[The Gaur, No. 464].—Jerdon doubted the existence of this animal in the Himalayan Terai, according to Hodgson's assertion; but Hodgson was right, for I have a letter before me which I received some time back from Dr. W. Forsyth, stating that a few days previously a companion of his shot a large solitary bull (6 feet 1 inch at the shoulder) in the Terai, and he himself knocked one and lost another the day before he wrote. The local name is gauri-gai.
| The Gaur. |
I also received a letter through the columns of The Asian from "Snapshot," vouching for the existence of the gaur in the Darjeeling Terai.
Another correspondent of The Asian writes regarding the naming of this species:—
"In referring to Mr. Sterndale's descriptions of the gaur and gayal, in your issues of the 28th March and 11th April, I trust that that gentleman will not be offended by my making a few remarks on the subject, and that he will set me right if I am in the wrong. I see that he has perpetuated what appears to my unscientific self a mistake on the part of the old writers—Colebrooke, Buchanan, Trail, and others, who I fancy got confused, and mixed up the animals. The local name for the Central Indian ox is over a large tract of country the gayal, or gyll; and this, being the animal with the peculiar frontal development, was most probably named bos, or Gavæus frontalis, whilst the mithun, or Eastern Bengal animal, was the gaur. It seems to me, therefore, that the names should be transposed. Will Mr. Sterndale consider this, if he has not already done so; and, if I am wrong, tell me why the animal with peculiar frontal development, and called the gayal locally, should not have been named frontalis, whilst the animal called mithun, with nothing peculiar in his frontal development, is so called?
"Orissa, April 15th, 1882.
"CHAMPSE.
"P.S.—Do any of the Eastern Bengal races call this mithun gayal?"
I think Hodgson's name Bibos cavifrons is a sufficient proof that Gavæus gaurus is applicable to the animal with the high frontal crest, which is the species inhabiting the Himalayan Terai, and is locally known as the gaur, or gauri-gai. It is known as gayal in some parts of India, but, where the people are familiar with the mithun, the gaur is called asl'gayal, from whence Horsfield's name Bibos asseel. Probably the mithun was called frontalis, under ignorance of a species with a still greater frontal development.