In the deserts and plains between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the dorcas gazelle is especially numerous, its food chiefly consists of mimosa-bushes; these bushes growing most abundantly on low, boulder-strewn hills which form the favourite feeding-places of the gazelles. Unlike many ruminants, gazelles are almost constantly on the move, resting only during the very hottest hours of the day, when they seek the shade of the mimosas: and when thus reposing, even experienced hunters find it extremely difficult to distinguish them from the boulders amid which they lie. Gazelles mostly associate in herds of variable size; but they are generally seen on their feeding-grounds either in small parties of from two to eight head, or singly. They are extremely shy and watchful, and nearly always feed with the wind behind them; while their favourite stations are on elevated ground, where they can command an extensive view of the plains below. When a herd is alarmed and takes to flight, its members always seek shelter on the nearest hill. The senses of sight, smell, and hearing are all highly developed in gazelles; and the speed of these beautiful antelopes is little short of marvellous. Indeed, when a gazelle is fleeing from the slughi hounds, or so-called Persian greyhounds, with which the Arabs hunt the fawns, they seem scarcely to touch the ground, and to be flying rather than running. Previous to the pairing-season the bucks fight among themselves, and so fiercely that they not infrequently lose a horn. After a gestation of between five and six months, the doe gives birth to a single fawn, which is at first extremely helpless, when it is most assiduously nursed by the mother. Young gazelles are beautiful little creatures, which in their own country can be kept and tamed without difficulty; in cold climates they require, however, shelter and protection in cold and bad weather. Pictures of the gazelle are common among the ancient Egyptian frescoes, especially in the temples at Giza, Thebes, Sakhara, and Beni-hassan; and from a painting in a tomb at Sakhara it may be inferred that herds of these graceful ruminants were kept in a half-tamed condition in Pharaonic times. THE MOUFLON (_Ovis musimon_) The mouflon, or muflon, is the only wild sheep inhabiting Europe, where it is restricted at the present day to the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia. In former times it doubtless had a more extensive range, and there are reports of its occurrence within the historical period in Greece and the Balearic Islands. It is likewise reported to have once inhabited the mountain ranges of central Spain.