Horses. In the northern portion of the District the breeding of country ponies is of great antiquity and dealers from Madura still resort to Denkani-kota and Pennagaram for their purchase. A full grown "tat" of four years or so will fetch from Rs.25 to Rs.30.
Pony-breeding. Efforts have been made by Government from time to time to improve the quality of the breed, but without much success. Attempt to encourage mule-breeding have also failed.
The breeding of sheep and goats appears to be on the increase in spite of Forest Reservation.№
Sheep and Goats. Big Gameі Elephants. Elephants are no longer found in the District, exceptІ in the jungles along the Kaveri, adn on the Melagiri hills. A small herd not uncommonly crosses the river from the Coimbatore side in March or April, adn remians for baout a month. In 1901 a herd of five penetrated to within 4 miles from Denkani-kota. The Kalrayans were once called the "Elephant Hills" and in 1882 a pair of elephants with a calf found their way from the Kallakurichi Taluk of South Arcot, penetrated the Javadis as far as Mottur, and thence crossed the valley and ascended the Yelagiris. They then returned via Singarapet. Shortly afterwards the bull was shot by two European officers.
Tigers. At the beginning of the nineteenth century, tigers infested nearly all the forests of the District. They are now very rare and occur only in the jungles round Denkani-kota, straying occassionally into the limits of Dharmapuri Taluk. On the Javadis the last tiger is said to have been shot in 1892.
Felida. Panthers, leopards, jungle-cat, civet-cat and other Felida are found all over the District. In villages such as Raya-kota, Uddanapalli, Sulagiri, situated at the foot of rocky kopjes, a panther may occasionally be seen in the day time, basking in the sun. One bold beast took up his abode in the bath-room of the D.P.W. bungalow at Barur. It is not unusual for panthers to enter the compounds of houses at Yercaud, and in 1907 a per watch-dog was carried off by one.
Rewards. Rewards to the extent of Rs.7,830 were disbursed by Government during the ten years ending 1905 for the destruction of wild animals. About 45 panther skins are brought in annually for reward. A tiger skin was presented for reward at Hosur in 1896, another on 1906, and another in 1909. It is said that only about one in eery fifty kills is reported to the authorities. Most of the tigers and panthers killed are shot in reserved forests, and the shikaris that shoot them are generally reluctant to claim a reward for fear of being taxed with the offence of shooting in a reserve without a license.
Other Big Game. The common Indian sloth bear occurs throughout the District in hilly tracts. Among the best known localities are the Kollimalai, the Javadis, the Shevaroys the Chitteris, the jungles near Veppanapalli and the Kundu-kota hills. Native shikaris will never shoot bears, believing them to descend from Jambavan, the Bear King, who helped Rama in his invasion of Ceylon. Bison or gaur were formerly common, but were almost exterminated at the time of the Great Famine. Small herds of three or four are still to be found in the deepest recesses of the Denkani-kota, Dharmapuri and Uttankarai jungles. Nilgai or blue bull is very occasionally met within the jungles of Dharmapuri and Denkani-kota which adjoin the Kaveri. Sambur occur in the jungles of Hosur, Dharmapuri, Uttankarai and at the foot of the Shevaroys, but not in large numbers. The best place to find them is on the banks of the Kaveri near Hogana-kal and Bilgundu, especially in the months of March and April, when all jungle streams and pools ae dry, adn animals are driven by thirst to the Kaveri. The covert is too thick for successful stalking, and the only way to secure a bag is to beat the jungle. Black buck can be found all over the District. They frequent the open country and are never found in thick jungle. In the Talaghat they may be had at the foot of the Kolli-malais. But their principal habitats are round Hosur, Denkanikota, Matagonda-palli, Tali, Berikai and Attimugam, all in Hosur Taluk.№ Within a radius of six miles of Hosur there are a dozen herds. They are very shy and cautious; once disturbed, they never stop within five miles. Spotted deer (chetal) and barking deer are met with throughout the Baramahal. The best localities for the former are near Javulagiri, Hogenakal, and in the reserved forests of Kottai-patti, Mallapuram and Harur. Mouse deer, known in the vernacular as the "goat footed hare," is not unknown especially in the Javadis. It is caught in nets and easily tamed.
Big game is fast disappearing in the District. Sambur, bison and spotted deer in particular are in danger of extirpation. What with native shikaris and wild dogs killing everything, whether stag, hind or young the wonder is that any are found. A good deal of illicit shooting goes on the jungles between Pennagaram and Denkani-kota. "Hogana-kal especially is the resort of a number of shikaris from Dharmapuri and Pennagaram. The banks of the Kaveri at this spot are generally lined with machans from which deer that come to drink in the river are shot at night. On a moonlight night each of these machans will have its tenant." For the European big game is not easy to bag, for want of efficient beaters. Moreover, covert is unlimited and uninterrupted, and hence the game is difficult to locate.
Other Mammals. Wild pigs abound wherever there are jungles, and are very destructive to crops. They are shot in large numbers by villagers. Good sport can be had by camping at Mallur and working the jungles round the foot of the Boda-malais.
