Big Game Shooting, volume 2 (of 2)

by Clive Phillipps-Wolley

The second variety is found in Afghanistan, another practically closed shooting ground. It appears to be a link between the straight horn and the spiral, more generally approaching the spiral in size of body and general appearance. As the Astor variety probably extends some distance to the west of Gilgit, and this second variety is found in Northern Afghanistan, it seems possible that its corkscrew bend may be more pronounced towards its eastern limit and less so as it extends to the south-west. The illustration on p. 312 gives the four marked types.

Kinloch notes that markhor horns twist the reverse way to those of domestic goats; and the writer, after looking at many hundreds of tame goats in India for the express purpose of studying their horns, and after inspecting the heads in the British Museum and other collections, is able to confirm the fact that the horns of all wild animals that twist at all do so outwards, while those of tame animals appear invariably to twist inwards.

Measurements

Authority	Height at shoulder	Weight as shot	Horns round curve	Straight	Girth at base	No. of spirals	Span at tips	Remarks
Capra megaceros
No. 1. Cashmere
	ins.	lbs.	ins.	ins.	ins.		ins.
Col. Cuppage	..	..	63	..	..	..	..
Major Ward	..	..	59	..	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
”	..	..	56	..	..	..	..	”
Major FitzHerbert	..	..	55½	..	..	..	..
Major Ward	42	..	53	..	9½	2½	26	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
”	..	..	48½	..	..	..	..	”
Col. Kinloch	44	..	47½	..	..	..	..	‘Large Game Shooting’
Major Ward	..	..	47	..	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
Capt. H. Brooke	..	..	45	..	..	..	..
Major Ward	..	..	43	..	11	2½	31	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
Col. Kinloch	..	..	41	..	..	..	..	‘Large Game Shooting’
”	..	..	40	..	..	..	..	”
Average of good head	..	..	40	..	11	..	..
Not classified
Mr. A. O. Hume	..	.. A	54½	..	10½	..	26½	Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’
Mr. M. Kennard	..	.. A	54	..	10⅝	..	33¾	”
Sir V. Brooke	..	.. B	53¼	42½	11½	..	52	”
Mr. R. Ward	..	.. B	53½	..	..	..	37½	”
Mr. A. O. Hume	..	.. A	53	24¼	9¼	..	30¼	”
Mr. M. Kennard	..	.. B	52¾	39¾	12⅛	..	33¾	”
A, probably Cashmere; B, Astor.
No. 2. Astor
Major Ward	41	240	..	..	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
”	..	..	63	..	..	..	..	”
”	..	..	61	..	..	..	..	”
”	..	..	53	..	11	..	45	”
”	..	..	52	..	12½	..	43	”
Capt. H. Brooke	..	..	49	..	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
Major Ward	..	..	48	..	..	..	..
The Writer	..	..	39¼	..	13	..	..
”	..	..	38	..	14	..	..
Average of good head	..	..	40	..	13	..	..
Capra Jerdoni
No. 1. Trans-Indus
H.R.H. Duke of Edinburgh	..	..	..	38½	10½	23⅞	..	Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’
Major Ward	..	..	..	36	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
Sir E. G. Loder, Bart.	..	..	47⅞	33	9¼	..	19¾	Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’
Mr. A. O. Hume	..	..	..	32¼	9¾	..	28	”
Col. Kinloch	..	..	..	32	..	..	..	‘Large Game Shooting’
Sir V. Brooke	..	..	45¼	30¾	8¾	..	21½	Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’
British Museum	..	..	..	30½	10¾	..	..	Skull No. 120
Capt. H. Brooke	..	..	..	29	..	..	..
Sir E. G. Loder, Bart.	..	..	39	27⅛	8⅜	..	21½	Rowland Ward, ‘Horn Measurements’
Mr. G. Landseer, ‘The Field,’ 1873	..	..	..	25½	..	..	..	”
Mr. A. O. Hume	..	..	..	25⅜	8⅜	..	21½	”
Average of good head	..	..	..	24	10	..	..
No. 2. Afghanistan
Major FitzHerbert	..	..	48	38	13	..	27
British Museum	..	..	40	32½	12	..	..	Skull No. 121
Major Ward	..	..	..	35	..	..	..	‘Sportsman’s Guide to Ladak, &c.’
Average of good head	..	..	40	30	12	..	..

XXXVII. IBEX (Capra sibirica)

Cashmere, ‘Kale’; Ladak, ‘Skeen’; Pangi and Lahoul, ‘Tangrol’

In his summer coat