Gaur
- Gaur reaches a body length of 3.6 meters, of which 80 cm is the tail, and a shoulder height of 1.5–1.6 meters. The female is smaller and has shorter horns.
Age
The typical lifespan of a gaur is from 15 to 20 years, although the maximum recorded lifespan is 26 years and 3 months, with a theoretical lifespan ranging from 13 years and 1 month to 26 years and 3 months; the species reaches sexual maturity from 1 year and 10 months to 3 years and 1 month. The young are born with their eyes open and begin walking immediately, undergoing an embryonic stage where the fetus develops inside the mother and receives nutrients via the placenta. Following birth, the calf enters a juvenile stage lasting from 6 months to 1 year, during which it stands quickly and feeds on its mother's milk. The species then transitions to an adult stage, lasting from 3 to 20 years, where the animal is capable of reproduction and independent living.
Phenotype
The young gaur has short, soft dark brown fur and hooves that aid in walking on forest slopes and soft ground; the species possesses a massive body with strong legs adapted to life on hills. Adult gaurs have short, stiff dark fur with white markings on the lower parts of their legs, and their tails have a tuft at the end to help ward off insects. The adult has two horns directed outwards and slightly upwards, which are used for defense and establishing dominance.
Physiology
Gaur body height ranges from 1.21 to 1.9 meters, and body length varies from 2 to 3 meters; the species' mass is 0.82 metric tons. The embryo stage has a body mass ranging from 5 to 35 kilograms. The young have a body mass from 20 to 35 kilograms and a body length from 80 centimeters to 1.2 meters. Adult gaurs possess a body mass between 0.6 and 1 metric ton, and their body length is from 2.2 to 3 meters.
Habitat
The species inhabits elevations from 200 meters to 2 kilometers above sea level, and occupies tropical dry forests with a hot climate and a dry season, tropical moist forests that are always hot and humid with large trees and vines, and tropical savannas with abundant grass and trees. Gaurs live in terrestrial landscapes including scrubland, woodlands, forests, and hills. The climate features little precipitation in winter, with more rain during the summer months; the climate is hot with little winter precipitation but heavy summer rains; the climate is hot with heavy summer rains and little winter precipitation; the climate is very hot year-round with frequent rain but sometimes dry conditions; and there are large amounts of rain in summer and almost no precipitation in winter.
Shelter
The gaur inhabits forests on the slopes of hills and does not have a permanent or long-term shelter; the species uses grass for rest and protection from the sun, and it lacks a fixed shelter.
Geography
The species occupies the Indomalaya and Australasia biogeographical realms and is found in several ecosystems including the Chao Phraya lowlands moist deciduous forests, the northwestern Ghats moist deciduous forests, the northwestern Ghats montane rain forests, the southwestern Ghats montane rain forests, the Tenasserim and southern Thailand semi-evergreen rain forests, and the western Java rain forests.
Feeding
The gaur eats plants, specifically grazing on grass and stripping leaves from bushes and low trees, as well as consuming young shoots, fruits, and sprouts. The species obtains food by nibbling and tearing off parts of plants, with its diet consisting of grass, leaves, shoots, fruits, young shoots, and seedlings. The feeding strategy is grazing, and the daily food requirement ranges from 10 kilograms to 25 kilograms. In some cultures, the animal is eaten, but in Hinduism, cows are sacred, and beef is generally not consumed.
Reproduction
The gaurs inhabit and develop on land, away from bodies of water, and are born live, not hatching from eggs or larvae; the male and female mate, and gestation lasts 9 months and 1 week, resulting in a litter size of 1, which is usually a calf. The young remains with its mother for more than one year, and the species reaches maturity from 3 to 5 years of age. The interval between reproduction is from 1 to 2 years, and the reproductive process always involves fertilization without alternating generations; the female gives birth to a single calf.