Indian gaur calves born at BBP

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Bannerghatta Biological Park has announced the birth of two Gaur calves in December 2021.

Indian Bison/ Gaur are the largest member of the cattle family and are distributed across South and South East Asia in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia.

They are largely confined to evergreen, semi-evergreen, and moist deciduous forest but are also found in dry deciduous and thorny forests too.

Habitat fragmentation and poaching have reduced Gaur numbers to approximately 6000 – 21000. To protect this species they are listed under “Schedule I” of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 in India and listed “Vulnerable” by the IUCN Redlist.

In captivity, zoos play a major role in Ex-situ Conservation by breeding the gaur under the conservation breeding programme.

In Bannerghatta Biological Park, ten Gaurs are housed in a semi-captive condition within an extent of 68 ha.