UPSC Articles
Species in news: Indian Gaur
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-III – Biodiversity
In news
- Indian Bison was in news recently.
- It was seen in Pune’s urban landscape which led to its capture and consequently died due to injury.
- The sad news of its death has put the spotlight on human-Gaur conflict in the country.
Important value addition
Indian Gaur
- Scientific Name: Bos Gaurus.
- It is one of the largest extant bovines.
- It is one of the largest species among the wild cattle.
- Habitat: Gaurs are found on the forested hills and grassy areas of South to South-East Asia.
- They are found in India, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and Nepal.
- The Western Ghats in southern India constitute one of the most extensive extant strongholds of gaur, in particular in the Wayanad – Nagarhole – Mudumalai – Bandipur complex.
- The gaur is the State Animal of Goa and Bihar.
- IUCN status: Vulnerable
- The Indian Government has included it in the Schedule I of the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972.
- It is listed in CITES Appendix I.
