The hind has four teats like the cow. After the hinds have
become pregnant, the males all segregate one by one, and in
consequence of the violence of their sexual passions they keep each
one to himself, dig a hole in the ground, and bellow from time to
time; in all these particulars they resemble the goat, and their
foreheads from getting wetted become black, as is also the case with
the goat. In this way they pass the time until the rain falls, after
which time they turn to pasture. The animal acts in this way owing
to its sexual wantonness and also to its obesity; for in summer-time
it becomes so exceptionally fat as to be unable to run: in fact at
this period they can be overtaken by the hunters that pursue them on
foot in the second or third run; and, by the way, in consequence of
the heat of the weather and their getting out of breath they always
make for water in their runs. In the rutting season, the flesh of
the deer is unsavoury and rank, like the flesh of the he-goat. In
winter-time the deer becomes thin and weak, but towards the approach
of the spring he is at his best for running. When on the run the
deer keeps pausing from time to time, and waits until his pursuer
draws upon him, whereupon he starts off again.
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