
The Chiru, or Tibetan Antelope as it is often called, although known
by the vague reports of the natives as long ago, perhaps, as 1816,
was first introduced to science by Abel in 1826, from information
and specimens furnished to him by the great naturalist and collector
Hodgson, whose name it worthily bears. As we learn from Hodgson’s
article published in ‘Gleanings in Science’ for 1830, it was in 1824 or
1825 that a live Chiru was sent to him in Nepal, where he was British
Resident at the Court of Catmandu. Hodgson, as was his custom, drew
up an elaborate description of the animal, and, after its death, sent
the notes along with the skin to Dr. C. Abel, who was at that time
one of the Secretaries of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta. Dr. Abel,
after making a few additions to the description, and proposing to name
the animal _Antilope hodgsoni_, read his paper at one of the
Meetings of the Asiatic Society, and, as it appears from notices in the
‘Philosophical Magazine’ of 1826 and ‘Brewster’s Journal of Science’ of
1827, had it published in the Calcutta Government Gazette or Journal.
But Hodgson, probably owing to the death of Dr. Abel shortly
afterwards, was unaware of this fact, and believing that Dr. Abel had
lost or neglected his communication, redescribed the species in 1830
under the name _Antilope hodgsoni_, which he was told that Dr.
Abel had applied to it. At that date (1830) Hodgson states that the
living specimen already referred to was the only example he had ever
seen of this animal, and that up to that time he had never been able
to get another example of it alive or dead. It is clear, however, that
Hodgson shortly after this date was enabled to obtain further specimens
of this Antelope. In one of his letters published in the ‘Proceedings
of the Zoological Society’ for 1832 it is stated that three individuals
had been examined, and in a subsequent communication (dated from Nepal
in February 1834) skins of the Chiru of both sexes are referred to as
being amongst other skins of mammals and birds which had been recently
despatched to the Society. In the latter communication also Mr. Hodgson
suggests the propriety of regarding the Chiru as representing “a new
subgenus to be termed _Pantholops_, the vulgar old name for the
Unicorn.” Naturalists have generally acquiesced in Hodgson’s suggestion
on this point, and we follow the usual practice in denominating the
present species _Pantholops hodgsoni_.
Other names, however, have been proposed. In 1827 Lesson, in his
‘Manuel de Mammalogie,’ called this Antelope _Antilope chiru_, quoting
as his reference an article in the ‘Quarterly Oriental Magazine’ for
1824 (p. 260), which is, however, merely another version of Abel’s
paper.
About the same date also Hamilton Smith, in one of the volumes of
Griffith’s edition of Cuvier’s ‘Animal Kingdom,’ proposed, with a note
of interrogation, to give the name _Antilope kemas_ to the Chiru,
quoting its description from one of the above-mentioned reports of
Abel’s original paper.
We are quite satisfied, however, that it is best to employ the specific
name _hodgsoni_ for this species as that which was first applied to it.
Since the days when Hodgson was Resident in Nepal many British
travellers and sportsmen have penetrated into the snowy ranges of the
Himalaya, and have met with the Tibetan Antelope. Sir Joseph Hooker,
in the second volume of his ‘Himalayan Journal,’ tells us that he
saw Chirus on the Cholamoo lakes near the Donkia Pass in Sikim in
October 1849. They were feeding in company with “Gaurs” (_Gazella
picticaudata_) upon the short grass about the lake, which lies at an
elevation of some 17,000 feet above the sea-level. Sir Joseph Hooker
gives an excellent figure of the remarkable horns of this Antelope,
which by his kindness we are enabled to reproduce, and alludes to the
ideas of Hodgson (which were shared in by Hue and Gabet) of the profile
view of these horns having given rise to the belief of the existence
of a Unicorn in Tibet. We should mention that Blanford when he visited
Sikim in 1871 was told by the Tibetans that the Chiru is not now found
within a long distance of the frontier, but only beyond it in Tibet
proper. He admits, however, that it is not probable that there could
have been any mistake about so fine and conspicuous an animal.
[Illustration: Fig. 52.
Horns of Chiru.
(From Hooker’s ‘Himalayan Journal,’ vol. ii. p. 158.)]
But by far the most complete account of the Chiru yet published is that
given by General Kinloch in his excellent volume on the ‘Large Game of
Tibet and Northern India,’ from the second edition of which, published
in 1885, we venture to extract the following particulars:--
“So far as we know, Thibetan Antelopes are never found near
the habitations of man, but frequent the plains and elevated
valleys far above the limits of cultivation, where few human
beings, save occasional wandering shepherds, ever disturb them.
The most accessible country to sportsmen where the Thibetan
Antelope is to be found is Chung Chenmo, a desolate valley to
the north of the Pangong lakes. In this valley, and in those of
the streams which flow down to it from the spurs of the Kárá
Koram mountains, Antelope are usually plentiful; and they are
also to be met with all over the lofty plateau which has to be
crossed on the road to Yarkand. A few have been shot in the
neighbourhood of the Mánsarovárá lake near the north-western
frontier of Nepál, but there are great difficulties in the
way of getting there, the Thibetans jealously excluding all
foreigners.
