Indian Wildlife — The Gaur
By: Vikram Nanjappa
Tags: India, Wildlife, Indian Wildlife, Mammals, Gaur

The Gaur (Bos gaurus) is the largest of the wild cattle found in India. It is an impressive animal standing 64 to 72 inches in its stockings. The Gaur reaches a length of 11 to 12 feet, which includes about 3 feet of tail and adult bulls can weigh up to 800 kilos. The adult bull gaur is shiny black in colour has white stockings, a grey boss between its horns and rusty coloured on the insides of its thighs and forelegs. A prominent dorsal ridge terminates near the middle of its back. A large dewlap that drops down between the forelegs along with a smaller one below the chin gives the gaur bull a most impressive profile.

Young bulls and cows are dark brown. Cows have smaller dorsal ridges and their dewlaps are not prominent. Young calves are light brown in colour and lack the characteristic white stockings which appear after approximately three months.

The gaur is essentially a forest animal largely confined to evergreen, semi-evergreen, moist deciduous and the dry deciduous forest at the periphery of its range. Its habitat is character by large undisturbed forest tracts, hilly terrain below 5000 feet and the availability of water and abundance of food. Its preference for hilly terrain is more due to the fact that the plains have been largely cleared of forests. It is safe to assume that it frequented the plains as their range is highly fragmented, over 800 km separate the gaur in the Western Ghats from those in Central India. They are also found in parts of Orissa, North Bengal and Assam.

A lot of the gaur’s activity takes place during the night. During the day they prefer to lie near the forest edge in shaded groves. They usually recline on their bellies with their legs folded underneath. They sometimes forage in a cursory fashion at mid day but actively start during the late evening and continue steadily into the night. They both graze and browse and occasionally eat the bark of certain trees. They have a long prehensile tongue that is well adapted for browsing.

The gaur usually ranges more wildly in their day to day movements than any other ungulate. Sometimes several herds travel in loose association. Herd size varies from 2 to about 40. Herd composition also varies with bulls leaving and joining several herds. The number of bulls in a herd change from time to time reaching a peak during the rut. Yearling bulls generally remain with the herd. Bulls not in herds lead a solitary existence or associate with other bulls in a highly unstable relationship. Herds frequently mingle and break into separate units.

The lateral display is a behavioral pattern used by bulls to establish dominance. When two bulls meet they proceed to present their profiles to each other. They stand parallel to each other with head lowered and back hunched about 10 to 30 feet apart. Sometimes one may start to circle moving very slowly and stiff legged while the other stands still but shifts position to keep his broadside towards the other. This carries on till one accepts a subordinate position. The dominant bull, surprisingly, does not proceed to drive away the other and the subordinate bull remains in the herd or in its periphery. At times, when neither bull accepts subordination, a duel occurs with the locking of horns. Such duels rarely end in the death of the protagonists.

Extensive calling and roaming marks the onset of the rut, which reaches its height from October to December. Bulls raise their muzzle and with slightly open mouth call. Most of the calling is done during dawn and dusk. There is not a pleasanter sound in the forest than that of a gaur calling during the rut. Licking among adults as social contact is a unique feature among gaur. Courting couples lick each other on the neck, shoulders and rump. Sometimes bulls lick each other- mostly subordinates lick others of higher rank.

The gaur is essentially a shy animal in most of its range keeping close to the forest edge and venturing out seldom. This makes it a very difficult animal to photograph or observe. One of the best places to observe and certainly the only place for the amateur to photograph it is in the Kabini area of the Nagarhole National Park. Here the gaur seems to have shed its shy nature and can be seen from a distance of a few yards. Infact very often bull even display to jeeps. Fortunately the gaur population in this area is only now slowly recovering from a rinderpest epidemic that took a large toll during the early seventies. The once large herds are now slowly limping back to normal.

However it is still quite common in the area and good-sized herds can be seen frequenting the backwaters of the Kabini during the dry months. A bull gaur in his prime is in all probability the most majestic and awe inspiring sight among the ungulates in India so the next time you find yourself in the Mysore area, do take a trip to the National Park to feast your eyes on a sight seldom seen in other parts of our country.