Deer are found in almost all parts of the globe except Australia and the south of Africa, their place in the latter region being supplied by antelopes; the greater number inhabit the warmer temperate countries, and they are chiefly found in wide plains and hills of moderate height. The flesh (venison) of most kinds of deer is highly esteemed for the table, and they have long been regarded as among the noblest objects of the chase. Only one species, the reindeer, can be said to have been fully domesticated.
Elk (Cervus alces).—This animal is the largest representative of the genus of stags. It is the size of a horse, and its head is adorned with large antlers. The elk inhabits the northern regions of Europe and America. It is hunted for the sake of its excellent flesh, but the hunting of this strong and swift animal is attended with many dangers. It swims across the largest rivers. The Elk of Europe is called Moose in America.
Fallow Deer (Cervus capreolus).—Nearly everybody has seen this graceful animal. It attains the size of a goat. The head of the male, the roebuck, is adorned with small but strong antlers, which are shed every year at the end of autumn. The fallow deer go about in troops, and feed on grass, clover, corn, and fruit. Their young are called kids, and the female, does. They are hunted for the sake of their flesh.
Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) is much larger than the fallow deer, and is the grandest animal of the higher species of game. The male carries large, branching antlers, which it loses in February of each year. The antlers of the one-year-old stag are like a spear, in the second year they are fork-shaped, and in those appearing later two more prongs are added each year. The stag has a greyish-brown fur. During the day it remains in the recesses of the forests; in the evening and night it roams in herds in search of food, which consists of various grasses and herbs, and the twigs and bark of trees. It runs with great swiftness when scenting danger, and will wade, or swim rivers and lakes.
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Gayal (Bibos frontalis), a species of ox, which is found in the mountains of Aracan, Chittagong, Tipura, and Sylhet. It is about the size of the Indian buffalo, is dark brown, and has short curved horns.
Gazelle (Gazella Dorcas), is a species of antelope about the size of a roebuck, but of lighter and more graceful form, with longer and more slender limbs. It is of a light tawny color, the under parts white; a broad brown band along each flank; the hair short and smooth. The face is reddish fawn-color, with white and dark stripes. The horns of the old males are nine or ten inches long, bending outward and then inward, like the sides of a lyre, also backward at the base and forward at the tips, tapering to a point, surrounded by thirteen or fourteen permanent rings, the rings near the base being closest together and most perfect. The ears are long, narrow, and pointed; the eyes very large, soft, and black; there is a tuft of hair on each knee; the tail is short, with black hairs on its upper surface only, and at its tip. The gazelle is a native of the North of Africa, and of Syria, Arabia and Persia.
Giraffe (Camelopardalis giraffa).—This strange looking animal has the head of the horse, the neck and hoof of the stag, the callous breast of the camel, and the spotted skin of the panther. On its forehead it has two horny excrescences. It attains a height of sixteen feet.