“The Thibetan Antelope is considerably larger than the Indian
Antelope, and somewhat more heavily made; its remarkable thick
coat of closely set brittle hairs also tending to increase its
apparent bulk. The color is a light fawn, varying in shade on
different parts of the body, and tending almost to white in old
buck. The legs are dark-colored, and the faces of very old males
are nearly black. The muzzle is very curious; instead of being
fine and compressed, as is the case with most deer and antelope,
it is considerably enlarged and puffy-looking; so much so,
that properly stuffed heads are generally supposed by persons
unacquainted with the animal to be failures of the taxidermist.
“The horns are, perhaps, the most graceful of those of any
antelope: set close together at the base, they diverge in
an easy curve for about two-thirds of their length, and
then converging more abruptly, approach each other, in some
specimens, within three or four inches at the tips. Out of
twenty-five that I have shot I have never seen a pair above
twenty-four and a half inches, but considerably longer specimens
are to be obtained, and I have recently heard of a pair
twenty-eight and a half inches. The horns are jet-black, of very
fine grain, with a small central core, and being deeply notched
on their anterior surface, they form perfect knife-handles and
sword-hilts. When seen in profile, the forward inclination of
the horns has a curious effect, the two appearing like a single
horn; which has given rise to the belief that the Thibetan
Antelope is the Tchirou or Unicorn Antelope mentioned by the
Abbé Hue.
“Although living in such remote and sequestered regions, the
Thibetan Antelope is wary in its habits. In the mornings and
evenings it frequents the grassy margins of glacial streams,
which frequently flow between steep banks gradually scarped out
by the floods of centuries and now remote from the ordinary
water’s edge. The ravines have, for the most part, been cut
through gently sloping valleys; and on ascending their steep
sides, slightly undulating plains will be found to stretch away,
until they merge in the easy slopes of the rounded hills which
bound the valley. To these plains the Antelope betake themselves
during the day, and there they excavate hollows deep enough
to conceal their bodies, from which, themselves unperceived,
they can detect any threatening danger at a great distance. In
addition to the concealment afforded by their ‘shelter pits,’
they have an additional safeguard against surprise in the
constant _mirage_ which prevails on these stony wastes
during the bright hours of the day. This _mirage_ not
only distorts all visible objects in an extraordinary manner,
but, like rippling water, refracts the rays of light to such a
degree as to render objects altogether invisible at very short
distances. It is, of course, worst near the surface of the
ground, but on very hot days it attains a level of several feet;
and I well remember, on one occasion, observing the slender
horns of an Antelope gliding past me within three hundred yards,
apparently borne on the surface of a glassy stream, in which
the wearer of the horns was submerged and completely hidden
from view! When Antelope are feeding on the grassy flats by the
streams is the time when they may be easily approached; and then
a knowledge of the ground, and of the habits of the animal,
renders success in stalking them tolerably certain.”
How far the Chiru extends into the high plateau of Northern Asia
beyond the Himalayas it is yet a little uncertain. Dr. Blanford, in
his account of the mammals collected by Stoliczka during the Second
Yarkand Mission (where excellent coloured figures of both sexes of this
Antelope are given), tells us that it has been found in the Kuen-lun
range, but has not been met with further north-west or west. It is
also, as we are told by the great Russian traveller and naturalist
Przewalski, a characteristic animal of the highlands of Northern Tibet.
The “Orongo,” as it is here called by the Monguls and Tanguts, was
first met with by the great traveller after crossing the Burkhan Buddha
range, beyond which it was found distributed to the south as far as the
Tang-la mountains. In Mr. Delmar Morgan’s translation of Przewalski’s
travels will be found the following passages relating to the habits of
this animal, of which, in the original Russian edition of the work,
both sexes are figured:--
“The Orongo is found in small herds from five to twenty or forty
head, rarely collecting in large troops of several hundred, and
this only where the pasturage is good and plentiful. Though
a few of the old bucks, usually accompanying every herd, are
more cautious and experienced, the Orongos generally are not
so wary in their habits. In their flight the males follow the
herd as though to prevent straggling; whilst with the Dzerens
and Kara-sultas this order is reversed. When in motion, either
leisurely or at full speed, the Orongo holds its horns erect,
which adds greatly to its appearance. When trotting--its usual
pace--the legs move so quickly that at a distance they are
invisible, and dogs or wolves are soon left behind. We arrived
in Tibet during the breeding-season of these animals, which
begins late in November and lasts a month.
“At this time the full-grown males are in a most exited state,
taking little food and soon losing the fat which they had
gained during summer. The buck soon forms his harem of ten to
twenty wives, and these he jealously guards lest any of them
should fall into the power of a rival. No sooner does he see
an adversary approaching than he, the lawful lord of the herd,
rushes to the encounter with head lowered, uttering short deep
bleats. The combat is fierce, and the long sharp horns inflict
terrible wounds, often causing the death of both antagonists.
