Gaur

Conservation Status:
CITES Appendix 1
SSP

Description:
Gaur are the largest of all wild cattle.  Males stand about 5 feet tall and weigh up to 2,100 pounds.  Females are smaller.  They have a dorsal hump on their shoulders and folds of loose skin that hang from their neck, called a dewlap.  Their coat is dark reddish brown or black-brown with long white socks.  Their horns reach 3 ½ feet in length.  They have a dominant side with which they prefer to attack enemies, so one horn is often shorter than the other.

Range:
Scattered herds on the Indian peninsula and in southeastern Asia

Habitat:
Mountains, tropical forests, or open grass plains

Diet:
In the wild, they eat grass, herbs, bamboo shoots, and shrubs.  In the zoo, they eat brome hay and ADF 16 cubes.

Life Cycle:
Gaurs breed in the summer.  Gestation is about 9 months, and a single calf is born.  The female leaves the herd to give birth alone, and rejoins the herd after several days.  Females are mature at 3 years, while males take much longer to mature.  They live up to 24 years in captivity.

Did You Know?

·        Females live in herds with their young.  During the breeding season, each herd is joined by a mature bull.  Bulls challenge each other for rights to females, but actual fighting is rare – the bull that threatens the loudest is usually the winner.

·        The dewlap and the dorsal hump help to dissipate heat on hot days.

·        Their only natural predator is the tiger. 

·        Gaur sometimes forage with red jungle fowl, small birds that walk fearlessly in front of the huge gaur to catch swarming insects.  The jungle fowl are called “the gaurs’ best friend”, because their excellent senses of sight and hearing give the gaur an early notice of any potential dangers.

·        Habitat destruction is the main threat to this species.  They are also threatened by disease spread by domestic livestock that share their habitat.

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