Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon

Genus Gazella — The Gazelles

These are small animals of slender frame; bovine muzzle; of sandy colour above and white underneath; small annulated horns, curved gracefully backwards, and in some species so elegantly formed as to take the shape of a lyre on looking at them full in front. The females of some have smaller, smoother horns, but others are hornless. The skull has an anteorbital vacuity, with a small anteorbital fossa. The auditory bullæ are large; “eye-pits small; groin-pits distinct; large feet-pits in all feet; knees tufted” (Jerdon). The face has a white band running from the outer side of the base of each horn down to the muzzle, the space between forming a dark triangular patch bordered with a deeper tint. Sir Victor Brooke classifies the twenty or so known species as follows:—

I.—Back Unstriped.
Dentition:—Inc. 0/3; can. 0/1; prem. 3/3; molars, 3/3.

A.—The white colour of the rump not encroaching on the fawn of the haunches.

a. BOTH SEXES WITH HORNS.

Horns lyrate or semi-lyrate: Gazella dorcas; G. Isabella; G. rufifrons; G. loevipes; G. melanura.
Horns non-lyrate: Gazella Cuvieri; G. leptoceros; G. Spekii; G. Arabica; G. Bennetti; G. fuscifrons.

b. FEMALES HORNLESS.

Gazella subgutterosa; G. gutterosa; G. picticaudata.

B.—White of rump projecting forwards in an angle into the fawn colour of the haunches.

Gazella dama; G. mohr; G. Soemmerringii; G. Granti.

II.—BACK WITH A White Median Stripe.
One premolar less in the lower jaw: Gazella euchore.

Of the above species the following come under the scope of this work: Gazella Bennetti; G. fuscifrons; G. subgutterosa; G. picticaudata.

No. 456. Gazella Bennetti.
The Indian Gazelle (Jerdon’s No. 229).

Native Names.—Chikara, Hindi; Kal-punch, Hindi; Kal-sipi, Mahratti; Hirni, in the Punjab; Tiska, also Budari and Mudari, Canarese; Barudu-jinka, Telegu; Porsya (male) and Chari (female), of Baoris.

Habitat.—Mr. W. Blanford defines the limits of this species as follows (‘P. Z. S.,’ 1873, p. 315)—the italics are mine: “It is found throughout the Punjab, North-west Provinces, Rajputana, Sind (unless in part replaced by the next species), Kachh, Kathiawar, Guzerat, and the whole Bombay Presidency, with the exception of the Western Ghâts and the low land on Konkan, along the western coast, south of the neighbourhood of Daman. It is also met with in the Narbada and Tapti valleys, Bandelkand, the Son valley, and Rewah, in the Nagpur and Chanda country, Berar, the Hyderabad territories, and other parts of Southern India, with the complete exception of the Malabar coast and the adjacent hills.” He adds that from the evidence of Colonel McMaster and Colonel Douglas Hamilton, both good authorities, it is not known to occur much south of the Krishna river, nor is it found in the Ganges valley east of Benares, in Eastern Behar, the Santal Pergunnahs, Chotia Nagpur, Birbhum, &c., Chhatisgurh, the Mahanadi valley, Orissa, Bastar, and the east coast, generally north of the river Krishna. He says it is met with in the Narbada valley, but I have also found it common on the plateaux of the Satpura range.

Gazella Bennetti (male and female).

Description.—“Fawn brown above, darker where it joins the white of the sides and buttocks; chin, breast, lower parts and buttocks behind white; tail, knee-tufts and fetlocks behind black; a dark brown spot on the nose, and a dark line from the eyes to the mouth, bordered by a light one above” (Jerdon).

Size.—Length, 3½ feet; height, 26 inches at shoulder, 28 inches at croup.

The horns run from 10 to 14 inches in the male, but, in fact, few exceed a foot. The longest of six pairs in my collection measure 12 inches, and the head is looked upon as a fine one. I agree with Jerdon that there must be some mistake about 18-inch horns recorded from the Punjab.

This pretty little creature, miscalled “ravine-deer,” is familiar to most shikaris. How it got called a deer it is difficult to say, except on the principle of “rats and mice, and such small deer.” The Madras term of “goat-antelope” is more appropriate. I remember once, when out on field service with the late Dr. Jerdon during the Indian Mutiny, a few chikara crossed our line of march. A young and somewhat bumptious ensign, who knew not of the fame of the doctor as a naturalist, called out: “There are some deer, there are some deer.” “Those are not deer,” quietly remarked Jerdon. “Oh, I say,” exclaimed the boy, thinking he had got a rise out of the doctor; “Jerdon says those are not deer!” “No more they are, young man—no more they are; much more of the goat—much more of the goat.”

This gazelle frequents broken ground, with sandy nullahs bordered by scrub jungle, and is most common in dry climates. It is unknown, I believe, in Bengal and, according to Jerdon, on the Malabar coast, but is, I think, found almost everywhere else in India. It abounds in the Central provinces, and I have found it in parts of the Punjab, and it is common throughout the North-west. It is a wary, restless little beast, and requires good shooting, for it does not afford much of a mark. When disturbed they keep constantly shifting, not going far, but hovering about in a most tantalising way. Natives it cares little for, unless it be a shikari with a gun, of which it seems to have intuitive perception; but the ordinary cultivator, with his load of wood and grass, may approach within easy shot; therefore it is not a bad plan, when there is no available cover, to get one of these men to walk alongside of you, whilst, with a horse-cloth or blanket over you, you make yourself look as like your guide as you can. A horse or bullock is also a great help. I had a little bullock which formed part of some loot at Banda—a very handsome little bull, easy to ride and steady under fire—and I found him most useful in stalking black buck and gazelle.

When alarmed, the chikara stamps its foot and gives a sharp little hiss. It is generally found in small herds of four or five, but often singly. Jerdon, however, says that in the extreme North-west he had seen twenty or more together, and this is corroborated by Kinloch.

They are sometimes hunted by hawks and dogs combined, the churrug (Falco sacer) being the hawk usually employed, as mentioned both by Kinloch and Hodgson, writing of opposite ends of the great Himalayan chain. The hawk stoops at the head of its quarry and confuses it, whilst the dogs, who would otherwise have no chance, run up and seize it.

The poor little gazelle has also many other enemies—jackals and wolves being amongst the number. Captain Baldwin, in his interesting book, writes: “Like other antelopes, the little ravine-deer has many enemies besides man. One day, when out with my rifle, I noticed an old female gazelle stamping her feet, and every now and then making that hiss which is the alarm note of the animal. It was not I that was the cause of her terror, for I had passed close to her only a few minutes before, and she seemed to understand by my manner that I meant no harm; no, there was something else. I turned back, and, on looking down a ravine close by, saw a crafty wolf attempting a stalk on the mother and young one. Another day, at Agra, a pair of jackals joined in the chase of a wounded buck.” Brigadier-General McMaster also relates how he and two friends, whilst coursing, watched for a long time four jackals trying to force one of a small herd of young bucks to separate from the rest. “The gazelles stood in a circle, and maintained their ground well by keeping their heads very gallantly outwards to their foes, until at length, seeing us, both sides made off. We laid the greyhounds into and killed one of the jackals.”