Gaur - An Introduction
The single gaur animal is sold for 10 crores. Isn't it too expensive? But why? Do you know what a gaur animal is? Gaur belongs to the group of wild oxen. In this article, we are going to discuss the gaur animal, its characteristics, habitat, diet, and nutrition. We will also learn about gaur’s scientific name, taxonomy, followed by some interesting facts on gaur. To know more about gaur, continue reading the article.
The Gaur Animal
What is a Gaur Animal?
Gaur is a mammal. It is one of a variety of wild cattle. It is also called Indian bison, native to Southeast and South Asia. It is the largest of all the wild battles.
Characteristics of Gaur
The characteristics of the gaur animal are given below:
The gaur is a massively built and powerful animal. The limbs of the gaur are very strong and large.
Both males and females have horns. The colours of horns are pale green or yellow-brown and have a slight inward curvature.
The head and body length are 250-330 cm long with a 70-105cm long tail, 140-220cm high from the ground.
The female’s colour is somewhat lighter in colour than the male gaur and the adult male's is dark brown.
These animals do not have a distinct dewlap on the chest and throat.
In young gaur, horns are generally smooth and polished, whereas in old gaurs horns are rugged and dented at the base.
The average weight of Indian male gaur animals is 840 kg and the female average weight is 700 kg.
Biggest Gaur
The largest and biggest gaur is the Southeast Asian Gaur. It is the biggest gaur among the wild categories. Different names are used in different areas. Such as seladang is the name used in Malaysia. In Myanmar, paying is the name used for gaur animals.
Habitat of Gaur
These animals are mostly found in South and Southeast Asia such as Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Gaur animals may be found in deciduous forests but are mostly confined to semi-evergreen and evergreen forests.
They love to live in an undisturbed area or undisturbed forest or below the hilly landscape, with the availability of water, and an excess of forage in the form of herbs, shrubs, trees, and grasses.
Diet and Nutrition of Gaur
Gaur is an herbivorous animal. They are observed to eat only plants and plant parts. They mainly eat the upper parts of plants such as blades, stems, seeds, and flowers of grass species. They feed on 32 species of plants.
Scientific Classification and Scientific Name of Gaur
Gaur belongs to the animal kingdom, and Chordata is the phylum of gaur.
Mammalian is the class of gaur, Artiodactyla is the order, Bovidae is the family and Bovinae is the subfamily. Its Genus is Bos.So, the scientific name of the gaur isBos gaurus
Taxonomy of Gaur Animal
Taxonomy is the study of taxa or taxon.
The scientific name of gaur was discovered by Charles Hamilton Smith. In 1827, three subspecies of Bison were discovered. These are as follows:
B.g. gaurus
B.g. reader
B.g. hubbacki
The second species was discovered by Richard Lydekker in 1903 based on a specimen from Myanmar. Lydekker also discovered the third species of gaur in 1907.
Gaur in Culture
The gaur is the mascot of the 54th infantry division of the Indian Army. The state animal of Goa and Bihar is the gaur. Some brand energy drinks such as Krating Daeng feature the pair of charging red gaur bulls in the logo used on the licensed derivative of Red Bull.
Conservation
The gaur is a legally protected animal in most states as mentioned in CITES Appendix 1.
Interesting Facts about the Gaur
The gaur animal is also known as the Indian Bison.
Gaur is one of the largest land animals in the world.
The one gaur animal is being sold at the price of 10 crores.
The one semen of this gaur animal is sold for 5000 dollars and this semen is used to produce a new generation.
The horns of the Indian Bison are greater than the cow.
Important Questions
Q1. Is gaur bigger than bison?
Ans: Yes, gaur is bigger than bison. Gaur is the largest of all wild cattle. It is bigger than American Bison and wild water buffalo.
Q2. Can gaur be domesticated?
Ans: Gaur is one of the Indian Bison that have never been domesticated.
Q3. What is the difference between gaur and bison?
Ans: Both gaur and bison belong to the same subfamily but belong to a different genus. Gaur belongs to the Bos genus, whereas bison belongs to the genus Bison.
Important Questions
Q1. Which animal is gaur?
Q2. Is gaur a cow or buffalo?
Q3. Which is the biggest buffalo in the world?
Q4. Can gaur be domesticated?
Q5. What does gaur eat?
FAQs on The Scientific Name of Gaur or the Indian Bison
1. Explain the conservation status of gaur.
The gaur has been categorised as a vulnerable organism since 1986. There has been a phenomenal decrease in the population of gaur in the last few decades. About 70% decrement is seen in several gaur animals in the last few decades. The gaur has been flourishing in protected areas. In 1990, the population of gaur in India was 12,000-22,000. They are mostly found in hilly areas of south India. The main reason for threatening the gaur population is poaching and hunting.
2. What makes a bull so strong?
Bulls are a very strong animal and are more muscular than cows. They have very thick bones and large feet. They also have bony heads with protective ridges on the eyes. They also have very large muscles in the neck region. Heavy neck muscles are very necessary to maintain a heavy skull. Due to their high strength, they are used in many bull riding and bullfighting. All these features help them in fighting.
3. Explain the various reasons for the threat of gaur.
There are various reasons for the threat of gaur animals. Some of the reasons are given as the following:
Habitat loss - Due to deforestation and decreased reforestation, the population of gaur is decreasing.
Poaching - Poaching is one of the most important reasons for the decline in the population of gaur.
Food scarcity - Due to deforestation or destruction in the grassland, planting of commercial plants, and invasive plant species are also reasons for the threat of gaur.
Human-animal conflict - As humans and animals live nearby, it also leads to the threat of gaur.
