Bos gaurus, C.H. Smith, 1827
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publication ID |
https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.6512484 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6636669 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03F50713-9949-FFF2-037D-FDC2F79AF289 |
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treatment provided by |
Conny |
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scientific name |
Bos gaurus |
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1. View On
Gaur
French: Gaur / German: Gaur / Spanish: Gaur
Other common names: Indian Bison: Mithan (domestic form)
Taxonomy. Bos gaurus C.H. Smith, 1827 View in CoL ,
Bengal, India.
Opinion 2027 of the International Commission for Zoological Nomenclature in 2003 retained usage of C. H. Smith’s gaurus for the wild Gaur and A. B. Lambert’s Jfrontalis for the domestic Gaur; they are considered a single species. Two subspecies are recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution.
B.g.gawrusC.H.Smith,1827—India,SNepal,SBhutan;possiblyBangladesh.
B. g. laosiensis Heude, 1901 — Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Peninsular Malaysia, and perhaps S China (S Yunnan). View Figure
Descriptive notes. Head—body 250-330 cm, tail 70-105 cm, shoulder height 165-220 cm; weight 650-1000 kg. The Gaur is argued by some to be the largest species of wild cattle in Asia, although some records of wild male Yaks ( B. mutus ) suggest otherwise. The Gaur subspecies from South-east Asia tends to be considerably larger than the subspecies from India, although horns of female Indian Gaur tend to have a greater span and tip-to-tip distance than their South-east Asian counterparts. Gaurs are massively built, with relatively short limbs with white stockings on all four legs but lacking a white rump patch as in the Banteng ( B. javanicus ). Males are considerably larger than females (as much as 175%). Both sexes are dark brown to black with mature males often jet-black and short-haired. At birth, young are pale brown without stockings; by 3—4 months, young become dark brown and their stockings begin to appear. Coloration varies throughout the Gaur’s range. They are generally darker on the upperparts of the body (particularly males) and paler on underparts, upper forehead, and muzzle. The ears are large. A muscular ridge on the back, as a result of extension of the dorsal vertebrae,is very developed, particularly in males. The tail is long and tufted, reaching the hocks. Both sexes have yellowish to pale greenish horns with black tips. The horns arise on either side of pale crown hump on top of the skull and are robust, flattened at the base, and curved throughout their length, sweeping outward and then upward, with the tips inclining inward and a bit backward. The horns of males are larger than those of females: length along the outer curve is 76-88 cm, basal circumference is 40-52 cm, and tip-to-tip length is 30-90 cm (with considerable variation noted among subspecies/locations). Female horns are smaller and curve slightly outward from the base. In profile, the shape of the forehead on the skull is decidedly concave. Dewlaps are present; their prominence on males seems to vary among populations. In India, mature males purported to have two such skin flaps, one near the chin and the other hanging below the throat. Dental formulais 10/3, C0/1,P 3/3, M 3/3 (x2) = 32.
Habitat. Gaurs occur from sea level up to 3000 m, and although considered by some to be forest mammals, they may be less specialized relative to habitat preferences than other wild Asian cattle. Their current range, and habitat availability within it, has been reduced in the past century, and lowland areas seem to be optimal habitat for some populations. Solitary Gaur, often males, may be found more often in upland areas. In a study area with elevations of about 40-1080 m in Malaysia, three radio-collared Gaurs preferred habitats at elevations less than 61 m. In India, Gaurs use evergreen, semi-evergreen, and moist or dry deciduous forest and hilly terrain up to 3000 m, but use of the latter may be due to loss of preferred habitat to agriculture. Gaurs will use croplands, improved pastures, and plantations and seek open areas with abundant grasses and bamboo,typically late in the afternoon or at night. In mainland south-east Asia, Gaurs occur in many habitat types, including montane forests. Availability offree water is important to Gaurs.
Food and Feeding. Gaurs are herbivorous and perhaps more generalists than other wild Asian cattle reflecting their wide range, use of various habitats, and ability to maintain themselves on low-quality forage. The Gaur eat many species of grasses, sedges, herbaceous plants, leaves of shrubs and trees, bamboo, fruits, and bark. Their diets change seasonally, and differences may be pronounced. In India, cool-season diets are diverse, reflecting enhanced forage availability, but in the dry season, 66-100% of the diet may be mature and senesced grasses. About 190 species of plants have been found in diets of Gaurs across their range. For example, in Pench Tiger Reserve, India, Gaurs will eat from at least 31 tree species, 20 shrub species, five vine species, nine herbaceous species, and twelve grass species. Cultivated forage also is eaten, and crop depredation can be a localized problem when Gaurs are secure enough to enter fields. A long prehensile tongue makes grabbing various plants easy. Gaurs will drink daily, or twice a day, particularly in the hot-dry season. Mineral licks are visited periodically.
