These little deer make for some well-known retreat the moment
that they are disturbed by dogs, and they are usually found after
a short run safely ensconced in a hollow tree.
It is a very singular thing that none of the deer tribe in Ceylon
have more than six points on their horns, viz., three upon each.
These are, the brow-antler point, and the two points which form
the extremity of each horn. I have seen them occasionally with
more, but these were deformities in the antlers.
A stranger is always disappointed in a Ceylon elk's antlers; and
very naturally, for they are quite out of proportion to the great
size of the animal. A very large Scotch red deer in not more
than two-thirds the size of a moderately fine elk, and yet he
carries a head of horns that are infinitely larger.
In fact, so rare are fine antlers in Ceylon that I could not pick
out more than a dozen of really handsome elk horns out of the
great numbers that I have killed.
A handsome pair of antlers is a grand addition to the beauty of a
fine buck, and gives a majesty to his bearing which is greatly
missed when a fine animal breaks cover with only a puny pair of
horns. There is as great a difference in his appearance as there
would be in a life-guardsman in full uniform or in his shirt.
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