Madras Langur (Presiytis priamus). The common monkey is a regular pest, especially round Salem and Hosur. Fruit growers are put to much trouble in warding off their depredations. The Madras Langur (preshytis priamus) is found in the jungles near Anchetti, and in Dharmapuri Taluk, and is much sought after, its flesh being eaten by natives on account of its supposed medicinal virtues. It is especially common on Manukonda-malai near Toppur. The nocturnal Loris ludekker-ianus is also not uncommon.
Hyenas, wolves, red dog, jackals and foxes are found everywhere. It is commonly believed that, if a goat or sheep is pulled down by a wolf, the flock will thrive. Another belief is that a man who kills a wild dog will soon die. Hence wolves and wild dogs are never killed a by native shikaris. In the days when Mr.(now Sir Frederick) Price was Sub-Collector, a pack of hounds was kept up at Hosur, and foxes and jackles afforded good hunting.
Otters are common in the Kaveri, especially above Hogena-kal Falls, and may often be seen swimming downstream, 30 or 40 in a pack. During flood-time they infest the creeks and inlets along the Kaveri banks. Hares, hedgehogs, porcupines, the mongoose and the pangolin may be met with all over the District.
Small Game. Though not a famous shooting District, Salem at least provides what is dear to the heart of every true sportsman, - a "mixed bag". The number of small tanks in the District, expecially in the northern taluks, is legion. These tanks are visited in the cold season by numbers of teal and duck, and the latter, owing to the coolness of the Mysore plateau and the Baramahal, seem to defer their migration till later than is the case in other plain districts. Most of these tanks are not so big as to render the duck inaccesible. Besides duck and teal of all varieties in the tanks, the wet lands irrigated by the tanks and on the foreshore frequently contain a fair sprinkling of snipe. In the dry fields that must be crossed to reach the tank, a quail is seen, now and again, to bustle out of a field of gram, or from a tuft of grass on the field margin. On the stretches of uncultivated, and often rocky, uplands lying between the villages, partridges, sand-grouse, plover, occasionally a hare or two, and sometimes florocan are to be found. The bushes lying along dry water-courses afford a shelter to which they betake themselves at the first alarm. Bustards may be seen in pairs along the Kaveri banks when the water is low. Woodcock visit the higher hill ranges in small numbers in the cold weather. Green and blue pigeon, pea-fowl, spur-fowl and jungle-fowl may be added to the list. In short, most of the feathered species characteristic of South India are met with in the District.
Snake. Snakes are represented by no less than 48 species.№ None of these are peculiar to the District, but Lachesis macrolevis has hitherto been recorded only from the Ana-malais, Palnis and Shevaroys; possibly it occurs on the Kolli-malais and other hills of the District. Only three species of poisonous snakes are common, namely, the cobra, Russell's viper and the common green viper. The Krait (Bungarus candidus) is less common that elsewhere; the other poisonous species are rare. Some of the harmless species bear an extraordinarily close resemblance to some of the deadliest, for example, the young python or "rock snake" and Eryx conicus to the Russell's viper; the rat snake (Zamenis mucosus) to the cobra; and some of the Lycodons to the dreaded krait; the harmless species in each case being much more numerous than the poisonous ones. The reported human death-roll from snake-bite in Salem District between 1885 and 1906 was 3,499, an average of about 160 annually. The average number of reported deaths among cattle is 50 per annum.
Fish. Mahseer№ frequent the waters of the Kaveri below the Hogana-kal Falls, but they are very shy. Carnatic Carp (Barbus Carnaticus, Tam. Sel Kendai) and Red Carp (Labeo fimbriatus, Tam, Ven-Kendai) abound in the Kaveri and prawns are common. The chief fishing centres on the Kaveri are at Solappadi and near Erode. In the rainy season, when the tanks are full, Kaveri fish find their way up the tributary streams and are to be found in tanks fed bu these streams, many miles from the Kaveri itself.
In the larger tanks, especially in the big tank at Barur, the fresh water shark (Wallago attu, Tam. Valai) attains considerable size. In minor streams and tanks several species of carp are to be found e.g., Laheo kontius (Tam. Karumani or karumuli-kendai), "Chilwa" (Tam. velichai three or four species), L.arisa (Tam. Kolarijun), L.calbasu, L.boga, Barbus melanostiyma, B.vittatus, B.dursalis, B.micropugan, B.pinnauratus, B.dubius, B.bovanicus. Murral (ophiocephalus marulius, Tam. viral), Black Murral (O.striatus, Tam. Kuravai) Loach (Lepidocephalichthys thermalis, Tam, asarai), "Scorpion fish" (Saccobranchus fossilis, Tam.kelatti) and Silundia gangetica (Tam. Ponatti), are all of local commercial importance. During the breach in the Grand and Lower Anaikals in 1909-10, "Hilsa" (clupea ilisha) were traced as far up as Hogena-kal. Catla buchanani were introduced into the Barur Tank in 1910-11 by the Fishery Department. Eel (Anguilla bengalensis, Tam. vilangu) and the sane-eel or spine eel (Mastacembelus armatus, (Tam. aral) are sometimes caught in the anaikat pools of Attur Taluk.
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