Tauren Tauren ( shu ' halo in their native language of Taur - ahe ) are huge nomadic creatures who live on the grassy , open plains of Mulgore in central Kalimdor . Tauren are large , muscular humanoids and bovine in appearance , complete with hooves and horns . Tauren stand anywhere from nine to twelve feet tall and weigh anywhere from 650 to 1000 lbs . Their immense bodies are covered with fine , short fur that ranges in color from black , gray , white , red , brown and tan and any mottled combinations or variations thereof . After generations of nomadic existence , most of the tauren have recently made permanent settlements in Mulgore and the Barrens . Introduction . The plains of Kalimdor have long been a home to these gargantuan nomads . The tauren are a race of shaman s , hunter s , druid s and warrior s who long ago developed a complex culture and system of living without the aid of stonework , steel or conquest . This is not to say that the tauren are a race of pacifists , for when they are angered they are capable of retaliating with swift and decisive brutality . Tauren are , in a word , stoic , embodying the strong and silent type with their quiet contemplation . This introspective air combined with their immense size are why many view the tauren as a wise and dangerous race . Tauren rarely speak unless there is a true reason to , preferring to act instead of talk . However , once a tauren has learned to interact with a companion , there seems to be a more open and enthusiastic exchange of words . Since tauren warm slowly to non - tauren , they are usually silent and may sometimes appear brooding . This silence may be attributable to the strife of recent times . Tauren have no love for bloodshed , as their deep spiritual beliefs do not have a place for warfare . The elders of a tribe solve most issues , or two tauren might resolve a conflict with a ritual challenge resembling a duel . Having become members of the Horde , the introspective race has been involved in more and more conflict , creating a demand for tauren warriors and healers . Many must spend time putting great thought into the actions they perform on the field of battle . Taking another life , whether it is man or beast , is an act filled with great significance and responsibility to the tauren . History . Tauren have a long and complex oral tradition that has been handed down for generations . Since almost no written record exists of tauren history , the accuracy of their tales is unknown . Regardless , many of their stories provide the only known account for several events in history , and so these stories must be regarded as having at least some believability . The tauren race is presumed to be as old as the night elves since both races are said to have awoken during the creation of the world . Much like the elves , they have a strong attunement to nature and the elemental spirits . Thus , their society is largely based on shamanism . They live to serve nature and maintain the ever delicate balance between the wild things of the land and the restless spirits of the elements . In addition , druidism , which was taught by Cenarius and eventually forgotten over time , has been recently reincorporated into tauren society , further highlighting their devotion to nature . In particular the presence of accounts regarding Cenarius before he was known to the elves are confirmed by others sources as being accurate . In particular , the birth of Cenarius is covered and their version confirmed by night elven mythos , as well as in the book " The Sundering " by Richard A . Knaak . Tauren ancestors dwell deep within the Emerald Dream . War of the Ancients . In the primary timeline , the tauren did not take part in the War of the Ancients , the battle against the first demonic invasion approximately 10 , 000 years ago . However , in the altered history created by the intervention of Krasus and his companions , they were convinced to join the alliance against the Burning Legion by the dragon - mage . The xenophobic night elf commander , Desdel Stareye , refused to use the tauren to their abilities , namely heavy melee fighters , on the grounds that they were apparently as likely to kill night elves and earthen as demon s . They were led by Huln Highmountain . After the " tragic " loss of the commander , the tauren were re - deployed to extreme effectiveness by his replacement , Jarod Shadowsong . The tauren who survived the war maintained fairly good , or at least cordial , relations with the Sentinels . The New Horde . For countless generations after the war , the tauren roamed the plains of the Barrens hunting the mighty kodo , and sought the wisdom of their eternal goddess , the Earthmother . Their tent cities were scattered across the landscape and changed with the seasons and the weather . The wandering tribes were united only by a common hatred for their sworn enemy , the marauding centaur . At the brink of extinction , the chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof , desperate for help , turned to the strange green - skinned warriors from over the sea . Cairne quickly befriended the Warchief Thrall and the other orc s , and recognized that they shared a love for honor and battle . For their part , the orcs and the Darkspear trolls that composed the Horde found much in common with the tauren . Each of these races wanted to achieve a more shamanistic culture , and the tauren , long versed in the lore of spirit and nature , were well - prepared to provide counsel and support to the budding shamanism within the Horde . With the orcs ' help , Cairne and his Bloodhoof tribe were able to