In India, the Sacred Cattle, or ZEBUS, with convex forehead, short
horns, large drooping ears, and a short head, possess a high hump upon
the withers, as well as an ample dewlap falling in undulating folds
along the whole length of the neck. Their disposition is mild, as is
indicated by their expression, and the liberty they are allowed in
India is wonderful. They vary greatly in size, some being not bigger
than an average month-old calf. The breed has extended in times gone by
through Persia into Eastern Africa, where it is found with a narrower
and flatter face, at the same time that the hump is smaller.
The introduction of steam, as well as the extension in the employment
of the Horse, has almost entirely superseded the use of cattle as
beasts of burden or draught in highly civilised nations.
The GOUR, the GAYAL, and the BANTING are three species of wild cattle
found in the Oriental world from India to Java, peculiar in possessing
a ridge running along the middle of the back, and horns which, after
running outwards from the head, are directed upwards and not backwards.
Of these the Gour of Central India is the largest, measuring six feet
at the withers, having also a convex profile, very high withers, and
an arched back, which makes the line from the nose to the root of the
tail, along the spine, a fairly continuous curve. Its colour is a deep
brown glossy black, excepting a ring of white encircling the base of
each hoof, and a white tuft on the forehead. There is not any trace of
a dewlap in either sex. The horns are not more than two feet in length,
strong, and curved boldly upwards at their tips. The Gour is found
abundantly in herds of twenty or so around the tablelands, especially
of South Bahar, feeding on the young leaves of the trees and shrubs. It
appears to have resisted all attempts at domestication. The Gayal is
found in the hill-region east of the Brahmaputra. It is much the size
of English cattle. The bull is bold, and the cow easily domesticated.
Its home is the deep jungle, where it can obtain the young leaves and
shoots of the brushwood. According to Mr. Macrae the following is the
method employed by the Kookies of the Chittagong hill-region to catch
the animal:--“On discovering a herd of wild Gayals in the jungle, they
prepare a number of balls, of the size of a man’s head, composed of
a particular kind of earth, salt, and cotton. They then drive their
tame Gayals towards the wild ones, when the two herds soon meet and
assimilate into one; the males of the one attaching themselves to the
females of the other, and _vice versâ_. The Kookies now scatter their
balls over such parts of the jungle as they think the herd most likely
to pass, and watch its motions. The Gayals, on meeting these balls
as they pass along, are attracted by their appearance and smell, and
begin to lick them with their tongues; and relishing the taste of the
salt, and the particular earth composing them, they never quit the
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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