This weekend I had the pleasure of being an instructor for a hunter safety calss (83 ladies- new hunters). The event was held at Williams Gun Sight which is about 20 minutes from my home. In one of the buildings I came across the following trophies and thought they would interest the readership here. The mounts appear to be very old.



These are animals we don't get to hunt or see much of. In fact the small antelope I had never seen or heard of before.



This is a Chowsingha antelope:











It has four horns!



Description (I hope it is readable)







Then one of my favorite wild bovines: Gaur















I copied the text for the Gaur:



Gaur or Indian Bison - Bos gaurus



A mature bull may stand 6 feet to 6 feet 6 inches at the shoulder. The average is between 5 feet 8 inches and 5 feet 10 inches. Cows are about 4 inches shorter. The spread of the horns together with their girth is the test of a good head. Average spread is 33 inches. Cows have smaller and less sturdy horns. An old bull may scale from 2000 to 2500 pounds. This bull taken by Rex Williams in West Chanda, India is well up in the trophy class.



Distinctive characteristics with it�s huge head, deep massive body, and sturdy limbs. The gaur is the embodiment of vigor and strength. Old bulls are jet black. They come out to graze early in the mornings and feed until about 9 am or later if the weather is cool or cloudy and graze again in the afternoon. Their defense is their massive size and acute sense of smell. As with most wild cattle, hearing and eye sight are comparatively poor.



Many writers have commented upon the association between gaur and elephants. Both having much the same habits in regards to food and type of shelter are frequently found feeding together. Gaur apparently derive some benefit to the association. They feed on high bamboo shoots and such foliage as would be out of reach unless pulled down my elephants.



Gaur, timid animals by nature, fear and avoid man. A wounded gaur may charge and a solitary bull may charge with out provocation. But their usual impulse on man is to shy back into cover.

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I did not see anything with respect to what year these animals were taken. WGS also had a full mount diorama with a very faded tiger in it. I was unable to photgraph it due to the dark confines. There were several old leopard and lion mounts too. It was very cool.

Thanks for taking time to share.Indeed,way cool photos.

Really enjoyed seeing and reading about those critters, thanks for taking the time to post them!

Gaur are a favourite of mine too.

I remember once reading and it was one of the first times I had read a hunting book, of a seladang (Malay for gaur) attack. The seladang had hooked the hunter and repeatedly tossed him into the air running to try to catch him before he hit the ground to throw him again.

The gunbearer was wisely watching from a tree.

The seladang left but returned several times to have another go at the body.

I have forgotten what the book was.

Pity they can not be hunted still today.

Double post

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing Ann.

I would think one of the reasons we don't hear much about these species is they are not huntable. There are species in Africa one doesn't hear about as they are not huntable. We seem to concentrate on the species we can hunt, eh. I seem to recall a deer species much like the antelope i e 4 antlers with much the same configuration.