drive back the centaur and claim the grasslands of Mulgore for themselves . For the first time in millennia , the tauren had a land to call their own . For this alone they were forever indebted to their orcish allies . Upon the windswept mesa of Thunder Bluff , Cairne built a refuge for his people , where tauren of every tribe were welcome . Over time the scattered tauren tribes united under Cairne ' s rule . There are but a few tribes who disagree about the direction their new nation should take , but all agree that Cairne is the wisest and best suited to lead them toward the future . Helping the mighty Cairne in the duties of ruling his race are the Archdruid Hamuul Runetotem and the elder crone Magatha Grimtotem . Although the tauren have reclaimed their lands and battle alongside the Horde , not all is peaceful . The Grimtotem tribe tries to this day to usurp the rule of Cairne , plotting to overthrow his leadership . At the same time , the Emerald Dream , realm of the green dragonflight , is tainted with a strange evil . Malfurion Stormrage is trapped inside , and the green dragons act strangely as they attack all who pass near . Both elven and tauren druids are researching these events since the Emerald Dream , home of Ysera the Dreamer ( the Green Aspect ) , must be kept safe . Tauren mythology and culture . The earliest history of the tauren is recorded in a series of myths . These chronicle the period of time from the creation of the world to the appearance of the centaur , speaking of the creation of the tauren by the Earthmother , their meeting with Cenarius , and the coming of the centaur . Though the noble tauren are peaceful in nature , the rites of the Great Hunt are venerated as the heart of their spiritual culture . Every tauren , warrior or otherwise , seeks identity as both a hunter and as a child of the Earthmother . Tauren , young or otherwise , seek to prove their bravery by setting themselves against the creatures of the wild . Despite killing the animals , the tauren are taught never to waste anything given to them by nature and to give back what they can . They learn the fine balance that exists in nature and that if they honor the Earthmother , she will bless them in return . Despite their enormous size and brute strength , the remarkably peaceful tauren cultivate a quiet , tribal society . However , when roused by conflict , tauren are implacable enemies who will use every ounce of their strength to smash their enemies under hoof . They are noble and proud and have never , despite significant adversity in the past , succumbed to their enemies . Like the orcs , the tauren now struggle to retain their sense of tradition and noble identity . Faith . For the tauren , nature is the mother of the world , and their faith holds a deep and resonant tone within their hearts . Tauren are connected to the ebb and flow of the world . They revere the spirits of the land and of their ancestors , and they turn to these spirits for wisdom and guidance . This connection manifests in their deeply animistic culture , where druids and shamans stand side by side with warriors and hunters . Tauren do not see a separation between the veneration of nature and the hunt ; to hunt is to honor the spirits of nature . Spiritual hierarchy and tauren titles . The tauren possess a structure of spiritual hierarchy . The most talented and powerful shaman traditionally hold positions of power , though rulership is not limited to spellcasters . Shaman interpret the voice of the Earth Mother and the wishes of the ancestors ; sometimes these interpretations lead to the rise of hunters and warriors in the tribe . The leader of a tribe uses the title “ chief ” and / or “ chieftain . ” The three most powerful healers in the tribe support the chief , the most powerful of whom takes the title “ seer . ” A chief generally consults his seer and her two contemporaries before making a decision , but this consultation is not required . The leader of the Tauren tribes . . . also uses the title “ chieftain . ” During council meetings , chiefs make recommendations to the chieftain , but again the final decision is the chieftain ’ s alone to make . “ Chief , ” “ chieftain ” , and “ seer ” are genderless titles . Aged female shaman sometimes take the title of “ crone ” or “ elder crone ” , which others use as a sign of respect . Languages . Tauren speak Taur - ahe and Orcish . Tauren tend to learn languages for trade or exchanging ideas . Names . The language of the tauren is often harsh and low sounding , which is reflected in the names of their children . The last name of a tauren is usually a family name , handed down through the generations . If the tauren has performed some act that has made an impression on the elders of his tribe , however , he may choose to take on his own last name to commemorate that act . Tauren have several names . They receive a name at birth and another during a ceremony to celebrate reaching adulthood . This adult name describes some event in their lives or some notable individual characteristic : for instance , Blackhide , Earthborn , Halfhorn , Hidemaker , Riverwatcher , Scar , Splithoof , or Stormchaser . A tauren may also acquire a third name that he uses when dealing with outsiders . Appearance . Tauren are large , muscular humanoids with bull - like heads . Males average 10 1 / 2 feet tall , while females are usually slightly shorter and lighter . Tauren are mostly made up of muscle , having incredibly developed physiques and brawny frames most suitable for combat . Soft , downy fur ( usually quite short ) covers the tauren body , with manes growing along