COLLECTION OF HORNS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 72, Issue 234, 2 October 1929, Page 11

COLLECTION OF HORNS

MUSEUM’S FINE DISPLAY eenovated and bemounted After having been renovated and remounted the collection of horns possessed by the Wanganui Museum have been set up in the natural history section, where they make a very fine display. The collection comprises about 37 pairs jind practically every group of the horned animals are represented. They are arranged in natural sequence, commencing with the. domestic ox, of which two pairs are shown. Next in order are the horns of the European bison, a very rare animal, probably close on extinction. It is represented in the Museum by a magnificent pair of horns. Of the American bison, which follows in order, there is one pair. The Indian water buffalo, the screw-like, widespread horns of which are arresting in appearance, are next shown. The sheep follow and of these there arc two specimens. The first is the mountain sheep or American big horn, and the examples of the horns of these animals are very fine. The second specimen is the merino sheep, of which there is a typical pair. Next in order come the goats, represented by one specimen of the Angora goat, the ibex, of which there are two pairs of horns, and the chamois. Passing on to the antelopes proper, there is, firstly, the kudu, represented by one pair. Of the harnpssed antelope or bush-buck, there are two pairs of horns. The horns of the genisbok are very striking, being straight and three feet long, tapering to a fine point. Of the same group as the genisbok there are two pairs of the horns of the beisa. There are also two pairs from the springbok, a noteworthy feature of which being their lyre-like from. Of the gazelles, one specimen, the Capo or Clarke’s gazelle, is shown. Next comes the black buck of India, one of the few true antelopes found outside the African Continent. Five pairs of horns are shown. There is one pair of the rhebok and two of the klipspringer, a diminutive animal, w'hose four feet, it is said, could be stood upon a penny without overhanging the edge. The horns of the hartebeest, which follows, are of a most remarkable shape and solid in appearance. The deer are shown next. There are two pairs of horns from the moutain elk or wapiti. This animal has been introduced into the South Island of New Zealand, but the horn specimens shown are from America. The two pairs possessed by the Museum are both typical ten-pointers, but one in particular, would be hard to beat in regard symmetry and weight. One pair of the Indian chital or axis deer is represented. Of the woodland caribou, which is a species of reindeer, there are four typical pairs of horns from animals taken in their native country. The last in the list is the American mule deer, a pair of the antlers of which are shown. These are different from those of any other deer in that the brow tines are absent.