Should one feel his strength ebbing, he takes to flight pursued
by his enemy, then suddenly wheeling round receives the latter
on his horns. As a proof of the fury with which they fight, I
remember shooting one of the combatants, who, to my surprise,
continued the fight for several minutes after he had received
his death-wound, and then suddenly expired. If a doe chance to
stray from the herd, the buck immediately gives chase, and,
bleating as he goes, tries to drive her back again. While his
attention is thus engaged the others give him the slip, and
pursuing first one, then another, he often loses his whole
harem. At last, deserted by all, he gives vent to his fury and
disgust by striking the ground with his hoofs, curving his tail,
lowering his horns, and bleating defiance at his compeers. From
morning until evening these scenes are constantly occurring, and
there appears to be no bond of union between the male antelope
and his does; to-day they consort with one buck, to-morrow with
another.
“The rutting-season over, the Orongos again live peaceably with
one another, the males and females often collecting in separate
herds. We saw a troop of about 300 does in February in the
valley of the Shuga; the young are dropped in July. The Orongo
is fearless and will let the hunter openly approach within 300
yards, or even nearer. The report of firearms or the whistle of
a bullet does not alarm it; it only shows surprise by walking
quietly away, frequently stopping to look at the hunter. Like
other antelopes it is extremely tenacious of life and will run
a long way although wounded. They are not difficult to shoot,
for besides showing no fear, they haunt rocky defiles in the
mountains, where they may be easily stalked. I have fired as
many as from one to two hundred shots at them in the course of
the day, my bag, of course, varying a good deal with my luck in
the long shots. The Orongo is held sacred by the Mongols and
Tangutans, and lamas will not touch the meat, which, by the way,
is excellent, particularly in autumn when the animal is fat. The
blood is said to possess medicinal virtues, and the horns are
used in charlatanism: Mongols tell fortunes and predict future
events by the rings on these, and they also serve to mark out
the burial-places, or more commonly the circles within which the
bodies of deceased lamas are exposed; these horns are carried
away in large numbers by pilgrims returning from Tibet, and are
sold at high prices. Mongols tell you that a whip-handle made
from one will in the hands of the rider prevent his steed from
tiring.”
It is almost unnecessary to say that living specimens of the Chiru have
never, as yet, been brought to Europe.
The British Museum contains a mounted specimen of an adult male of
the Chiru, obtained by Mr. Mandelli in Sikim and presented by Dr. W.
T. Blanford; also some specimens presented by Hodgson, and a number
of very fine skulls and horns from Ladakh and Kumaon from the Hume
Collection.
Our illustration (Plate L.), which represents a male of this animal in
a snowstorm, has been put upon the stone by Mr. Smit from a coloured
drawing prepared by Mr. Wolf under the directions of the late Sir
Victor Brooke.
_August,_ 1897.
GENUS V. ANTIDORCAS.
Type.
_Antidorcas_, =Sund.= Pecora, K. Vet.-Ak. Handl.
1845, p. 271 (1847) A. EUCHORE.
General characters as in _Gazella_, but, as in _Saiga tatarica_ alone
of Ruminants, with only two lower premolars, and the upper anterior
premolar reduced to half the size of the second. Back with a peculiar
elongate evertible fold in the skin.
Skull with small but particularly deep anteorbital fossæ, no
anteorbital vacuities, and very broad and open posterior nares.
Horns medium, lyrate, twisted inwards, with a double serpentine
curvature, convex inwards and in front below, outwards and behind
above. The points turned inwards or backwards.
_Range of Genus._ Africa south of the Zambesi.
[Illustration:
THE BOOK OF ANTELOPES, PL. LI
_Wolf del J Smit lith_ _Hanhart imp_
The Springbuck
ANTIDORCAS EUCHORE.
_Published by R H Porter_]
81. THE SPRINGBUCK.
ANTIDORCAS EUCHORE (ZIMM.).
[PLATE LI.]
_La Gazelle à bourse sur le dos_, =Allamand=, in Schneider’s ed.
of Buffon’s Hist. Nat., Suppl. iv. p. 142, pl. lx. (1778); =id.=
Buff. H. N., Suppl. vi. p. 180 (Paris, 1782).
_Antilope marsupialis_, =Zimm.= Geogr. Gesch. ii. p. 427 (1780);
=Bechst.= Syst. Uebers. vierf. Thiere, ii. p. 645 (1800).
_Cemas marsupialis_, =Oken=, Lehrb. Nat. iii. pt. 2, p. 738
(1816).
_Springbok_, =Sparrm.= K. Vet.-Ak. Handl. 1780, p. 275; =id.=
Reise, p. 396, pl. viii. (1784); =id.= Engl. transl. ii. p. 83
(1786); =Daniell=, Afr. Scenery, no. 18 (1812).