Fig. 168.—Yak. Bos grunniens. × 1⁄15.
Fig. 169.—British Wild Ox. Bos taurus. From Vaynol Park, Bangor. × 1⁄20.
The Yak, Bos grunniens, is a long-haired peculiar type, confined to the Thibetan plateau. B. (Anoa) depressicornis of Celebes is characterised by its straight horns; allied to it is B. mindorensis (Philippine Islands), supposed, however, to be a hybrid between
it and some other species. Africa has at least two Buffaloes. We may finally mention the Wild Ox of Europe, B. primigenius, the supposed progenitor of our domestic cattle, believed to be still surviving in the herds at Chillingham, Chartley, and elsewhere. This animal is sometimes called the Aurochs. The Romans spoke of it as the Urus, and it appears to have formerly attained to more gigantic proportions than at present. It is the small size of the present race that is the chief objection to tracing them back to the large Oxen existing near London in 1174, and found sub-fossil in the Cambridgeshire fens.
Fig. 170.—Punjab Wild Sheep. Ovis vignei. × 1⁄10.
Of the true sheep, genus Ovis, there are a considerable number of species. The Sheep are to be distinguished from the Goats by their rather stouter build and by the absence of the beard in the male. The horns are developed in both sexes, and are usually twisted and often of large size.