on the subject the female appears to be hornless, which
allies _Pantholops_ more to the antelopes and the gazelles. Major
Kinloch may have taken some young males for females, the general
colouring being much the same. In the 'Proceedings of the Zoological
Society' for 1834, p. 80, there is an extract from a letter from Mr.
Hodgson, which, with reference to previous correspondence, says:
"The communications referred to left only the inguinal pores, the
number of teats in the female, and the fact of her being cornute or
otherwise, doubtful. These points are now cleared up. The female is
hornless, and has two teats only; she has no marks on the face or
limbs, and is rather smaller than the male. The male has a large pouch
at each groin, as in _Ant. dorcas_; that of the female is considerably
smaller." Mr. Hodgson further remarks that "the _chiru_ antelope can
only belong either to the gazelline or the antelopine group. Hornless
females would place it among the latter; but lyrate horns, ovine nose,
and want of sinus, would give it rather to Gazella, and its singular
inguinal purses further ally it to _Ant. dorcas_ of this group. But
from Gazella it is distinguished by the accessory nostrils, of
inter-maxillary pouch, the hornless females, the absence of tufts
on the knees, and of bands on the flanks. The _chiru_, with his bluff
bristly nose, his inter-maxillary pouches, and hollow-cored horns,
stands in some respects alone."

Hodgson was apparently not well acquainted at the time with saiga,
or he would have certainly alluded to the affinity. Kinloch has the
following regarding its habits:--

"In Chang Chenmo, where I have met with it, the elevation can be
nowhere less than 14,000 feet, and some of the feeding grounds cannot
be less than 18,000. In the early part of summer the antelope appear
to keep on the higher and more exposed plains and slopes when the
snow does not lie; as the season becomes warmer, the snow, which has
accumulated on the grassy banks of the streams in the sheltered
valleys, begins to dissolve, and the antelope then come down to feed
on the grass which grows abundantly in such places, and then is the
time when they may easily be stalked and shot. They usually feed only
in the mornings and evenings, and in the day-time seek more open and
elevated situations, frequently excavating deep holes in the stony
plains, in which they lie, with only their heads and horns visible
above the surface of the ground.