The book of antelopes . nd of their area, there areremarkable variations in their numbers. In some summers only a fewscattered individuals are to be met with, in other years large herds are tobe found in this district throughout the summer. But in very severe winters,when even the most southern districts inhabited by this Antelope are invadedby excessive cold and deep snow, the hungry beasts are driven all over thecountry in search of food, and stray even as far north as the vicinity of these occasions whole herds are often entombed in the snow-drifts andfall an easy prey to the nat
The book of antelopes . nd of their area, there areremarkable variations in their numbers. In some summers only a fewscattered individuals are to be met with, in other years large herds are tobe found in this district throughout the summer. But in very severe winters,when even the most southern districts inhabited by this Antelope are invadedby excessive cold and deep snow, the hungry beasts are driven all over thecountry in search of food, and stray even as far north as the vicinity of these occasions whole herds are often entombed in the snow-drifts andfall an easy prey to the natives, who follow them on horseback and slaughter oo them by hundreds. Under these circumstances it can easily be understoodthat the Saiga is a gradually vanishing animal in Europe. One thing, how-ever, is in their favour, that the males, whose presence is betrayed by theirhorns, fall more easy victims to the hunter than the hornless females, whichare more readily concealed in the herbage and thus escape notice. Fig. Group of Saigas (T^ nat. size).(From the Eoyal Natural History, vol. ii. p. 298.) Herr Glitsch gives us detailed and excellent descriptions of the form andcolouring of the Saiga, and of the other peculiarities of the animal of bothsexes and in all ages. In the winter coat the hairs on the upper part of thebody are from two to three inches long, rather shorter on the underparts, anda long beard extends from the chin down the middle line of the neck to thebreast. The older the animal is the brighter is its winter dress. f2 36 The voice of the Saiga is stated by Glitsch to be a deep loud bleat, whichis frequently uttered by the young animals, but by the older animals only inthe pairing-season and when they are wounded. The hearing, the sight, andthe smell of the Saiga are all highly developed, and combine to render it avery difficult animal for the hunter to approach. The Saigas are said to begin breeding about the middle of December (newstyle), and at this season
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