. Animals in action; studies and stories of beasts, birds and reptiles; their habits, their homes and their peculiarities . ne of the character-istic features of this strongly built antelope is its wide, thicknose and the snout which protrudes over the jaw. Its ears areshort, stumpy, and rounded. The horns of the buck curve overin somewhat the shape of a lyre. They stand far apart, areknotty at the base, and furrowed with rings all the way up. Atthe very tip they are thin, transparent, and of brilliant doe, on the other hand, has no horns. The length of thefull-grown buck is about
. Animals in action; studies and stories of beasts, birds and reptiles; their habits, their homes and their peculiarities . ne of the character-istic features of this strongly built antelope is its wide, thicknose and the snout which protrudes over the jaw. Its ears areshort, stumpy, and rounded. The horns of the buck curve overin somewhat the shape of a lyre. They stand far apart, areknotty at the base, and furrowed with rings all the way up. Atthe very tip they are thin, transparent, and of brilliant doe, on the other hand, has no horns. The length of thefull-grown buck is about four and a half feet, and its height atthe withers is over two feet and eight inches. The ill-formed,clumsy head of this animal makes it the least graceful of allthe antelopes. Although its form is somewhat ungainly, theanimal can run with great speed through the broad, flat coun-try which is its home. The saiga is to be found all throughthe summer in troops of from twenty to eighty head, only smallportions of which are full-grown bucks. The mating time is inNovember, and by the first of May the female gives birth to. Hunting the Saiga Antelope. THE SAIGA, OR ANTELOPE OF THE STEPPES. 215 one or two kids. After the mating these separate troops gatherin great herds of several thousand head, to wander throughoutthe winter in search of food; but with the beginning of springthey again break up into small herds, each of which has itswell-defined browsing ground. The hide of the saiga makes good leather, but its flesh has adisagreeable flavor, savoring strongly of the salty and coarsevegetation which forms the food of the animal. Only hungeror custom can render it palatable. In spite of this drawback,however, the Russians, Tartars, Kirghiz, and Kalmucks hunt thesaiga eagerly either by stalking it or by pursuing it on horsebackwith trained golden eagles or dogs. The Tartars and Kirghizoften ride towards a wandering herd even without dogs and,selecting a choice animal, break up the her
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