Himalayan goral | |
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Male and female Himalayan gorals in Pangolakha Wildlife Sanctuary, India | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Bovidae |
Subfamily: | Caprinae |
Genus: | Naemorhedus |
Species: | N. goral |
Binomial name | |
Naemorhedus goral (Hardwicke, 1825) |
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Range map |
The Himalayan goral (Naemorhedus goral) is a bovid species found across the Himalayas. It is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List because the population is thought to be declining significantly due to habitat loss hunting for meat.
The Himalayan goral is 95 to 130 cm (37 to 51 in) in length and weighs 35–42 kg (77–93 lb). It has a gray or gray-brown coat with tan legs, lighter patches on its throat, and a single dark stripe along its spine. Males have short manes on their necks. Both males and females have backward-curving horns which can grow up to 18 cm (7.1 in) in length.
In addition to certain peculiarities in the form of the skull, gorals are chiefly distinguished from the closely related serows in that they do not possess preorbital glands below their eyes, nor corresponding depressions in their skulls.
Himalayan gorals are found in the forests of the Himalayas including Bhutan, northern India including Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Nepal, southern Tibet, and possibly western Myanmar. They inhabit most of the southern slopes of the Himalayas from Jammu and Kashmir to eastern Arunachal Pradesh. In India and Nepal they are present at elevations from 900 to 2,750 m (2,950 to 9,020 ft). In Pakistan they have been recorded from 1,000 to 4,000 m (3,300 to 13,100 ft) altitude but their present occurrence in Punjab is doubtful. Group home range size is typically around 40 ha (0.40 km2), with males occupying marked territories of 22–25 ha (0.22–0.25 km2) during the mating season.