Black buck in their wild state are very pugnacious, and when two bucks are fighting they may often be approached without difficulty. I once walked up to within eighty yards of two who were desperately hard at it; sat down and watched the fight till they stood with their horns locked, and then shot the blacker buck of the pair through the lungs. He threw up his head and bolted, pursued by his antagonist, a brown buck with good horns, who seemed to have had rather the best of the battle while it lasted. They ran about one hundred yards, the brown buck driving and horning the other till the latter dropped dead; then, after making two or three attacks on the prostrate body, the brown buck began to swagger round it, head and tail in the air, as proud as could be. By this time I had again got well within range, and as the brown buck now apparently saw me for the first time (not having taking any notice of the shot), I dropped him with another bullet so that he fell over the carcase of his late rival.
Writing of the height that antelope can jump, Williamson mentions a black buck leading a herd over a net which was propped up on poles 13 ft. long, and which must have been at least 11 ft. high.
XLVIII. THE NYLGHAO (Portax pictus)
Native names: ‘Nilghao,’ ‘Lilghao’; in the Punjab, ‘Roz’
This animal is found pretty nearly all over the plains of India. Jerdon says it is not known in the extreme south of India, but Sanderson mentions it as occurring in the Madras Presidency on the borders of Mysore. According to my own experience, it is most plentiful in Central India, though it is common enough in the North-West Provinces.
An old male, usually called a blue bull, is a large beast with a lean head, surmounted by short cow-like horns, but with a curious rib along the base of the horn in front; the neck is long and carried high; the withers are high, and give him a horse-like appearance, but he falls away towards the hind-quarters; the tail is like a cow’s, with a tuft at the end, but only reaches to the hocks. His general colour is a dark iron grey; the chin, lips, and inside of the ears are white; the ears are rather large and cow-like; there is a white spot on each cheek, a large white patch on the throat, below which hangs a tuft of long black hair; the chest and stomach are white, there are white rings on the fetlocks, and he has a thin upright black mane.
The female is fawn-coloured, and is without horns.
Scrub jungle, composed of ‘babul’ trees, ‘dhak’ and ‘beyr’ bushes, is the ground on which to look for nylghai, and if there is a patch of sugar cane adjoining such a jungle, it is an almost certain find. The natives often enclose these patches of cane with grass fences nearly six feet high, but nylghai will always jump them.
As a rule, natives object more or less strongly to nylghai being shot, regarding them as cattle; and as they afford poor sport with the rifle, most men spare them after having obtained a few specimens, especially if the ground is not rideable; but where they can be ridden it is quite another matter. A wounded bull will give a grand run, and even an unwounded one can be ridden down if well pressed at first. This is rather a difficult matter for a single horseman, but parties of three or four have frequently done it. Kinloch mentions an instance of its having been done single-handed, and gives some stirring accounts of his own adventures after nylghai. Cows, he says, it is almost impossible to catch, the only chance being with heavy old bulls.
Blue bulls have frequently been tamed and trained to carry loads. Sterndale mentions one he used to ride, but they are as a rule dangerous in captivity. The writer owned one who would let him sit on his back when lying down, but he would always charge any pony that came near him, dropping suddenly on his knees to use his horns. He used to break loose, and hunt the native gardeners up trees, whilst he enjoyed the produce. As the bull would not consent to be led, he had to be left behind when the writer’s battalion left the station, and his last exploit was to hunt the portly native landlord of the house round and round the premises when he came to look at his property.