Breeding. Gaurs have a variable and often extended breeding season throughout their range, and in some locations (e.g. Peninsular Malaysia, and Myanmar), neonates are observed throughout the year. Breeding occurs in December—January in India, May-June in Thailand, and March-April in Cambodia. Some male Gaur, typically younger males, stay with female herds throughout the year, but others, particularly mature males, live in bachelor groups, or less frequently alone, until rut. As rut approaches, males begin to roam in search of receptive females, often making a call described as a whistling sound; such calls are often heard at night. To determine dominance, males display laterally to each other for up to ten minutes, stiff-legged, head lowered, and back hunched to magnify the dorsal crest; males bellow and horn the ground and vegetation before or after such a lateral display to a competitor. Horn-to-horn combatalso is involved in dominance, but more so among young males rather than fully mature males. A breeding male seems to know which female in a group is in estrus and will approach her directly, often performing a lip curl after smelling her vulva. The male will tend the female until she is ready to copulate; tending may be prolonged. Courting pairs spend considerable time licking each other’s neck, shoulder, and rump—up to ten minutes at a time; this behavior is not confined to male-female pairs and is rather unique among bovids. Females probably breed for the first time at two years, giving birth to their first calf in their third year. Female Gaurlive up to 24 years in captivity; their reproductive years are no doubt far less in the wild. Gestation is about 275 days. Parturient females leave their group to give birth and return with their calf after about four days. Females have one calf at a time; no twins have been documented. Calves are said to be fully weaned by about eight months.
Activity patterns. Activity patterns of Gaurs are typical of ruminants, involving alternating periods of foraging and ruminating/resting. Gaurs rest for most of the day, often lying down. Foraging during midday is secondary to resting, which usually occurs under forest cover. Most feeding by Gaurs in India occurs after about 18:00 h and continues through the night. By morning, groups are resting again.
Movements, Home range and Social organization. Gaurs are non-migratory and gregarious. They will move extensively for food and water and, in India, may disperse seasonally from lowlands into uplands. Mean daily movements in India are 1:39-1: 75 km in summer and 1-23-1-31 km during the monsoon, but they may be as high as about 5 km /day. Movements are no doubt constrained by the size of usable habitat available to a particular population. Annual non-exclusive home ranges vary considerably between sexes and locations, but maximum home range may be as high as about 140 km?®. Seasonal home ranges are much smaller; e.g. mean summer home ranges of female and male Gaur in Pench Tiger Reserve, India, were 7-25 km? and 12-6 km?, respectively. Density estimates in India range from 0-7 ind/km? to 9-6 ind/km?. Aside from a female and her offspring, Gaur groups are likely temporary associations that vary in size depending on time of year and reproductive periods. Not unlike Bantengs, typical group sizes are about 5-12 individuals, but groups of 20-100 have been observed in open areas. Groups are made up of adult females, their offspring, and juveniles, often accompanied by one or more young and adult males; such groups probably are not stable.
Status and Conservation. CITES Appendix I. Classified as Vulnerable on The IUCNRed List. Although largely an educated guess, total numbers of wild Gaur throughoutits range are 13,000 -30,000 individuals, but only 40-60% of those, or 5200-18,000, are likely to be reproductively active individuals. No population has more than 1000 individuals. India appears to be the Gaur’s stronghold with estimates of 12,000 -22,000 individuals. Populations in India appear stable to increasing; populations in mainland south-east Asia are declining. Extinct in south-eastern Xizang and Sri Lanka, and possibly extirpated in Bangladesh where some individuals may still occasionally move in from nearby India. Many populations of Gaur occur in parks and reserves, providing a degree of protection and administrative control; e.g. Gaurs exist in more than 100 protected areas in 15 states in India. Threats to conservation of Gaur include habitat loss, degradation, and fragmentation; poaching for subsistence and trade in trophies, meat, and animal parts (horns are prized); and competition and disease transmission with domestic cattle. Density of Gaurs was 132 times higher in some livestock-free areas than in areas with livestock in and near Bandipur National Park, India, suggesting near competitive exclusion of Gaurs by domestic cattle under some circumstances. Gaurs are important prey for the endangered Tiger ( Panthera tigris ), particularly in India. Given the Gaur’s wide-ranging movements, protecting large tracts of native habitat from conversion to agricultural uses is important to its ongoing conservation, particularly in mainland South-east Asia. Gaur has the distinction of being the first threatened species to be cloned; a cloned male was born to a domestic cow in 2001 but died of infection within two days. Two Banteng clones were subsequently born from a similar cross-species cloning. Gaur and Banteng now have a permanent place in the history of such innovative and yet controversial approaches to recovery of species in peril.
Bibliography. Choudhury (2002), Conry (1989), Coolidge (1940), Duckworth (1998), Duckworth & Hedges (1998), Duckworth et al. (2008), Evans et al. (2000), Francis (2008), Hansel (2004), Hubback (1937), Huffman (2004c), International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (2003), Karanth & Sunquist (1992, 1995), Lekagul & McNeely (1988), Leslie & Schaller (2009), Lydekker (1898, 1913), MacKinnon (2008), Madhusudan (2004, 2005), Madhusudan & Karanth (2002), National Research Council (1983), Nguyen (2009), Pasha et al. (2004), Pal & Guin (1986), Prater (1980), Ramachandran et al. (1986), Schaller (1967), Srikosamatara & Suteethorn (1995), Srikosamatara et al. (1992), Steinmetz (2004), Steinmetz et al. (2008), Timmins & Ou (2001), Tobin (2001), Tun Yin (1967), Weigl (2005), Wharton (1957, 1968).
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