Often mistaken for a bison, the Indian Gaur is part of the cow family. The bison is a species found in two places – Europe and the USA. The gaur is amongst the largest and most powerful wild cattle found across the world. Found in abundance at Kabini, it can be spotted during the Jeep and Boat Safaris here.

An average gaur stands over 180 cm tall and weighs a little under a ton (1000 kg). This gives you a picture of its massive structure. It’s normally found in herds of at least eight to ten and is extremely aggressive – especially when it comes to protecting its young.

The Indian Gaur

The massive size normally makes one believe that no predator gets close to these mammoth bovines, yet these gaurs are easy meat for the tiger, which is known to regularly hunt full-grown adults. As you may have guessed, these huge animals provide a tiger with enough meat for a few days, if not weeks!

The gaur plays a very crucial part in maintaining the ecological balance of the forest, especially in keeping the growth of vegetation under control. The gaur’s diet comprises grass, herbs, shrubs, leaves, fruits, and occasionally, barks of large trees.

An Indian Gaur at Kabini

The sheer capacity of the gaurs’ stomachs and the number of gaurs in each herd makes them a virtual ‘lawn mower’ of the wild, for they, like the African Wildebeests, methodically eat up the vegetation along their path, helping the weeding and growth of fresh vegetation in the process. They, along with other mighty creatures like elephants, help keep the growth of vegetation under control and ensure the vegetation keeps going through its cycle of life.

The other interesting aspect of the gaur is that it is the only wild species to be successfully cloned,though the calf did not survive beyond a month.

Rajan Kanagasabai

An ardent Environmentalist and an avid wildlife Photographer, Rajan is a prominent member of leading Environmental, Wildlife and Photography organizations. His works have been featured on several travel magazines. A frequent visitor to Orange County, Kabini and Coorg, Rajan specializes in Wildlife and Bird Photography. Possessing over 23 years of experience working in the IT Industry, Rajan holds a senior management position at one of India's top IT companies. Rajan has reviewed a number of global resorts for several leading travel journals and blogs and is also a Destination Expert for the renowned Trip Advisor travel forum.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 20th, 2011 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Herbivores, Mammal, Nature. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.