As they are wary and require careful stalking, and as they often lie up for the day in holes, which they have a curious habit of scratching for themselves on the hillsides just deep enough to conceal the whole of their bodies and necks when lying down, leaving the eyes just peeping over the top, the best time to hunt them is when they are feeding in the morning and evening. They are rather soft animals, and succumb to wounds that most deer would travel miles with; the writer once broke the foreleg of a buck who after going about half a mile lay down with his nose on the ground, and let himself be caught. There was a pretty free fight for a bit when he was laid hold of, his sharp horns necessitating a certain amount of caution; a judicious wrench towards his wounded side, however, at length upset him, and a knife-thrust finished him. A Tartar shikari, who was standing by, absolutely refused to lend any assistance during the struggle, contenting himself with applauding the combatants and seeing fair play. The does are smaller than the bucks, are of a light brown colour, and have no horns.
Unlike other antelope, the bucks separate from the does in the summer, and walk about in herds together. They are much worried by the grubs of some fly, which seems to annoy them chiefly when lying down during the heat of the day, for it is a common thing to see one of a herd get up, go for a constitutional gallop—they always gallop then—return to the herd and lie down again with the others. They do not seem to be troubled so much when moving about feeding. The venison in July is excellent.
XLV. THE SAIGA ANTELOPE (Saiga tartarica)
This extraordinary animal, which hails from Central Asia, is said to be a relative of the Thibetan antelope, on account of the peculiar formation of the nose. In the stuffed specimens in the British Museum there is little or no resemblance between the two; the Thibetan antelope having there, as in its natural state, a broad puffy muzzle, while the saiga antelope has, at all events in the Museum, in addition to a very high chevron, an absurd-looking elongated snout like a tapir, projecting far beyond its lower lip. The hair is thick and long, particularly on the cheeks, where it almost resembles a wild boar. The ears are small and rounded in shape, utterly unlike any deer’s ears. The general colour is almost white (probably a very pale yellow in nature), and there is a dark stripe down the quarters and tail. The horns are annulated and of a very pale colour, the stuffed specimen having twelve rings; and though of the gazelle type, with a backward sweep, rising up again at the tips, they have also two curious outward bends, one near the base of the horn, and another near the tip, though the tips eventually incline inwards. A skeleton in the Museum measured 58 ins. in length along the spinal cord, and stood 31¾ ins. at the shoulder. The stuffed specimen stands 30 ins. at the shoulder. Three pairs of horns measured 13¾ ins., 13½ ins. and 13 ins.
Saiga tartarica
Sterndale remarks that the inflated nostrils ‘are so much lengthened as to necessitate the animal’s walking backwards when it feeds.’ The fortunate sportsman who comes across this rare variety should therefore remember to post himself astern of a herd should he wish it to feed up to him—though he may possibly find that nature has provided the animal with means of twitching its nose out of the way to obviate so uncomfortable a method of grazing.
Gazella gutturosa
This is another little known variety. It is found in Mongolia, and is the one Ward refers to as the ‘hwang yang, or yellow goat.’ There is a stuffed specimen in the British Museum, which stands 31 ins. at the shoulder, is of a pale yellowish white, with coarse hairs, and has horns 10½ ins. in length, of the regular gazelle type in shape and ribbing, much resembling those of the Gazella picticaudata.