head and neck , the lengths of the arms , and the shins . Tauren men and women almost always wear their hair long , and the males prefer braids to any other style . Coloration can range from solid black to blond and even to white , or mottled pelts with a range of spots and different colors . They have three fingers on each hand . Horns are most prominent on males , although all tauren have horns . Tauren wear natural clothing — leather or hide , and some cloth . They prize jewelry , designing fine trinkets of ivory , bone and amber . From these materials they make bracelets or necklaces , and sometimes adorn their horns or locks with such beautiful displays of artistry . In " World of Warcraft " , the playable race of tauren has been visibly downscaled to 7 feet tall . However their realistic height should be around ten and a half feet . Region . " After living as nomads for generations , the tauren have formed a new home amid the mesas of the vast plains of Mulgore . Thunder Bluff is the single largest tauren camp , a permanent settlement built atop a nearly impenetrable mesa deep in the southern regions of Mulgore . Most younger tauren travel there after questing for a time in Redrock Mesa , a place reserved for training youths to hunt , fight and commune with the spirits . " " In Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne , Thunder Bluff is in southern section of Mulgore and there is a huge area to the north , whereas in " World of Warcraft " it is near northern reachable areas of Mulgore ( the northern areas are replaced with a large mountain range ) . It appears that the reference to " southern regions of Mulgore " is actually a reference to how Thunder Bluff appeared in " Warcraft III : The Frozen Throne " . The lack of northern Mulgore in " World of Warcraft " may be due to scale issues . " " also describes Mulgore much like the Warcraft III appearance . " Region name changes . It could also be that the " Thunder Bluff " from The Frozen Throne became Camp Narache either in lore or during the development process . Also , given the fundamentally temporary nature of almost all the buildings in Camp Narache and Thunder Bluff , it ' s possible that the Tauren chose to move the encampment at some point . Tauren tribes / clans . " Note : These may not all represent clans , but only special names given later in life or surnames . " Other tauren tribes include : Clawhoof , Cloudmane , Darkmane , Eagletalon , Icemist , Longstride , Oatwind , Raincaller , Rivermane , Stonespire , Stormsinger , Strongbash , Swiftwind , Whitecloud , Wildrunner , Younghoof . Classes . Tauren characters may play as a druid , hunter , shaman , warrior , death knight , monk , paladin , and priest . Tauren and trolls are the only Horde races that can play as a druid . While tauren druids can perform in , they are , for both philosophical and anatomical reasons , generally not rogues . The renegade Grimtotem tribe possesses the rogue and sorcerer classes , but they are not available to players . Tauren relations . When the tauren first encountered the orcs of Thrall ' s Horde , the tauren recognized the orcs as spiritual brethren . No other race shared such a similar outlook on the world , and the shamans of both races met frequently to discuss the matters of the spirit world . The tauren allied with the orcs out of a shared vision , one of a collective of allies keeping each other well guarded . While the tauren see the orcs and trolls as potential friends to welcome , they rarely trust the Forsaken with more than a nod and a place to set their withered feet . Tauren also bear no ill will to the members of the Alliance unless threatened by them , although they do make an exception for high elves . The taint of magic on the high elven spirit is a poisonous air to the tauren , a stench of the soul that they cannot tolerate for long . Night elves are quite the opposite ; tauren sometimes view them with awe and fear . Tauren and night elves have coexisted on Kalimdor for centuries , and tauren have long seen the Kaldorei as a mythic race of demigods , possessed of great magic and steeped in natural powers . Many Tauren have been known to despise the gnomes , considering them to be very destructive and disrespectful to the natural environment . Due to the savage machinery created by the goblins and gnomes , the relationship between the loving Tauren and the inquisitive smaller beings has certainly been affected . Tauren have an extremely close relationship with the orcs with whom they share a similar culture . The late Cairne Bloodhoof was also extremely close friends with Thrall . They are less thrilled at the presence of the Forsaken at Thunder Bluff , who they grudgingly tolerate due to their alliance . The tauren place a strong emphasis on the value of life , and the unlife of the Forsaken stands as an affront to their beliefs . There are tauren that wish to cure the Forsaken like the Elder Council . In general , however , the tauren get along with the orcs well and the trolls almost as well ; there ’ s still a bit of distrust for the Darkspears , knowing that they only recently abandoned voodoo and cannibalism . The Taunka . An ancient offshoot of the tauren race , the taunka were thought to have been lost forever but have recently been discovered by orcish forces based in Warsong Hold . Their story is revealed in " " . Minotaur origin . In the initial stages of Warcraft III ' s development , Blizzard intended to create the Minotaur as a unit for the Orcish Horde . This was later changed to Tauren . Description . The official site had the following description of the minotaur :