The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-09-11

malta is the yak, or grunting OK. Stand
ing between five and six feet high at
the shoulders, the bulk of this strange
looking creature is not a little exag-
gerated by the enormous growth of
hair upon the lower part of the body
and tail. Beneath the outer coat,
moreover, there is layer of fine wool,
known as "pushim," which is highly
priced for the making of cloth. The
extraordinary tail is one of the most
conspicuous features OF Tibetan mo-
nasteries of lamaseries, being sus-
pended on poles as streamers.
Throughout the east these tails are
used as fly whisks, and in China they
are dyed red and fixed to the roofs of
summer residences as pendants. Liy-
ing near the region of perpetual snow,
and of fierce disposition, the
hunting of the yak is not
to be lightly undertaken. In spite
of temper, however, it is easily domes-
ticated, and forms an invaluable beast
&C burden, being wonderfully sure
footed a: capable of carrying great
weights. 1t is, however, unable to eat
corn, and forced marches, exhausting
alike to man and beast, are often on
this account necessary.
Barren and inhospitable, the high
table-lands of Tibet harbors yet an
other hoofed animal as remarkable as
the yak-tne chiru antelope, for ex-
ample, which, like the strange saiga,
has developed an enormous swollen
nose 1t is supposed that this en-
larged nasal chamber is directly due
to the need of some special adaptation
for breathing the highly raretied air Of
those regions. The little goat, or
Tibetan gazelle, and a magnificent
wild sheep, the argali, manage, like
the chiru, to thrive where in summer
the sun scorcLes by day and icy blasts
prevail at night, and herds of wild
dogs are ever on the prowl. More diff
ficult to stalk than any other Tibetan
game, the argali still further allures
the sportsman by the fact that it car
ries superb horns, which may attain a
length of forty-eight inches, and a
girth of twenty inches at the base. Old
rams will leap from a height of thirty
feet with confidence.
The ihex and remarkable animal
known as the bharal, or blue sheep of
Tibet, but which appears to be more
goat than sheep, also deserves mention
here. The show deer, a beast nearly
as big as the great wapiti, has very
seldom fallen to the gun of the Euro
pean. No complete specimen has yet
been sent to Europe. In this country
it is represented only by five skulls
and horns in the British museum and
as many more in private collections
The horns are of great size; the rec
ord in the number of points-13-is
in the British museum The spread
between the tips of the horns is over
three feet, and the width between
arched stems may be as much as three
feet nine and three-quarter inches.
OF the three species Of wild ass
which occur in Asia, one, the kiang, is
peculiar to TIBET Perhaps the most
curious of tho large animals of Tibet
is the great panda, bear-lil1e creature,
whose exact affinities yet puzzle the
expert. In celebration it is remarkable,
patches of jet black being set in strong
contrast by cream-colored ground.
Little Is known about the creature, but
1t is conjectured that this coloration
is protective, harmonizing with the
patches of snow and black rocks
among which it lives.