TETRACERUS QUADRICORNIS, the CHOUSINGHA 41.1 the Living

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

TETRACERUS QUADRICORNIS, THE CHOUSINGHA

41.1 The Living Animal

41.1.1 Zoology The chousingha or four-horned antelope is a small antelope with a shoulder height of only c. 0.65 m. The male bears short horns, up to four in total (ﬁ g. 514), hence its Greek (tetra-cerus) and Latin (quadri-cornis) name, though the front pair is often missing. These horns are keeled and smooth, unlike the grooved horns of the true antelopes (Antilopini), spiky and short, with a length of 8 to 10 cm for the posterior pair and only 1 to 2,5 cm for the anterior pair.1 In the living animal, even less of the horns is seen, the lower part being covered by the coat. Females are hornless. They are solitary animals, which live at most in pairs. Chousinghas ﬂ ee in the way of many other antelopes by bouncing off in a series of quick, high jumps. The chousingha has a wide distribution and is found in the undu- lating or hilly grasslands, open jungles and forested hills of the entire subcontinent, except for the northeast and the Malabar coast. They avoid too densely forests. A favourite shelter is the edge of the jungle around a village tank. Due to the steady deforestation of India, their numbers decrease alarmingly and at present the species is listed as vul- nerable with only few thousand individuals left in the wild, distributed in scattered populations over most of India.2

1 The chousingha is closely related to the much larger nilgai, partly based upon similarities in features of the horns. 2 D. Mallon, “Tetracerus quadricornis,” in 2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, op. cit. chousingha 419

41.1.2 Role of Chousinghas in Society In the past, the chousingha was a much hunted and favourite game animal, because its ﬂ esh is considered delicious, and superior to that of any other ruminant. At present, the species is totally protected by law, though illegal pouching still occurs. The chousingha plays no role in religion or folklore, except maybe as part of the broad class of mriga (game).3

41.2 Chousinghas in Stone

A frieze illustrating a further undetermined hunting scene from Greater Gandhara, Pakistan (fi rst to fourth century; fi g. 515) fi gures a chousingha. A small horned antelope bounds off in a high jump, while the hunter aims an arrow at it. The body size and the large ears of the antelope favours the chousingha. The rock and the trees indicate a forested mountain. Hidden in a cave below the rock a bear sleeps, typical of the Himalayas and its foothills. Another carving of a chousingha might be present on a panel nar- rating the Indrashailaguha Visit episode of the Buddha legend from Loriyan Tangai in Greater Gandhara, Pakistan (c. 50–250; fi g. 516). The animal to the right of the meditating monkey has the size and overall appearance of a chowsingha, but lacks the horns. This is, however, not conclusive, considering the small size of the horns in the living animal and the fact that horns are entirely missing in the females. The only other small and elegant ruminants are Indian spotted mouse deer and musk deer.4 The fi rst can be excluded as it is restricted to South India and Sri Lanka; the second is excluded on the ground of its huge, elongated ears, resembling those of a hare. It further lives in the high altitudes of the Himalayas.

3 For mriga (game) in Indian religion, see sections 1.1.3 (antelope), 2.1.3 (spotted deer), 7.1.2. (nilgai) and 22.1.3 (gazelle). 4 Respectively Moschiola memminna (see section 2.1.2) and Moschus moschatus (see section 43.2.2).