Gaur in Bhutan

The gaur (Bos gaurus), sometimes called the Indian bison, is the largest extant species of wild cattle, with adult bulls reaching shoulder heights of up to 220 centimetres and weights in excess of a tonne. The species is assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, with a global wild population estimated at between 13,000 and 30,000 individuals and a continuing decline of around 30 per cent over three generations driven by habitat loss, poaching and disease transmission from domestic cattle. India holds the great majority of the surviving population, with secondary populations in Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and the Malay Peninsula.^[1][2]

In Bhutan the gaur occurs across the southern foothill belt, with the most significant populations in Royal Manas National Park, Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, the southern reaches of Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park and the Khaling Wildlife Sanctuary. Royal Manas, contiguous with India's Manas Tiger Reserve, is the country's primary stronghold and forms part of a transboundary metapopulation that moves seasonally between Bhutan and the Indian state of Assam. Bhutan's populations are regarded by the IUCN-affiliated Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group as among the more secure remaining populations in South Asia.^[2][3]

This article covers identification and ecology, the species' Bhutanese distribution and habitat, the transboundary Manas population, threats and conservation status.

Identification and ecology

The gaur is unmistakable: a heavily built bovine with a black-brown coat, white stockings on all four legs, a pronounced dorsal ridge over the shoulders and pale grey-yellow inwardly-curved horns. Bulls are noticeably larger than cows. The species is gregarious, forming herds of around 10 to 30 animals led by an adult cow, with mature bulls more often solitary. The diet is dominated by grasses and bamboo with seasonal shifts to browse, fruit and shoots. Cows give birth after a gestation of around nine months, typically to a single calf.^[1][4]

Distribution and habitat in Bhutan

The species' Bhutanese range is concentrated in the duars and foothill forests south of the main Himalayan range, with seasonal upward movements during the monsoon. Royal Manas National Park, covering 1,057 square kilometres of subtropical broadleaf and grassland habitat in south-central Bhutan, holds the country's largest population. Phibsoo Wildlife Sanctuary, 269 square kilometres of contiguous forest immediately west of Manas, is the only sal-dominated protected area in Bhutan and supports a documented gaur population. Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park, the central forest core of the country, holds gaur in its southern lowland zone, although densities decrease steeply with elevation.^[3][5]

Detailed occupancy work by Bhutanese researchers — including the Royal Manas study by Wangchuk and others — places the Manas gaur population at moderate to high density across the park's grassland-forest mosaic, with seasonal aggregation along the Manas, Drangme Chhu and other major rivers during the dry season. Cross-border movement between Royal Manas and the Indian Manas Tiger Reserve is well-documented and is supported by the contiguous protected area design on both sides of the international boundary.^[3][6]

The transboundary Manas population

Royal Manas National Park and India's Manas Tiger Reserve together form one of South Asia's most important contiguous lowland protected area complexes. Gaur populations in this complex declined sharply during the 1980s and 1990s on the Indian side as a result of insurgency-related disturbance and the breakdown of park management, but recovered substantially after 2003 with the restoration of management on the Indian side and continued protection on the Bhutanese side. The combined Manas gaur population now functions as a single transboundary metapopulation.^[2][7]

Threats

The most significant threats in Bhutan are habitat conversion in the southern belt — particularly along the duars, where commercial agriculture, settlement and cardamom plantation have all eaten into the species' lower-elevation range — and disease transmission from domestic cattle that graze along the park boundary. Poaching for meat and horn, while a major threat across the species' Southeast Asian range, is reported as comparatively low within Bhutan's protected areas. Road construction and the expansion of settlement in Sarpang and Samdrup Jongkhar dzongkhags are the most-cited longer-term concerns.^[2][3]

Conservation status

The gaur is assessed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Within Bhutan it is listed in Schedule I (totally protected) under the Forest and Nature Conservation Rules and Regulations, prohibiting hunting, capture and trade. Monitoring within Royal Manas, Phibsoo, Khaling and Jigme Singye Wangchuck National Park is conducted by the Department of Forests and Park Services through camera-trapping and direct sign surveys.^[2][8]

References

1. Bos gaurus — IUCN Red List
2. Gaur — Wikipedia
3. Wangchuk and others, “Distribution, Abundance and Occupancy of Gaur in the Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan”
4. Gaur (Bos gaurus) species page — Thai National Parks
5. Royal Manas National Park — overview
6. Borah and others, “Tigers in the transboundary Manas conservation area” — IUCN PARKS
7. Royal Manas National Park — UNESCO Tentative List
8. Forest and Nature Conservation Rules and Regulations of Bhutan, 2023